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Rapport
The Department of Communication
An electronic newsletter for alumni and friends
Volume 5, Number 1
November 2011
In this Issue
Leaning Back with the Chair
Faculty Notebook
Leaning Back with
the Chair
Undergradue Student News
Kenneth N. Cissna
Professor and Chair
Grad Student News
Alumni News & Notes
After spending last
academic year on
leave (mostly at the
cabin my wife Susan
and I have in the
north Georgia
mountains on the
bank of the Cartecay
River), it feels good to
be back in the Chair’s
chair and providing an
News from the Distaff Side:
Elizabeth Bell
Note from the Dean’s Office:
Eric Eisenberg
Notes from the Undergraduate
Director: Lori Roscoe
News from the Graduate
Director: Jane Jorgenson
Undergraduate Advisor Leslie
Tod speaks
Meet the New Faces
-- Chris McRae
-- Manoucheka Celeste
-- Emily Ryalls
Sampling Dissertations
-- Emily Ryalls
-- Julia Barnhill
Ken and Susan enjoying lunch. Photo
by alumna Nina-Jo Moore during a
visit last January
overview of the last
th
year for our 5 edition
of Rapport. I am
especially grateful to
Elizabeth Bell who served so well as Interim Chair during the
year. (more)
Graduate student news
Kristen Blinne & David Purnell
Co-Presidents, Graduate Communication Association
In yet another
exciting year of
graduate school,
we celebrated
completion of
degrees, a new
cohort, marriages,
and, of course,
the connections
we continue to
build. (more)
Contact Us
We want you to establish
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to the distribution list for
biannual issues of Rapport.
Visit Us on the web
Keep in touch with
Alumni Information
New graduate student cohort (from left to
right): Tasha, Megan, Maddie, Toni, Chris,
Blake, Carolyn
Faculty Notebook
Publications, Collaborations & Conferences: It’s All Good!
Mariaelena Bartesaghi traveled near and
far to present papers on Hurricane Katrina
as a disaster of discourse. She presented at
Tampa's ACURIL Conference on Disasters,
and the International Pragmatics Association
in Manchester. Mariaelena also acted as a
faculty mentor for an NSF funded research
experience for undergraduates on hurricane
and other disasters. Her advisees presented
conference papers at top paper panels in
addition to actively publishing this year.
Ambar Basu published his work in Women
& Health, Communication Monographs and
in the newest edition of the Handbook of
Health Communication. He presented at the
Southern States
Communication
Association and the
International
Communication
Association
conferences. He
participated in the
successful
graduations of his
Master’s students, Nicholas Riggs and
Edward diMarco.
Carolyn also presented a day-long graduate
seminar on “Alternative Forms of Qualitative
Research: Narrative Inquiry and
Autoethnographic Writing” as part of a
course, “Interdisciplinary Qualitative
Research” sponsored by Israeli Center for
Qualitative Research of People and
Societies and featuring invited international
scholars specializing in qualitative methods.
Garnet Butchart was invited by the
Jerusalem Film Centre to participate in the
th
Garnet at the 28 Annual Jerusalem
International Film Festival in Israel
Art Bochner’s essay, “Terms of Perfection”
28th Annual Jerusalem International Film
has been accepted for publication by
Festival in Israel. He was invited to speak at
Review of Communication. With Carolyn
the seminar on Documentary Ethics and to
Ellis, Art presented lectures at the Ben
serve as a juror for the Israeli Cinema
Gurion University of the Negev, Be’er
Awards. Garnet’s lecture featured by the
Sheva, Israel in December 2010. Their
seminar was entitled,
individual lectures
“Ethics without Morals for
under the joint
Documentary Filmmaking”.
heading “We Can
This event was hosted in
Tell You Stories:
collaboration with the
Bringing Emotions,
Jerusalem Ethics Center at
Memory Work, and
Mishkenot Sha'ananim,
Evocative Writing into
and Dan Geva, a filmmaker
Qualitative Research”
and media theorist from the
were delivered as an
University of Tel Aviv. For
invited university-wide
the past 27 years, the
lecture sponsored by
Jerusalem Film Festival
the Israeli Center for
has run for 10 days in July
Qualitative Research
attracting cinema lovers
of People and
Art and Carolyn, with their host in Israel,
and film professionals to
Societies. Art and
Chaim Noy
Jerusalem from around
USF Communication Rapport
2
program that includes prestigious local and
international competitions, tributes to worldrenowned film figures, professional panels,
workshops, and more. The Israeli Cinema
Awards, known as the Robert Nissim
Haggiag and Van Leer awards, were
established in 1989 and are today
recognized worldwide as the most
prestigious prizes for Israeli Cinema.
