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Full-Text Articles in Mass Communication

Something Wicked: Witches And Rhetorics Of Resistance, K. Scarlett Harrington Jun 2023

Something Wicked: Witches And Rhetorics Of Resistance, K. Scarlett Harrington

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project joins other academic conversations regarding the dynamics of power, modernity, witchcraft, and magic within the contexts of Western hegemony. Occasioned by kairotic cultural events and the reinforcement of ideologies like those found in the Dobbs decision, QAnon conspiracy, and rise of Christian Nationalism, this project contends that evaluating the potential political power residing in witchery is necessary in understanding some of the nuances of hegemonic control and resistance to oppressive authority. Predominantly following rhetorical evaluations of magic found in the works of Gunn and Covino, I maintain a non-universal methodological practice that works to understand the various instrumentality …


Neil Postman's Loving Resistance Fighter: A Philosophy Of Communication In The Age Of Technopoly, Ryan Mccullough May 2023

Neil Postman's Loving Resistance Fighter: A Philosophy Of Communication In The Age Of Technopoly, Ryan Mccullough

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project walks the work of Neil Postman (1931-2003) into the philosophy of communication. Traditional conceptions of Neil Postman’s body of work position his ideas within the traditions of media ecology, general semantics, or, more broadly, as a form of media studies and criticism. In addition, others label Postman’s work, especially in Technopoly (1992), as pessimistic, deterministic, and/or imbibed with Luddite tendencies. This project articulates a different view and contends that Postman’s scholarship, in particular his articulation of the loving resistance fighter in the final chapter of Technopoly, is committed to resisting the nefarious forces embedded in both technology …


Jesus Was A Refugee: Parables As Contemporary Rhetoric, Luke Litz Apr 2023

Jesus Was A Refugee: Parables As Contemporary Rhetoric, Luke Litz

[Archive] Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

This paper performed a rhetorical analysis of the "Refugee" ad released by the He Gets Us campaign by identifying the rhetorical devices employed in the ad, interpreting their meaning, and evaluating the effectiveness of the ad. This advertisement is delivered in the form of a parable, which demonstrates that while the He Gets Us campaign purports to be targeting people who find Jesus unrelatable, this ad particularly targets the evangelical community and provokes them to change their posture toward immigration in the United States. However, it is too early to tell whether the ‘Refugee’ ad will be effective at winning …


Communication Monographs Spring 2023 Newsletter, Martina Santia, Srividya Ramasubramanian Apr 2023

Communication Monographs Spring 2023 Newsletter, Martina Santia, Srividya Ramasubramanian

CODE^SHIFT Research

No abstract provided.


#Blackatuark: Digital Counterpublic Memories Of Anti-Black Racism On Campus, T. Jake Dionne, Joe Hatfield, Gabrielle Willingham Mar 2023

#Blackatuark: Digital Counterpublic Memories Of Anti-Black Racism On Campus, T. Jake Dionne, Joe Hatfield, Gabrielle Willingham

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

After #BlackLivesMatter protests in summer 2020, many leaders in the US South reevaluated monuments dedicated to the confederate and segregation eras. Black affiliates of the University of Arkansas used the Twitter hashtag #BlackatUARK to demand the removal of memorials commemorating a segregationist senator and share their experiences of anti-Black racism on campus. We argue that #BlackatUARK provides a counterpublic memorial of campus life that opposes and transforms dominant public memories, geographies, and subjectivities. Our analysis of the hashtag expands the conceptual boundaries of the kairos/metanoia partnership to show how digital counterpublic memories gain momentum and produce tangible rhetorical effects across …


Call For Manuscripts For Volume 36, Angela Hosek Feb 2023

Call For Manuscripts For Volume 36, Angela Hosek

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.


Creating Equitable And Inclusive Basic Course Classrooms: A Response Essay, Kristina Ruiz-Mesa, Melissa A. Broeckelman-Post Feb 2023

Creating Equitable And Inclusive Basic Course Classrooms: A Response Essay, Kristina Ruiz-Mesa, Melissa A. Broeckelman-Post

Basic Communication Course Annual

In 1992, Jo Sprague challenged communication educators to think more critically about how we teach and what we include in our communication curriculum. In the decades since Sprague’s powerful call for instructional communication researchers and instructors to ask ourselves, “What is knowledge and how is curriculum established?” (p. 11), we find ourselves needing to engage with ongoing contemporary conversations about what counts as knowledge in a basic communication course and which knowledge is viewed as important enough to include in the curriculum. A meta-synthesis of basic communication course surveys showed little change in the basic communication course content over the …


Trauma-Informed Pedagogy: Promoting Inclusivity In The Basic Course, Tim Mckenna-Buchanan, Kristen L. Farris Feb 2023

Trauma-Informed Pedagogy: Promoting Inclusivity In The Basic Course, Tim Mckenna-Buchanan, Kristen L. Farris

Basic Communication Course Annual

The goal of trauma-informed pedagogy is to understand how trauma impacts how our students learn. As such, basic communication course (BCC) instructors need to better understand trauma-informed pedagogy as a means of promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion. The BCC curriculum often requires a level of vulnerability among our student body, therefore instructors need to become aware of practices to build trust and create community. Three ideas are outlined to showcase trauma-informed pedagogy in the BCC; (1) promoting well-being, (2) developing transparency, (3) fostering growth.


