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»books by communication department faculty »recent faculty publications (or view PDF)—through 4/08 »recent faculty awards »books by doctoral alumni »recent conference presentations by graduate students (or view PDF)—through 4/08 »recent publications by graduate students (or view PDF)—through 4/08 »communication day Department News April 2008: » Elissa Wilds successfully defended her MA thesis "God vs. Goddess: Constructing Gender and Defining Self Through the Religion of Wicca" (directed by Navita Cummings James). She has accepted a position as Director - Quality Assurance with a world leader in insurance and financial services. In her spare time, she pens paranormal fiction novels and has recently secured a 2-book deal with Dorchester Publishing. » Mary Billington (right), winner of the Persuasive Speech Contest on Communication Day, poses with Emily Ryalls, her Public Speaking instructor.  » Elizabeth Bell, chair of USF's Women's Status Committee, gave a presentation to the President's Title IX Committee at its April meeting. She described the results of a recently concluded survey of 3800 faculty, staff, and students regarding women's issues at USF and provided a framework for collaboration between the Women’s Status and Title IX committees. USF’s Title IX Committee is chaired by one of our alumni, Kim Golombisky (Ph.D., 2001), associate professor of mass communications at USF. » USF’s N.I.T.E. organization, advised by doctoral student Rachel Silverman, won both the “Student Organization Program of the Year award (for its Take Back the Night rally) and the “Outstanding Student Organization of the Year” at the Celebration of University Leadership award ceremony. » Karla Stevenson (B.A., 2003), currently a doctoral candidate in Communication Studies at the University of Iowa and President of the Chicago chapter of the USF Alumni Association, spoke recently on campus in a “Meet and Greet” sponsored by the USF Living Learning Communities and the Department of Housing and Residential Education. » J. Emmett Winn (Ph.D., 1999) recently published The American Dream and Contemporary Hollywood Cinema (New York: The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc., 2007), 163 pages, $110.00 (hard cover). » Scenes from the Communication Day Banquet:  Incoming and newly crowned GCA Co-Presidents David Lee and Dana Schowalter  Jillian Tullis Owen, recipient of the Barney Downs Spirit Award, poses with Emeritus Professor Barney Downs and David Payne  Andrew Herrmann and Tony Adams, co-recipients of the Arthur P. Bochner Award for Outstanding Doctoral Student, pose with Art Bochner  4 X Formal: Doctoral students Rachel Silverman, Robin Boylorn, Emily Ryalls, and Jillian Tullis Owen » MA student Ally Rhodes and Communication alumna Lillian Lima (BA, 2002) received 2008 Women's Leadership Awards from USF President Judy Genshaft. Rhodes was honored for her roles as student activist, organizer, and leader, working on a variety of social justice projects and in USF student groups, including the Feminist Student Alliance and USF Voices for Planned Parenthood. She has organized USF events for V Day, the ClothesLine Project, and spearheaded student involvement in sexual equality, reproductive rights, and environmental issues. Doctoral student Rachel Silverman, member of the Women's Status Committee, introduced Ally's work and President Genshaft presented the award. Lima was honored for her work in developing and implementing MOAR, “Making Opportunities by Accepting Responsibility,” the Attorney General of Florida’s character development program for middle-school girls, focusing on school achievement, personal development, and community involvement. Lillian reached 2,800 at-risk girls through MOAR, encouraging them to set, meet, and exceed their own goals. Dr. Sandy Cooper (PhD, Communication, 2007) introduced Lillian's work and President Genshaft presented the award. Dr. Elizabeth Bell, Professor of Communication, chairs the Women's Status Committee, a presidential advisory committee at USF.   Rachel Silverman and Ally Rhodes with President Genshaft. Sandy Cooper, Elizabeth Bell, and Lillian Lima with President Genshaft. » Doctoral Candidates Robin Boylorn and Liz Edgecomb are each recipients of USF's Golden Bull Award, which honors students for embodying core values of USF (e.g., leadership within the community; public service; academic acheivement; experience and understanding of diversity; personal and professional potential; and demonstrated commitment to respect, integrity, and civility). » Three doctoral students successfully defended their dissertations this month: Gary Carson, Time Bending: Temporal Malleability and Organizational Response in Crisis Situations (directed by Eric Eisenberg); Linda Levitt, Hollywood Forever: Culture, Celebrity, and the Cemetery (co-directed by Marcy Chvasta and Mark Neumann); and Jeanine Minge, Cob Building: Movements and Moments of Survival (directed by Stacy Holman Jones). Congratulations to everyone!  