Garnet published his essay, “An Excess of
Signification: Or, What Is an Event?” in
Semiotica. He was also competitively
awarded a USF Research and Development
Grant for his forthcoming book, Philosophy
of Communication, which is now in press.
Ken Cissna received the Applied
Communication Division’s Distinguished
Award for an edited scholarly book at
National Communication Association with
Larry Frey. He was also named the
Founding Editor of the new journal
Qualitative Communication Research
Ken published “Studying Communication,
Confirmation, and Dialogue: In Dialogue with
Maurice Friedman” in K. P. Kramer’s
Dialogically
Speaking: Maurice
Friedman’s
Interdisciplinary
Humanism this
year. Ken also
edited a special
issue of the
Southern
Communication
Journal on
“Qualitative
Research in Communication”.
Ken was elected to another term on USF’s
Faculty Senate and to a term on NCA’s
Legislative Assembly.
Rachel E. Dubrofsky’s book, The
Surveillance of Women on Reality
Television: Watching The Bachelor and The
Bachelorette, was published this year by the
Lexington Books in the Critical Studies in
Television series. Rachel is presently coediting a book entitled Feminist Surveillance
Studies with Shoshana Magnet of University
of Ottawa, which will be a collection of
pieces on feminist surveillance studies.
Rachel also presented at the International
Communication Association conference in
USF Communication Rapport
Boston. She also guided her advisee Emily
Ryalls to successfully defend her
dissertation.
Carolyn Ellis received the Theodore and
Venette Askounes-Ashford Distinguished
Scholar Award by the University of South
Florida.
Carolyn published “Jumping On and Off the
Run Away Train of Success: Stress and
Committed Intensity in an Academic Life” in
Symbolic Interaction. She also received a
summer grant from the USF Humanities
Institute to help defray expenses of her
project: “Surviving the Holocaust: Intimate
Interviewing and Collaborative Witnessing".
Carolyn was the featured speaker at USF,
College of Arts and Sciences Dinner with a
Scholar Series, University Club of Tampa, in
February. She spoke on “Witnessing Stories
of Holocaust Survivors.” Carolyn also
delivered the keynote address at a
conference “Doing Autoethnography Here
and Now” sponsored by the Graduate
Student Communication Association, Wayne
State University. Her talk was entitled,
“Humanizing Social Science Research:
Autoethnography, Reflexive Writing, and
Collaborative Witnessing.” In addition,
Carolyn and Art Bochner gave invited talks
at the University of North Carolina,
Charlotte, sponsored by Communication
Studies Department, Center for Holocaust
Studies, German Department, Center for
Applied Ethics, Academy of Qualitative
Research, and Chancellor’s Diversity Fund.
Carolyn’s talk was entitled “Relational
Witnessing: Memories
of Holocaust
Survivors at the End
of Life,” and Art’s was
entitled “Coming to
Narrative: Method and
Meaning in an
Academic Life.”
Carolyn and Art had a
wonderful summer.
Accompanied by the
department alumnus
Carolyn on top of
Tony Adams, they
Mt. Leconte
once again made it to
the top of Mt. Leconte in the Smokies, a
fourteen-mile roundtrip. They also enjoyed
other hikes with Lisa Tillmann, another
3
alumnus of the department and with their
dogs, Buddha and Zen, as well as tending
their flowers at their North Carolina cabin.
Jane Jorgenson received a CAS Research
and Development grant to continue her
research on work-life issues facing dualcareer couples in the academy. She
presented at an invited workshop with Fred
Steier at the Kurt Lewin Center annual
meeting, Frost, West Virginia.
In summer, Jane and Fred headed west to
Portland, Oregon to attend their younger
son's graduation from Lewis and Clark
College, followed by their trip to Norway to
visit their older son who is in graduate
school there.
Mahuya Pal and co-author Mohan Dutta of
Purdue University published an essay,
“Public Relations in a Global Context:
Postcolonial Thoughts” in Bardhan and
Weaver’s Public Relations in Global Cultural
Contexts. Mahuya joined the editorial board
of Journal of International and Intercultural
Communication, an NCA journal.
