Dr. Parry-Giles’s research and teaching focus on the historical and contemporary relationships between rhetoric, politics, law, and popular culture. He is the award-winning author or editor of four books, including The Character of Justice: Rhetoric, Law, and Politics in the Supreme Court Confirmation Process and The Prime-Time Presidency: The West Wing and U.S. Nationalism (with Shawn J. Parry-Giles). His research has appeared in the Quarterly Journal of Speech, Rhetoric & Public Affairs, Presidential Studies Quarterly, the Journal of Popular Film and Television, Celebrity Studies, the Journal of Communication, and elsewhere. Dr. Parry-Giles is a Distinguished Research Fellow and a Distinguished Teaching Fellow of the Eastern Communication Association. In 2019, Dr. Parry-Giles received the University of Maryland's Graduate Faculty Mentor of the Year Award.

Current research projects include critically tracing the history of character rhetorics in American presidential campaigns, exploring the rhetorical life and times of famed New Mexico law enforcement officer and politician Elfego Baca, and examining screening of the American presidency via popular culture.