Josh Hamzehee is a performance artist, scholar, and coach who engages in critical ethnographic methods and remixed performance techniques.
With these tools, Josh excavates how we foster community and critique power dynamics through live, digital, and ritual performances.
Updates
-New Book Out Now!:
“Baton Rouge SLAM! An Obituary for Summer 2016: Mapping Ethnographic Performance in Times of Crisis” - Published by Innovative Ink, August 2026
-Buy the New Book!:
“Forensics Speech and Public Performance: The Art ad Science of Competitive Public Speaking” - Published by Kendall Hunt, September 2026
-Appointed:
Library Commissioner of Santa Rosa
Upcoming
-Touring show: “Burnt City” is on the road in 2026-27!
-New show: “Dead Mom Jokes” debuts Winter 2026!
-Peer-Review Article: “Final Rounds to Final Defenses” will be published in 2027
-Award: HFO’s Randy Cox Forensics Visionary Award, 2026
Publicity
-Interview:Al Jazeera English chats with Hamzehee about the Iron Sheik
-Webinar Host: College & Career Readiness with edWeb
-Interview: Oak Leaf News interviews Hamzehee about Forensics Team
Publications & Scholarship
Josh has two brand new books!: Baton Rouge SLAM! An Obituary for Summer 2016 (Innovative Ink) and Forensics Speech and Public Performance (Kendall-Hunt).
He has published award-winning scholarship in the areas of performance studies, slam poetry, and forensics speech, in refereed journals like Text & Performance Quarterly, Liminalities, Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed , National Forensic Journal, Florida Communication Journal, and the Professional Wrestling Studies Journal.
Performances & Tours
For two decades, Josh has toured solo and ensemble performance projects, paired with innovative workshops and experiences, in 30 states. Including:
COMING SOON: Dead Mom Jokes
Burnt City: A Dystopian Bilingual One-Persian Show
Baton Rouge SLAM!: An Obituary for Summer 2016
The Deported: A Reality Show!
CONVICT: The Age of Incarceration
Renowned: Osama Lives On!
Speak Out!: Performance Ethnography
The Worst of the Worst: Performances of Guantanamo Bay
Pedagogy & Coaching
Josh has spent 20 years focusing on quality, creativity, advocacy, and personal connection to make sure researching, writing, and performance skills last beyond the stage, office, and classroom.
Josh has directed national championship forensics teams and speakers, taught over 200 Performance and Communication Studies courses, and guided over 4,000 students at public universities, community colleges, and in forensics by embracing critical methods of performance engagement within the safety of a creative, supportive, and energized environment.
Recognition and Honors
Randy Cox Forensics Visionary Award
HFO: Bradley University and University of Texas, Austin
2026
Unsung Hero Faculty Recognition Award
SRJC Academic Senate
Outstanding Article in Performance Studies
CSCAPerformance Studies & Autoethnography Division
Club Advisor of the Year
SRJC Inter-Club Council
2025 & 2024
New Coach of the Year Award
Northern California Forensics Association
Best Journal Article Award--Ethnography
NCA Ethnography Division
Outstanding Visual Project Award
International Association of Autoethnography and Narrative Inquiry
CSCA Outstanding Article in Autoethnography
CSCAPerformance Studies & Autoethnography Division
2023 & 2022
New Directions Award: Individual
American Anthropological Association General Anthropology Division
Marion Kleinau National Scripting Award
SIU Carbondale Department of Communication Studies
Outstanding New Teacher Award
Iowa Communication Association
Adjunct Faculty Excellence Award
Lone Star College—University Park
Best Dissertation Award--Ethnography
NCA Ethnography Division
2021 & 2020
Marie J. Robinson Outstanding Graduate Student in Performance Studies
NCA Performance Studies Division, 2018
Outstanding New Forensics Coach Award
American Forensics Association, 2016
Outstanding Adjunct Teacher Award
Iowa Communication Association, 2013