She was competitively awarded the CAS
International Travel Grant to continue her
research on transnational labor in the
context of call centers in India.
Fred Steier was a featured speaker at a
conference and public seminar, in Oslo,
Norway in honor of the work of Gregory
Bateson, where he presented a lecture
entitled, “This is Serious Play: Bateson’s
Legacy for Learning Ecologies.” In addition
to the public seminar, there was also a
screening of the film, An Ecology of Mind,
made by Nora Bateson, Gregory Bateson’s
daughter. At the screening, Fred was a
member of a panel of three, with the others
being Nora Bateson and Thomas Hylland
Eriksen, who were invited to interact with the
audience and each other, about the film and
Bateson’s life and legacy.
Fred had also presented a lecture via skype,
“Approaches to Communication,
USF Communication Rapport
Organizational Culture and Change:
Lessons Learned about Knowledge Sharing”
for Dira Dawa University in Ethiopia. The
lecture was part of Dire Dawa University’s
lecture series on organizational
development. Finally, Fred presented a
series of workshops and lectures at
University College, Oslo in Norway once in
October last year and once in May this year.
The overall themes of the workshops were:
Systems Approaches to Action Research.
Fred continues as "scientist-in-residence"
(an honorary position) at MOSI - Tampa's
Museum of Science and Industry. This year
a major project has involved the design of a
community-based IDEA-Zone at MOSI,
linking science, technology and society, and
design thinking. The MOSI team is creating
research opportunities for students
connected to the IDEA-Zone.
4
Graduate Student News (Continued from page 1)
Communication Day - April 8,
2011
This year's Com Day was a huge success.
Kicking off the day was the Speak Out
event, organized by David Steinweg and
Alisha Menzies with Patrick Dillon
emceeing. Six participants from SPC 2608
competed for awards and cash prizes with
Huikyong Pang's student winning the first
place award. A special thanks to the Speak
Out judges: Elizabeth Bell, David Payne,
and Abe Khan.
The Performance Showcase immediately
followed the Speak Out, featuring the talents
of various graduate and undergraduate
participants, giving the full house in CIS
3020 an enjoyable hour of entertainment.
This year’s Grazier lecturer was Dr.
Stephen John Hartnett, from the University
of Colorado at Denver, who presented,
“Prison Stories: Communication, Social
Justice, and Education as Empowerment.”
in Tampa Heights for our annual Com
Prom. Masquerade was this year's theme,
which included some very creative masks.
The building featured a rooftop deck with
breathtaking views of downtown Tampa and
the Hillsborough River. Equally impressive
views were provided within via the lovely
food spread created by Irene von
Waltsleben of Wayl of a Time Catering.
No Com Prom would be complete without
the awards portion of the evening. Students
recognized by the faculty at this year's event
include:
Maddie Southard, who received the
Jennifer L. Pickman Outstanding
Undergraduate Award.
Amanda Hargen, who received the James
E. Popovich Award for Outstanding
Achievement in the Master’s Program.
After the lecture, Libby Jeter and fiancé
Pete Zellmer engaged in a wedding
performance, officiated by Summer
Cunningham, near the Marshall Student
Center. After faculty, staff, and students
rested briefly before the evening’s events,
they headed to the beautiful Beck’s Building
Com Day highlights: Stacy and Liz (below); Amanda,
Rob, Allison, Alisha, Emily and Robyn (right)
Blake Paxton, who received the
Elias J. Nader and Vivian Zrake
Nader Graduate Scholarship in
Communication.
Patrick Dillon, who received the
Barney Downs Spirit Award for
outstanding community spirit and
departmental citizenship.
Emily Ryalls, who received the
Arthur P. Bochner Award for
USF Communication Rapport
5
Outstanding Achievement in Doctoral
Studies.
Congratulations to all the student recipients
who received awards.
Also at Com Prom, the graduate student
community, in cooperation with the
Graduate Communication Association,
presented three awards, which recognized:
Ambar Basu, who received both the faculty
HUB Award as well as the Faculty
Recognition Award.
Kristen Blinne, who received the GCA Peer
Recognition Award.
