Camille Kaminski Lewis is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. She holds a Ph.D. from Indiana University in Rhetorical Studies with a minor in American Studies.

Her first book, Romancing the Difference: Kenneth Burke, Bob Jones University, and the Rhetoric of Religious Fundamentalism, was a scholarly attempt to stretch the boundaries of both Kenneth Burke’s rhetorical theory on tragedy and comedy as well as stretch conservative evangelical’s separatist frames. Her second book, White Nationalism and Faith: Statements and Counter-Statements, tracks the religious arguments for and against white nationalism in America since the Civil War. Her anthology, One Hundred Years of Women Debating the Equal Rights Amendment: 1923-2023, tracks the rich history of women arguing for equality in the U.S. Constitution.

Her fourth book, Klandamentalism: Bob Jones at the Intersection of Revivalism, Politics, and White Supremacy from Clemson University Press, tackles the destructive melding of conservative evangelicalism with violent white male supremacy. Her central argument is this: Klandamentalism starts with a forceful, egocentric singular personality and a small but secret cadre of young, white males who alone act upon their neighbors, employees, families, and nation to “bring them to God” to earn their own entry into Heaven. The words Bob Jones used in the 1920s to meld fundamentalism with the Klan parallel the white nationalistic rhetoric today. Whether the Klandamentalists are in the 1920s or 2020s, we can find better words to make a kinder, more equitable world.

Additional books on William Jennings Bryan and Dolly Parton are in process.

Camille enjoys teaching Rhetoric & Strategy, Argumentation, Rhetorical Criticism, Oratory and Social Change, Communication Ethics, and Public Speaking at Furman.

Honors & Awards

• The John I. Sisco Excellence in Teaching Award, Southern States Communication Association, 2022.

Education

• Ph.D., Indiana University
• M.A., Bob Jones University
• B.A., Bob Jones University