Section Introduction: Basic Course Forum, Brandi N. Frisby Feb 2023

Section Introduction: Basic Course Forum, Brandi N. Frisby

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.


The Basic Communication Course Syllabus As A Rhetorical Document: The Impact Of Mediated Immediacy On Communication Apprehension With Instructors And Out-Of-Class Communication, Divine N. Aboagye, John Hooker, Cheri J. Simonds Feb 2023

The Basic Communication Course Syllabus As A Rhetorical Document: The Impact Of Mediated Immediacy On Communication Apprehension With Instructors And Out-Of-Class Communication, Divine N. Aboagye, John Hooker, Cheri J. Simonds

Basic Communication Course Annual

The purpose of this study was to examine teachers’ use of mediated immediacy in a syllabus to determine effects on students’ communication apprehension with instructors and student out-of-class communication with instructors. Participants viewed either a basic course syllabus with high levels of mediated immediacy or low levels of mediated immediacy and then completed surveys. The results showed that syllabi high in mediated immediacy made students significantly less apprehensive to communicate with instructors and more likely to engage in out-of-class communication with them. Implications for the use of mediated immediacy in syllabus construction are discussed.


Improving Well-Being In The Basic Course: The Impact Of Interpersonal Communication Competence And Public Speaking Anxiety On Loneliness, Belongingness, And Flourishing, Melissa A. Broeckelman-Post, Aayushi Hingle Collier, Henri K. Huber Feb 2023

Improving Well-Being In The Basic Course: The Impact Of Interpersonal Communication Competence And Public Speaking Anxiety On Loneliness, Belongingness, And Flourishing, Melissa A. Broeckelman-Post, Aayushi Hingle Collier, Henri K. Huber

Basic Communication Course Annual

This study evaluated whether interpersonal communication competence and public speaking anxiety had an impact on three indicators of student well-being (loneliness, belongingness, and flourishing) as well as evaluated whether the two most popular types of the introductory communication course (public speaking and hybrid/fundamentals) impacted interpersonal communication competence and public speaking anxiety to the same extent. Survey data was collected from 1378 students enrolled in one of these two introductory communication courses. Results showed that interpersonal communication competence was the strongest predictor of all three outcome variables, and the public speaking anxiety predicted some additional variance in loneliness and belongingness, but …


Section Introduction: Research Articles, Brandi N. Frisby Feb 2023

Section Introduction: Research Articles, Brandi N. Frisby

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.


Reflections About Future Directions For The Basic Communication Course And Basic Course Scholarship, Sherwyn P. Morreale, Scott A. Myers Feb 2023

Reflections About Future Directions For The Basic Communication Course And Basic Course Scholarship, Sherwyn P. Morreale, Scott A. Myers

Basic Communication Course Annual

The importance of the basic communication course is underscored by a somewhat overused but decidedly meaningful phrase—it’s our discipline’s front porch! While serving as the president of the National Communication Association, Beebe (2013) coined that phrase in reference to the basic course serving as the critical point-of-entry to the communication discipline, introducing students to communication studies for the first time. More recently, others (Bertelsen & Goodboy, 2009; Morreale et al., 2022; Myers et al., 2021) have pointed to the increasing presence of the basic course in general education and the fact that it is one of most frequently taught courses …


Editor's Page, Volume 35 (2023), Brandi N. Frisby Feb 2023

Editor's Page, Volume 35 (2023), Brandi N. Frisby

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.


Cover And Front Matter, Volume 35, Brandi N. Frisby Feb 2023

Cover And Front Matter, Volume 35, Brandi N. Frisby

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.