Jacob Jenkins was selected to attend the
NCA Doctoral Honors Seminar at North
Dakota State University (Fargo, North
Dakota). He also was elected as 2nd Vice
President of the Florida Communication
Association and received the Florida
Communication Association's Student
Research Grant. Additionally, Jacob was
nominated for the Distinguished Young
Alumni Award, Drury Alumni Association,
Drury University (Springfield, Missouri) and
was selected to be an Editorial Board
Member for the Florida Communication
Journal. He also has an essay that is
currently in press, titled "From Paris with
Love: A Case Study for Organizational
Learning," in Casing Organizational
Communication: Applying Theory and
Research to the Modern Organization (J. S.
Wrench, ed.).
The new 2011-2012 GCA executive board
was announced
as well and
Elizabeth Jeter
includes: David
Purnell, Copresented at two
President; Kristen
conferences:
OSCLG (“Virgin
Blinne, CoPresident;
Identity Negotiation
Jennifer Whalen,
through Friendship
Secretary and
Relationships and
GAU
Dialogue”) and
NCA (“Dirty Talk
Representative;
David Jenkins,
Choir”). She also
Events Planner;
organized and
applied for A&S
Nick Riggs, Social
funding for the
Media
GCA and received
Coordinator; and
David Steinweg,
$500 (2010-2011)
continuing as
and $900 (2011Kristen and David with their new GCA crowns
GCA Treasurer.
2012) in student
association money for club activities. In
addition, Libby and Pete Zellmer were
married on October 15, 2011, in
Communicating Scholarship
Greensboro, North Carolina.
& Community
PhD Candidate News:
Meagan Araujo’s paper, “When the Solution
becomes the Problem: Providers’
Assessment of Medical Interpreters in
Clinical Practice,” was selected for
presentation in the "Top 3" panel in the
Health Communication Division at the
Central States Communication Association
convention in Milwaukee.
USF Communication Rapport
Doctoral candidate, David Lee, has
launched Lee Brothers Communications.
He describes his new venture as "a
multipurpose media services company"
specializing in rare records, videos, and
paper artifacts from around the world.
On June 2, 2011, Sarah T. McGhee, a
doctoral candidate, participated in the first
USF Research in Africa Symposium. The
event was co-sponsored by USF's Institute
on Black Life and the Africa Initiatives
Faculty Group. Her presentation, "Sports for
6
Social Change: An Exploration of Two
Soccer Programs in South AfricaContesting Hegemonic Masculinity in the
Context of HIV/AIDS," was based on her
dissertation.
Chris Patti is publishing an article in an
upcoming special issue of Qualitative
Inquiry, edited by
Tony Adams and
Jonathan Wyatt, on
the subject of
father/son
relationships. His
article, "Split
Shadows: Myths of a
Lost Father and Son,"
explores the
relationship among
myth, autoethnography, and family
storytelling.
Allison Weidhaas and her husband Rob
were blessed with a baby, Elise Peyton
Weidhaas, on October 14. Congratulations
to both of you!
PhD Student News:
Kristen Blinne recently published her
essay, "I Rained": On Loving &
(Un)becoming, in the Journal of Loss and
Trauma. She also has two essays in
press: "The House of Glass Noodles" in
Cultural Studies <=>
Critical Methodologies
and "(Re)Storying Illness
Identity: A Five Element
Perspective" in Health
Communication.
Kristen recently
completed the graduate
certificate in Women's
and Gender Studies at
USF. Starting this fall, she has created and
is heading the Innovative Inquiry Salon, a
transdisciplinary graduate student
organization at USF, which will focus on
innovative modes of "doing" pedagogy,
inquiry, and methodology.
Patrick Dillon recently published his essay,
"Assessing the Influence of Patient
Participation in Primary Care Medical
Interviews on Recall of Treatment
USF Communication Rapport
Recommendations," in Health
Communication. He also has three other
publication projects
that are in press,
including:
"UnBalanced: An
Autoethnography of
Fatherhood in
Academe," in
Journal of Family
Communication; a
coauthored
publication with
anthropology faculty
Heide Castañeda, titled, "Assessing the US
Affordable Care Act: Perspectives from
Future Health Care Professionals," in
Practicing Anthropology; a book chapter
with Ambar Basu, titled, "Culture-centered
Health Communication: Addressing
HIV/AIDS in a Worker Community" in
Reducing Health Disparities:
Communication Intervention; and a
coauthored piece in Technology and
Innovation (Special issue on Global
Health). In addition, Patrick was awarded a
"Top Student Paper in Applied
Communication" by the Southern States
Communication Association, and he was a
Health Communication Summer Doctoral
Fellow, which allowed him to attend a
conference that was co-sponsored by the
Cancer Communication Research Center
and the National Cancer Institute. He has
also received a 12-month graduate
research assistantship from USF’s Center
for Hospice, Palliative Care & End-of-Life
Studies to pursue his dissertation project
“African Americans and Hospice Care:
Designing Culture-Centric Health Messages
to Promote Informed Decision Making about
End-of-Life Care.”
