Department of Communication Studies UNL

Check out some of the AMAZING student work! Sam Rojewski gave permission to share their final submission for COMM 355 class: Digital and Computer-Mediate IFH Communication.
One part of the final project was to create a digital storybook around a family communication issue, and to present a clear narrative, with character development, a relevant story, and taught a lesson to the child/family reading the story. Each story needed to be grounded in findings from family communication literature.

Click here to read the entire digital storybook:
https://www.storyjumper.com/book/read/171091461

Check out some of the AMAZING student work! Nich Bennetts gave permission to share their final submission for COMM 355 class: Digital and Computer-Mediate IFH Communication.
One part of the final project was to create a digital storybook around a family communication issue, and to present a clear narrative, with character development, a relevant story, and taught a lesson to the child/family reading the story. Each story needed to be grounded in findings from family communication literature.

Click here to read the entire digital storybook:
https://www.storyjumper.com/book/read/171287441/662c39bac06fc

Check out some of the AMAZING student work! Clara Kokjer gave permission to share their final submission for COMM 355 class: Digital and Computer-Mediate IFH Communication.
One part of the final project was to create a digital storybook around a family communication issue, and to present a clear narrative, with character development, a relevant story, and taught a lesson to the child/family reading the story. Each story needed to be grounded in findings from family communication literature.

Click here to read the entire digital storybook:
https://www.storyjumper.com/book/read/171416411/664cc7ea5ed11

Congratulations to Carol Tschampl-Diesing, who has won the Indiana University Indianapolis Sandra Petronio Communication Privacy Management Dissertation Fellowship. This fellowship is named for the creator of the theory guiding Carol’s doctoral dissertation research.

2024 BRUCE KENDALL TEACHING AWARD WINNER:

Congratulations Cassidy Emmerich!

This Bruce Kendall Teaching award is given to an instructor who not only does well in the classroom but goes beyond the classroom walls to advise, mentor and support students. Cassidy received multiple nominations for this award for her efforts in and outside of the classroom: “Cassidy Emmerich has received outstanding feedback each semester from her students and consistently shows genuine care for her students. She's also done an incredible job adapting to her new class preps and her role as Comm Center director, and despite all her responsibilities, she never fails to be generous with offering her time to students and even other instructors who seek her advice about managing their own classes.”

2024 BRUCE KENDALL TEACHING AWARD WINNER:

Congratulations Haley Decker!

This Bruce Kendall Teaching award is given to a graduate student who not only does well in the classroom but goes beyond the classroom walls to advise, mentor and support students. Multiple nominations for her award were made by undergraduate students, graduate students, or faculty in the department. From one of her nominators: “Haley deserves credit for the way she supports her students on every front. From the feedback she gives them to the thoughtful ways she responds to them to the time and effort she puts into every single lesson plan, Haley's purposeful care for her students can be observed at every level both in and outside of the classroom. She has been a committed, humble instructor and the service she's given to the department and to her students is definitely worth recognizing.”

2024 WILLIAM J. SEILER OUTSTANDING UNDERGRADUATE LEADERSHIP AWARD WINNER:

Congratulations Elizabeth Herbin!

Named for Bill Seiler, who led the department as Chair for 21 years, this award honors an undergraduate student who has demonstrated excellent leadership. “Not only does she demonstrate leadership in the classroom setting in the ways she thoughtfully engages with course material, her peers, and her professors, but she will now be carrying these qualities forward as she steps into ASUN leadership for the university at large! It is an honor to have her representing us in that capacity and I want her to know that her department sees and celebrates that service.”

2024 UNDERGRADUATE SCHOLARLY EXCELLENCE AWARD WINNER:

Congratulations Haley Gosch!

This award represents excellence in scholarly activities and/or achievements by an undergraduate student. “Put simply, through the high quality of her assignments, engagement in classes, and care and concern for the learning environment, Haley makes our classes a better experience for students and instructors.”

2024 GRADUATE STUDENT LEADERSHIP AWARD WINNERS:

Congratulations to Dakota Sandras and Cassidy Taladay-Carter!

Dakota and Cassidy were nominated by their graduate student peers for their mentorship, support, professional development, efforts to develop community for fellow students, and advocacy for student concerns.

2024 OUTSTANDING GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH AWARD WINNER:

Congratulations Cassidy Taladay-Carter!

This award honors graduate students who excel in their scholarly endeavors evidenced by productivity, innovation, and/or impact. “In this year alone, she has produced numerous impressive works that are both solo- and co-authored. In addition to her already prolific publication record, she carries her commitment to her area of expertise into both the department, the local community, and the discipline at large. She absolutely deserves this recognition!”

2024 OUTSTANDING GRADUATE STUDENT TEACHING AWARD WINNER:

Congratulations Hannah Smith!

This award honors graduate students who excel in the classroom as evidenced by teaching effectiveness, variety of courses taught, innovative teaching methods, and/or mentorship of undergraduate students. As one of her many nominators states, “Hannah continually goes above and beyond for her students and other GTA's. Whether it is taking classes for other GTA's who can't be there or taking the extra time to explaining a concept that a student might be misunderstanding, Hannah approaches teaching with compassion and consideration.”

2024 UNDERGRADUATE COMMUNITY IMPACT AWARD WINNER:

Congratulations Emma Cavalier!

This award honors undergraduate Communication Studies majors whose work and activities has had a positive and significant impact on the community. As one of her nominators states, “Emma impacts her community in relationship to the causes she joins, the messages she chooses for her class projects and her speeches on the Speech & Debate team. Emma puts action behind her ideas.”

Congratulations to undergraduatestudent groups in COMM220 on completing their Community Voices projects amplifying voices and experiences of global communities in Lincoln.