Faking And Conspiring About Covid-19: A Discursive Approach, Rosa Scardigno, Alessia Paparella, Francesca D'Errico Jan 2023

Faking And Conspiring About Covid-19: A Discursive Approach, Rosa Scardigno, Alessia Paparella, Francesca D'Errico

The Qualitative Report

In the more general climate of post-truth - a social trend reflecting a disregard for reliable ways of knowing what is true, mostly acted through massive use of misinformation and rhetoric calling for emotions - an alarming “infodemic” accompanied the COVID-19 pandemic, affecting healthy attitudes and behaviors and further lessening trust in science, institutions, and traditional media. Its two main representative items, fake and conspiracy news, have been widely analyzed in psycho-social research, even if scholars mostly acknowledged the cognitive and social dimensions of those items and devoted less attention to their discursive construction. In addition, these works did not …


Right Turn At Reality: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Right Wing Negotiations On Race And Masculinity In Online Spaces, Andrew R.J. Hart Jan 2023

Right Turn At Reality: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Right Wing Negotiations On Race And Masculinity In Online Spaces, Andrew R.J. Hart

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The effects of right wing politically charged violence are more visible now than at any other point in recent American history. The Internet, and social media more specifically, has become a crucial nexus point in the dissemination of decentralized Alt-Right propaganda. The visual nature of social media has increased the importance of images a means of communication. Through this thesis, I analyze artifacts coming out of these spaces representing a conversation between creators and audiences, and how they work dialogically to introduce and reify symbols of white masculine supremacy within this subgroup. Through this process, I find multiple recurring patterns …


A Neo-Aristotelian Criticism Of Trump’S “Save America Speech” Utilizing The Five Canons Of Rhetoric, Jade Ruggieri Jan 2023

A Neo-Aristotelian Criticism Of Trump’S “Save America Speech” Utilizing The Five Canons Of Rhetoric, Jade Ruggieri

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Riddled with fake news, the 2020 election is a unique moment in history where fake news, stemming from former President Donald Trump, led to a public demonstration that quickly devolved into a violent and controversial event. Through the lens of a Neo-Aristotelian rhetorical criticism, the five canons of rhetoric will analyze Trump’s “Save America” speech he held hours prior to the rally providing insights into how the power of words can precipitate people to incite action. Through a verbatim examination of the first and last 10 minutes of the speech, with the middle portion summarized, Trump’s speech provides insights to …


Presidents And Media During Initial Federal-Level Hurricane Relief: A Study Of Presidential Crisis Communication Efforts, Emily A. Ball Jan 2023

Presidents And Media During Initial Federal-Level Hurricane Relief: A Study Of Presidential Crisis Communication Efforts, Emily A. Ball

Honors College Theses

Public relations serves a huge role in almost every sector, including politics. Crisis communication, a subset of public relations, is very important in a setting that constantly undergoes crises. The response to these crises matters a great deal on the federal level because the outcomes can affect such a wide variety of policies and even elections. Because of this, I wanted to focus on one type of crisis that every president is almost guaranteed to face: hurricanes. To examine the effectiveness of federal-level crisis communication, I look at Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden’s responses to the worst hurricane during their …


“People Don’T Always Show Up The Way You Want Them To”: Utilizing The Hunger Games To Differentiate Between Persuasion, Coercion, Propaganda, And Manipulation, Nancy Bressler Dec 2022

“People Don’T Always Show Up The Way You Want Them To”: Utilizing The Hunger Games To Differentiate Between Persuasion, Coercion, Propaganda, And Manipulation, Nancy Bressler

Discourse: The Journal of the SCASD

The ability to define and conceptualize persuasion and its nuances without engaging in coercion, propaganda, and/or manipulation can be difficult for students at first. This activity centralizes the fine points among these persuasive concepts. Students also recognize the role of their audience in the persuasive messages that they create. Rather than only having a conversation about the common characteristics of these terms and how they differ, students can observe them within the fictional movie The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 (Lawrence, 2014). After discussing these ideas with their classmates, students then apply what they have learned by creating persuasive messages …


“Number Of Nonverbal Delivery Techniques”: Innovative Approaches To Gestures, Movement, And Vocal Delivery, Nancy Bressler Dec 2022

“Number Of Nonverbal Delivery Techniques”: Innovative Approaches To Gestures, Movement, And Vocal Delivery, Nancy Bressler

Discourse: The Journal of the SCASD

Through this activity, students consider to what extent gestures, movement, and vocal inflection affect a speech. Using the same speech content as the rest of their group, each student is provided a prompt requiring them to adapt their speech delivery differently. Through these differences, students can better understand how to incorporate nonverbal speech delivery that is natural, balanced, communicates emotion, and effectively communicates the message of the speech. Students discover the importance of nonverbal delivery while using an entertaining speech they may have seen in a television show. Overall, students learn how planned versus natural speech delivery can alter nonverbal …


Front Matter Dec 2022

Front Matter

Discourse: The Journal of the SCASD

No abstract provided.