Sonia Dimitrova is involved in the activities
of the Bulgarian school in Tampa Bay,
which also serves as her research site. She
donates to the school and also assists in
setting up events. Sonia is currently working
on a paper in which she examines the role
of the school in preserving the ethnic identity
of the children who are enrolled. She
presented her research on the occupational
and social progress of members of the
Bulgarian community in Tampa Bay area at
the 81st annual convention of the Florida
7
Communication Association in Orlando in
October.
Keeper," will be published in a book titled,
Complicated Grief, in 2012.
Shelby Forbes received the Top Paper
award in Disability Studies at the NCA
convention in San Francisco, 2010.
MA Student News
Ardis Hanson co-authored a book chapter,
“Mental Health Informatics” in N. A.
Cummings and W. T. O’Donohue’s
Understanding the Behavioral Healthcare
Crisis: The Promise of Integrated Care and
Diagnostic Reform. Ardis’ other coauthored
book chapters, “Critical Issues in Public
Health”, “Mental Health Services”, and
“Informatics in Health Care” appeared in R.
L. McCarthy, K. M. Schafermeyer, and K. S.
th
Plake’s 5 edition of Introduction to Health
Care Delivery: A Primer for Pharmacists.
Ardis also presented her paper at a Top 4
paper panel in Disability Studies at the NCA
convention in San Francisco.
David Jenkins directed a production of The
Taming of the Shrew in July, which was
based on research and a paper he wrote for
Dr. Elizabeth Bell's class, Sexuality and
Communication, in the spring. For more
information about this show, visit:
http://www.jobsitetheater.org/shows/shrew/a
bout.php. David also has a review of "Satire
+ Dissent" published in the July edition of
Liminalities.
Mark McCarthy discussed the cultural
anxieties represented by zombies in the last
10 years in his paper “Undead Dread:
Zombies and Cultural Anxiety” as part of
Zombies 101, an interdisciplinary panel
featuring USF faculty (and one doctoral
student!) and Busch Gardens Howl-OScream staff.
David Purnell hosted another successful
"Christmas in July" party, which collected
$545 in donations and 60 backpacks of
school supplies for the Kids Charity of
Tampa Bay, Inc. and Friends of the Joshua
House Foundation, Inc. School supplies for
over 3000 children were provided this year
(over 1000 more than last year). As a result
of this party and the support of the
Communication Department at USF, many
abandoned or neglected children will start
the school year with the educational tools
they need. His essay, "My Brother's
USF Communication Rapport
Kari Goetz was named in the top 5 for
Best Speakers by the Tampa Bay Business
Journal's Reader's Poll. Other top five
speakers included Tony Dungy and Pam
Lorio. Kari was most proud of defeating
Mayor Bob Buckhorn, who came in 6th.
Campaign contributions can be made to Kari
in the form of beer. She also led the
Leadership Hillsborough opening retreat
in mid-September. Leadership Hillsborough
is a 20 year-old organization dedicated to
bringing non-profit and governmental
leaders together to discuss the issues facing
the county and the state. This is the second
year Kari has been asked to provide
programs and exercises that demonstrate
strong communication skills and understand
group dynamics.
As of
August,
Megan
Pugh
initiated and
currently sits
as Chair of
the Safe
Zone
Training
Team, a
collection of
prominent
university faculty, staff, and students that cofacilitate the Safe Zone Ally Training,
further expanding the reach and impact of
LGBT education here at USF. She is a
representative on multiple LGBT
committees—including CISOGI, which
rallies for advocacy, support, and university
policy changes to benefit all lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender USF faculty, staff,
and students. She also sits as the advisor
for two student organizations. This past
January, she began the GLN, the Graduate
LGBTQA Network, the premiere allinclusive graduate student organization to
provide LGBT and Ally education,
professional development, networking, and
community outreach.
