InCommon

What is going on in the Department of Communication

Where have all the faculty gone?

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Each year at this time, communication faculty and students from across the United States and various other countries gather to discuss current research and teaching strategies in the field. The National Communication Association (NCA) meets every November (Wednesday through Sunday) to share cutting edge research and other topics of interest. The convention will host 1,200+ sessions that involve more than 5,000 participants, reflecting the substance and progress of the communication discipline.  This year is the 93rd Annual Convention in Chicago, IL. This year’s theme, Communicating Worldviews: Faith-Intellect-Ethics, encourages participants to examine communication within the discipline, society or world through a literal, metaphorical, or virtual lens.

So, OUR faculty are on their way or already there to present their work. Here is a sample of some of the things we are doing:

Gloria Galanes and Isabelle Bauman are presenters for a workshop called: Social Construction and Social Change: Communication Research, Teaching, and Practice

Participants in this workshop will discuss examples of how social construction and social change perspectives are utilized in communication research, teaching, and practice. In addition to describing specific examples, participants will also reflect on ethical choices. Named organizers and presenters will begin our dialogues, but all participants will be invited to share their ideas and work. Through the process of collaborative sharing we hope to increase each others’ ability to contribute to positive social changes by our own actions and those we foster in our students and our communities.

Elizabeth Dudash is on a panel discussing political issues in talk shows: Political Issues and Campaign Content: An Analysis of Topics in Sunday Morning Talk Show

AND   Political Issues and Campaign Content: An Analysis of Topics in Sunday Morning Talk Shows

Susan Waters is also presenting on this panel: Does Media Matter? Investigating Media Bias, Answering Bill O’Reilly, and Challenging Sunday Morning News Programs.
Randy Dillon is responding to a panel called: Comparative Cultural Worldviews in the Educational Context

Sam Dyer is presenting a paper with a couple of graduate students: Newspapers and Weblogs During the 2006 Mid-Term Elections: Toward a Coding Scheme

Kelly McNeilis (me) is presenting a paper with a graduate student: Aligning Talk and Identity in Functional Work Groups: Communication Competence and Identification in Teams

Heather Walters and Eric Morris are attending along with 14 of our graduate students in our Masters Program (some of whom are also presenting at the conference).

Be sure to ask the faculty how their presentations went when you see them next week.

Next week is Smile Thanksgiving and you can be sure that if your class was canceled or rearranged this week, you’ll definitely be meeting next week. Classes meet on Monday and Tuesday.

I hope registration is going well for you. Look for an online survey soon about summer classes and about satisfaction with your major.Email

Posted: Nov 14 2007, 10:19 AM by Kelly McNeilis |