About the Author:
Sim Butler is a proud father, husband, and communication scholar from Alabama, all of which converge around his family's fight for rights in the state his family has called home for generations. Navigating the social, political, and cultural bedrock of the deep south while advocating for healthcare, safe schools, and legal rights for his transgender daughter, Sim reflects on the journey to nurture, protect, and prepare his child for the world in which we live. It is a world built on community, but also one plagued with dragons.
And the Dragons Do Come functions as both a memoir of the Butler Family's struggles and triumphs but also an auto ethnographic research project meant to highlight a particular moment in American history within the context of anti-trans sentiment.
Sim’s Passion for Teaching
Sim Butler holds a PhD in Communication Studies. His research examines narratives of identity around gender, politics, health, and sports. Sim teaches debate, dialogue, and advocacy, as well as critical rhetorical methods of research. He has worked at both a top 25 liberal arts college and R1 research university in his over twenty years of teaching at the college level.
Community Partnerships
Much of Sim’s professional work outside the classroom is community-based, participatory research. Over the years, Sim has partnered with numerous community stakeholders to use discourse, dialogue, debate, and advocacy to reach their goals. The groups Sim works with are unique and diverse, ranging from reducing barriers to healthcare for rural LGBTQ+ community members in the midwest to creating debate education opportunities for young students in the deep south. For this work, Sim has received numerous awards, including an Outstanding Faculty Member Award, Outstanding Teaching by a Graduate Student, and an Outstanding Alumni Award for his innovative service learning initiatives and community partnerships.
“For good ideas and true innovation, you need human interaction, conflict, argument, debate.” - Margaret Heffernan
Sim has published research articles in peer reviewed journals, book chapters, and textbooks within the field of communication. Click below for a look at his scholarly work.