8
In addition to serving as the GCA
Secretary, Jennifer Whalen has also been
selected to serve as the department liaison
to the GAU as well as the Public Relations
Officer for that organization.
Megan Wood's co-authored article (with M.
D. E. Meyer and A. Fallah), "Gender, Media
& Madness: Contemporary Scholarship on a
Rhetoric of
Women in Crisis
Through
Foucauldian
Theory," was
published by the
Review of
Communication.
It will be reviewed
on the weekly
podcast, "The Critical Lede." For more
information visit:
http://www.thecriticallede.com
In Other News
Our graduate students have been actively
participating, presenting, reviewing and
chairing panels at conferences around the
country, including: NCA, ICA, QI, OSCLG,
and SSCA.
Emily Ryalls successfully defended her
dissertation, The Culture of Mean: Gender,
Race, and Class in Mediated Images of
Girls’ Bullying and was appointed Visiting
Assistant Professor by the Department of
Communication at USF.
Julia Barnhill successfully defended her
dissertation, Giving Meaning to Grief: The
Role of Rituals and Stories in Coping with
Sudden Family Loss.
Beverly McClay Borawski successfully
defended her doctoral dissertation, The
Construction of Adversarial Growth in the
Wake of a Hurricane.
(PhD), Nick Riggs (PhD), Blake Paxton
(PhD), Heather Curry (PhD), Ariadne
Miranda (PhD), Megan Wood (MA), Maddie
Southard (MA), Toni Powell-Young (MA),
Chris Holcom (MA), and Carolyn Day (PhDadmitted in the Spring).
Appointments
Antoine Hardy is now teaching at Saginaw
Valley State University; Carly Geiseler is
with York University; Sanford Betz
accepted a position with Polk State College;
and Tori Lockler accepted a position with
USF’s Department of Religious Studies,
joining 2010 alumna Sara Dykins Callahan
(Department of Humanities and Cultural
Studies) as Communication Department
alumni teaching in other departments in the
College of Arts and Sciences at USF.
2nd Annual Communication
Picnic
On October 8, 2011, approximately 40
graduate students and faculty gathered at
the USF Riverfront Park for our 2nd Annual
Communication Picnic. Picnic participants
enjoyed the lovely fall weather by flying kites
and playing bocce ball, frisbee, and
horseshoes. We had a bountiful selection of
food offerings, provided by the USF Student
Government. David Purnell, our GCA grill
master supreme, worked tirelessly to ensure
that everyone enjoyed grilled veggie
burgers, burgers, cheeseburgers, and
hotdogs.
The Com Picnic was the site of our 5th
Guac Off competition, featuring three
amazing entries: Joey Bartell, Damien
Contessa (Sociology), and Tasha
Rennels. Returning Guac Off 4 Champion,
Joey Bartell, was crowned the Guac Off 5
winner. Congrats to Joey! Thanks to
Brian Johnston successfully defended his
dissertation, Constructing Alternative
Christian Identities: An Ethnography of
Jesus People USA’s Cornerstone Festival.
We also welcomed a new cohort of graduate
students this fall, including: Tasha Rennels
USF Communication Rapport
The Guac Off brigade: (L-R) Tasha, Joey
and Damien
9
everyone who helped to judge the event as
well as to Damien and Tasha for competing!
The Communication picnic was also well
attended by a whole host of furry friends
from our extended Com family, including:
Cricket (David Purnell & Steve Johns), Jack
(Amanda Firestone & Michael Rowland),
Leo (Damien Contessa), Zasha (Carolyn
Day), Chipper (Megan Wood), and Pongo
(Tasha and Matt Rennels).
The GCA would like to offer a huge thank
you to everyone who came out and
supported this event. Those of you who
were unable to participate were missed!
Second Annual Com Picnic:
Nick and Megan (top left);
Manoucheka and Chris (Top
right); the picnic-ers (above);
Dave and Ken (left)
USF Communication Rapport
10
Undergraduate student news
Communication major Lindsey Lamar has
been selected as USF's Northwestern
Mutual Academic Student-Athlete of the
Month in September. In his spare time, he
also plays a little football, starring as a wide
receiver, running back, and kickoff returner
for the USF football team.
Communication majors Christine Bellido,
Jesse Chalupsky, Vicki D’Angelo, Kelly
Freeland, Lisa Spinazola, and Michael
Warren received recognition on the Dean’s
List for College of Arts and Sciences for the
Summer 2011 semester. Congratulations all!