Dr. Linda Levitt (center) poses with her committee members, Professor Lou Marcus (Photography), Dr. Michael LeVan, Dr. Mark Neumann, and Dr. Marcy Chvasta. Committee Members Gil Rodman and Janna Jones were mediated participants (and are represented by the speaker phone and computer speakers). Not pictured is outside chair Dan Belgrad (American Studies). » Eric Eisenberg spoke recently on his research related to communication in hospital emergency rooms. At the College’s downtown Lunch with a Scholar event, his topic was “Safety in Crisis: Effective Communication in the ER,” and at Saint Louis University he spoke on "Healthy Handoffs: Promoting Effective Transitions of Care." » Art Bochner received the first “Distinguished Alumni Award” from the College of Arts and Sciences at California State University (Pennsylvania), where he received his B.S. in Speech Communication in 1968. » Carolina Fernandez successfully defended her thesis, "Capitalism, Consumerism, and Individualism: Investigating the Rhetoric of The Secret," on April 9, 2008 (directed by Marcy Chvasta). Carolina has also accepted an assitantship starting this Fall in the doctoral program of the Department of Communication at the University of Minnesota.     Pictures from the SSCA convention in Savannah (clockwise from top left): (i) David Payne and Deb Walker (Ph.D., 2005); (ii) Cris Davis (Ph.D. 2002) introducing spotlight panel honoring Ken Cissna. Panelists include Slavica Kodish (Ph.D., 2004), Vi Asmuth (Ph.D., 2004), Peg Ostrenko (Ph.D. 2002), Michael Arrington (Ph.D., 2002), Chuck Grant (Ph.D., 1997—obscured), and Linda Vangelis (Ph.D., 2006); (iii) Art Bochner, Gin Kohl (Ph.D., 2002), and Deborah Austin (Ph.D., 1998); (iv) Carolyn Ellis and Chuck Grant (Ph.D., 1997). » USF faculty, students, and alumni were especially prominent in the recent Southern States Communication Association convention in Savannah (April 3-6). To give you just a few highlights: Among the faculty:March 2008: » Congratulations to Elizabeth Bell whose book, Theories of Performance (Sage Publications), appeared last week.   » Ken Cissna’s guest-coedited issue of Communication Theory, “Fresh Perspectives in Dialogue Theory,” also appeared recently. (Click the link to the issue name, where all of the pieces in the issue are currently available for free download). Congratulations to doctoral student Andrew Herrmann for his contribution to the issue, “Kierkegaard and Dialogue: The Communication of Capability.” » Doctoral student Tony Adams received the Graduate Student Achievement Award presented by USF’s Graduate Professional Student Council. » Graduate students Carly Geiseler, Emily Ryalls, Dana Schowalter, and Rachel Silverman produced what was described as “an outstanding panel presentation” and a “shining moment” for our department at the USF Lakeland campus. Co-sponsored by USF Lakeland Office of Diversity and Women's History Month Committee, the panel was titled “Misrepresentation of Women in the Media." They each presented a research paper related to representations of women in contemporary media/pop culture. According to a report from a member of the staff at the Lakeland campus, the quartet was rewarded with multiple rounds of applause and an extended Q & A period with a "packed house" that included faculty, students, and members of the community. They were described as—again, no surprise here—“superb ambassadors for our department, our discipline, and the academy.” Appreciation is also due Elizabeth Bell, who organized the presentation. February 2008: » Doctoral student Carly Gieseler had her book Killing the Vamp published by VDM Verlag Dr. Meuller e.K. in Germany. The book is based on Carly's MA thesis. The book description reads: The cinematic vamp presents a fascinating archetypal character, functioning outside the bounds of normative societal and gender constructions. This filmic icon motivated the plot yet was often killed by the narrative end. Therefore, this book attempts to resolve the implications of the primary research question: Why did the vamp die? To answer this query, the text follows two theoretical paths. First, this book uses Michel Foucault's theories to ask: Is the vamp's death punishment for her location as a gendered "other"? Secondly, the text uses psychoanalytic approaches, and specifically the Freudian death drive, to ask: Does the vamp's death represent and embody the bondage between sex and death? These theoretical possibilities are applied in the analysis of the 1927 Clarence Brown film Flesh and the Devil. In addition, this text expands the typology of the vamp, freeing her from her archetypal roots and proving her existence throughout cinematic history. This book is directed towards researchers in Communications, Media Studies, and Film and Gender Theory. This text is also addressed to those interested in aspects of psychoanalysis and social construction and representation.January 2008: » Doctoral students Julia Barnhill and Jillian Tullis Owen received the “Most Accessible” Scholar to Scholar Award from NCA for their paper, “Virtual Memorials: A Place to Grieve.” department news archives: » 2007 » 2006 |