Professor Casey Kelly was selected as the next editor of the Quarterly Journal of Speech (2026-2028), the flagship journal for rhetorical studies in the National Communication Association.

Dr. Kathy Castle has been promoted to Professor of Practice! She will be honored at UNL's Promotion and Tenure Celebration on Tuesday, May 7. Congratulations on this well-deserved accomplishment, Kathy!!

Dr. Justin Kirk has been promoted to Associate Professor of Practice! He will be honored at UNL's Promotion and Tenure Celebration on Tuesday, May 7. Congratulations on this well-deserved accomplishment, Justin!!

The need to participate in decision-making and deliberation in a diverse and democratic society requires that citizens learn crucial argumentation and research skills to stay informed. Every citizen, regardless of income, faith, race, station in life, or background, will have opportunities to engage in discussions about the future of our society. COMM 212 - Introduction to Debate offers specialized training in research, critical thinking, argument building, judgement, and analysis. Debate offers citizens “equipment for living,” as Kenneth Burke said, it does not offer the easy answers to any of the complex problems facing human society. What it does is offer humans are the communicative tools we need to overcome collective problems and engage in sustained dialogue about the future.
At the end of this course, students should be able to: Develop, research, and present a case in support of and in opposition to a specific policy; Develop question and answer skills during cross examination; Refute and rebut central arguments in a debate; Identify and avoid fallacious reasoning in competitive debates.

Fall 2024 Sections Available: Tu/Th - 9:30-10:45, Tu/Th - 11:00am-12:15pm, MWF - 12:30 - 1:20pm

COMM 209 - Public Speaking, is a skills development course that is focused on training undergraduate students in public speaking. During this course students will learn to: create messages appropriate to the audience, purpose, and context in a public speaking situation, analyze public speaking situation, locate and use information relevant to the speaking situation, and present messages to an audience of diverse peers. In addition to the speaking elements of the course, students will also receive instruction in critical analysis and will learn to critically analyze persuasive messages from other speakers and their own messages developed in the course.

Reminder!

Join us tomorrow (Thursday May 2nd, 2024) from 3:30-5:00 at the Heritage Room in the Nebraska Union for Dr. Srividya Ramasubramanian's Distinguished Lecture!

Dr. Kathy Castle's new fall course, COMM 392 Special Topics: The Empathy Project, innovatively uses Human Library Organization - a group of volunteer experts - and is the first university course in the U.S. to do so!

go.unl.edu/fmo9

Nebraska College of Arts and Sciences

Our amazing Cornhusker Speech & Debate Team placed in the top 10 in the nation at the National Speech Tournament, National Debate Tournament, and Interstate Oratory Tournament! Congratulations to them 🏆👏

go.unl.edu/hso4

Nebraska College of Arts and Sciences University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Congratulations to doctoral candidates, Courtney Dreyer and Dakota Sandras , on the publication of their article, "The Godly Girlboss," in the latest special issue on influencers in the Journal of Celebrity Studies.

In this piece, they look at the social media discourse of micro-celebrities in the world of multi-level marketing to analyze how messages of religion, beauty, wealth, and wellness intersect not only to help sell products, but also to engender political investments in a specific white, Christian, feminine lifestyle and ideology.

You can read the article at https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/TVE8BABY5CJ6ZVAKTCNT/full/10.1080/19392397.2024.2341600

UNL Department of Communication Studies is honored to have Dr. Srividya Ramasubramanian (she/her) present a Distinguished Lecture on Thursday May 2nd, 2024 from 3:30-5:00 in the Heritage Room, Nebraska Union.

Dr. Srividya Ramasubramanian (she/her) is Newhouse Professor & Endowed Chair at Syracuse University. She is the Director of CODE^SHIFT, an ICA Fellow, and editor-in-chief of Communication Monographs.

Talk Abstract:
Against the backdrop of rising global inequalities, misinformation, right-wing authoritarianism, white supremacist incursions, and climate crisis, this talk will discuss the role of data and quantitative approaches to communication from a critical lens. It argues that communication plays a central role in humanizing data, bridging methodological divides between social sciences and humanities, and creating pathways to find solutions to some of the most urgent social issues of our times.

4.30pm-5.00pm, Book Signing for Book Titled "Quantitative Research Methods in Communication: The Power of Numbers for Social Justice"

Each year, the Department of Communication Studies honors faculty, instructors, and undergraduate majors for their extraordinary accomplishments. We are now soliciting nominations from UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS for some of the awards, and we need your help! Please nominate professors, instructors, undergraduate students, or yourself for the awards for which they or you quality. To learn about the awards and make your nominations, please click on the link below. Please make your nominations by April 17th.

https://unlcorexmuw.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3JAfLeK43pcMdym

Looking for summer classes? Sign up for COM 471: The Dark Side of Interpersonal Communication. Online asynchronous course June 10-July 12, 2024. Get a better dive into the destructive and dysfunctional sides of interpersonal communication.

Congratulations to Sam Spethman, Communication Studies major, who successfully defended their CAS Honors Thesis - "Asserting Individuality in a Futuristic Dystopia: A Critical Analysis of 'Dirty Computer.'" The thesis was advised by Dr. Justin Kirk and Cassidy Emmerich of the Communication Studies department.

Join the Communication Studies Department for a Colloquium Presentation titled: Communication, Identity, & Difference: Personal & Social Dynamics of Multiethnic-Racial Identity presented by Dr. Jordan Soliz.

Wednesday April 17th at 11:30am in LPH 124.

Emerita Willa Cather Professor, Dr. Dawn O. Braithwaite, is being inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Central States Communication Association.

Meg Carney receives the inaugural Bill and Kathi Seiler Undergraduate Scholarship. Congratulations to Meg and thank you for your leadership and academic excellence in Communication Studies!