He received his J.D. and Ph.D. from the University of Oregon. O'Rourke teaches courses in the History of Rhetoric, Contemporary Rhetorical Theory, British and American Public Address, Freedom of Speech, the Ethics of Rhetoric, the Rhetoric of Law and Justice, and the Rhetoric of the Mass Media. O'Rourke's articles and reviews have appeared in Legal Studies Forum, Rhetorica, Journal of the American Forensic Association, Southern Communication Journal, Communication Reports, Journal of the Early Republic, The American Journal of Legal History, Rhetoric Review, Rhetoric Society Quarterly, Advances in the History of Rhetoric, Canadian Journal of Rhetorical Studies/La Revue Canadienne d'etudes rhetoriques, The Forensic, Court Call, and Free Speech Yearbook, as well as several anthologies and conference proceedings.