Black Female Athletes’ Use Of Social Media For Activism: An Intersectional And Cyberfeminist Analysis Of U.S. Hammer-Thrower, Gwen Berry's 2019 And 2021 Podium Protests, Ariel Newell Dec 2022

Black Female Athletes’ Use Of Social Media For Activism: An Intersectional And Cyberfeminist Analysis Of U.S. Hammer-Thrower, Gwen Berry's 2019 And 2021 Podium Protests, Ariel Newell

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Much attention has been paid to Black male athlete activism both historically and in the contemporary movement for black lives. Black female athletes have also made historic contributions as activists, and they continue to do so. However, Black female athlete activism has not always been acknowledged or heard. This is a problem, as Black women in American sports and society face overlapping racial and gender inequities and injustices that distinctly marginalize and oppress them. However, some Black female athlete activists (BFAAs) have begun using social media to challenge media narratives about themselves, to redefine what it means to be a …


Misinformation And Disinformation: Detecting Fakes With The Eye And Ai, Victoria Rubin Jun 2022

Misinformation And Disinformation: Detecting Fakes With The Eye And Ai, Victoria Rubin

Data and Test Instruments

How do we detect, deter, and prevent the spread of mis- and disinformationwith the human eye and AI? How does theory inform the practice, and how do theevidence-based research and best practices in lie-catching and truth-seekingprofessions—inform AI? The book looks into well-established human practicessuch as the routines and processes used in detective work, journalism, and scientificinquiry, and how they contribute toward innovative AI solutions. The book explainsthe principles, inner workings, and recent evolution of five types of state-of-the-artAI technologies suitable for curtailing the spread of mis- and disinformation:automated deception detectors, clickbait detectors, satirical fake detectors, rumordebunkers, and computational fact-checking tools.


Because Potato, Candice Evers May 2022

Because Potato, Candice Evers

MFA in Illustration & Visual Culture

This thesis project explores the phenomenological qualities of the internet; asking, since the internet is difficult to grasp, what other modes of investigation might we have available? Using an investigative framework set forth by Jack Halberstam, this thesis declines to come to knowledge solely through understanding the formal, the structural, the highly visible and mainstream. The literature that I have gathered provides a range of modes for interrogating the simultaneously central and inconsequential subject of my thesis itself: the potato. Juxtaposing the physical, political and material conditions of the potato the internet’s least academic mode of knowing: the meme. Analyzing …


The Rhetoric Of Blame: A Rhetorical Framing Analysis Of Othering And Blame In Historical Health Crises, Colin G. Cameron May 2022

The Rhetoric Of Blame: A Rhetorical Framing Analysis Of Othering And Blame In Historical Health Crises, Colin G. Cameron

Master's Theses

The United States’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic was hallmarked by blame rhetoric and fluid social and political expedience. However, the pervasiveness of othering and blame in contemporary pandemic discourse is perhaps consistent with the blame rhetoric of health crises throughout history. Using a rhetorical framing analysis approach, this study aims to explore the various elements of blame rhetoric embedded in newsprint media frames regarding historic infectious disease outbreaks. In doing so, this study investigates three case studies: the San Francisco smallpox outbreak of 1876, the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918, and the AIDS crisis of the 1980s – 1990s. …


Situational Crisis Communication Theory And The British Royal Family, Addison Shaw Apr 2022

Situational Crisis Communication Theory And The British Royal Family, Addison Shaw

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis will analyze the public relations of the British Royal Family as seen through the lens of Timothy Coombs’ Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT). Coombs’ (2007) theory provides a theoretical framework and guidelines for crisis response strategies when organizations experience a crisis. This thesis will particularly evaluate the public relations of the British Royal Family during the aftermath of Princess Diana’s death by examining primary artifacts such as newspaper articles and public statements made by the organization and the public. Furthermore, this thesis fills in the research gap regarding the evolution of the public’s perception of an organization with …


Call For Editor: Volumes 36-38 Mar 2022

Call For Editor: Volumes 36-38

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.


Call For Manuscripts, Brandi N. Frisby Mar 2022

Call For Manuscripts, Brandi N. Frisby

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.


Beyond Basic: Transformational Potential Of Pandemic Pedagogy, Roy Schwartzman Mar 2022

Beyond Basic: Transformational Potential Of Pandemic Pedagogy, Roy Schwartzman

Basic Communication Course Annual

The COVID-19 pandemic presents opportunities to foster resilience as an ongoing process of productively adapting to crises and change. The fundamental communication course can serve a key role in building resilience on several levels: personal (for students and teachers), across courses and communication programs, and community-wide. Lessons learned from the pandemic include judiciously adopting new technological tools, counteracting regressive institutional resilience that resists change, and maximizing inclusivity in course design and delivery.