Two Communication
majors, Marcus Graham
and Kristen Slusser, were
half of the four
undergraduate students
that USF took to London
for USF’s European
Exposition, a showcase of
the university’s
internationally-leading
programs. Arts and
Sciences Dean and
Communication professor,
Eric Eisenberg, reported
Marcus (top) and
from London: “It was an
Kristen
exceptional session with
about 60 prospective students and their
families here in Central London. Marcus and
Kristen spoke with such warmth and
authority about their experiences. I could not
have been prouder of them. Thought you
would want to know!!
USF Communication Rapport
Although majoring in Chemistry, Honors
College student Crystal Tenn, with the
guidance of her faculty mentor, Mariaelena
Bartesaghi, presented her Undergraduate
Research project, “Searching for my Sister,”
at the Undergraduate Research Symposium.
Jane Jorgenson served as the second
reader on her thesis.
Communication major Richard (Kyle)
Castello was selected to participate in the
Eleventh Annual Public Policy and
Leadership Conference (PPLC) at Harvard
University’s John F. Kennedy School of
Government (February 17-20, 2011).
Richard joined forty other students who were
invited to attend the three-day conference.
The conference was designed to provide an
introduction to the field of public policy and
included a series of distinguished speakers,
policy workshops, and exposure to possible
public service careers. Richard is enrolled
for undergraduate research hours through
the Honors College with Postdoctoral
Scholar Karen Greiner. His research
project explores incarceration and drugrelated judicial policy.
11
Alumni News and Notes
Tony Adams (PhD 2008)
published his book, Narrating
the Closet: An Autoethnography
of Same-Sex Attraction (Left
Coast Press).
Deborah Austin (PhD 1998),
Director of Outreach and
Communication for ReachUp, a
nonprofit organization in
Hillsborough County that
advocates for and mobilizes
resources to help communities achieve
equality in healthcare and positive health for
families, reports that she is truly entrenched
in public health. “I love taking what I learned
and continue to learn from my
communication studies to forge diverse
partnerships necessary to protect and
improve the public’s health.” She’s also very
busy. She says, “I just left the American
th
Public Health Association’s 139 annual
meeting, am headed to PolicyLink’s Equity
Summit in Detroit next week and then
heading to the CDC for a meeting of the
Racial and Ethnic Health Disparity Action
Institute the following week.” Whew!
Julia Barnhill (PhD 2011) has accepted a
health educator position as an assistant
professor at Tulane School of Medicine in
New Orleans where she will be working with
the faculty and residents of the
anesthesiology department to create a
communication element for their program.
Gary Carson (PhD 2008) has left
Coastal Carolina University to return to
New Port Richey and a position
teaching speech at the Brooksville
campus of Pasco-Hernando Community
College.
Cris Davis (PhD 2005) co-authored a
book Straight Talk about
Communication Research Methods and
published an article “Marital Adjustment
and Stability Following Traumatic Brain
Injury: A Pilot Qualitative Analysis of Spouse
Perspectives” in Journal of Head Trauma
Rehabilitation.
Liz Edgecomb (PhD 2010) assumed a
position as Assistant Professor at Xavier
University of Louisiana.
Laura Ellingson (PhD 2001), associate
professor of Communication and Women’s
and Gender Studies at Santa Clara
University, published book chapters
“Analysis and Representation across the
th
Continuum” in Denzin and Lincoln’s 4
edition of the Sage Handbook of Qualitative
Research and an essay entitled, “The
Poetics of Professionalism among Dialysis
Technicians” in Health Communication.
Another essay co-authored by Laura
entitled, “Constructing Mythic Identity and
Culture: A Performance and Critique of The
Ethnogs,” appeared in Qualitative Inquiry.
Beverly McClay Borawski (PhD 2011) was
one of the 25 participants selected for the
2011 Summer Weather and Society
Integrated Studies national workshop
sponsored by the National Center for
Atmospheric Research (Societal Impacts
Program). Her participation in the workshop
is based on her recently defended
dissertation, The Construction of Adversarial
Growth in the Wake of a Hurricane.
Elizabeth Curry (PhD 2005) moved recently
and is now Associate Dean of the Library
and Learning Commons at the Florida State
College in Jacksonville.
USF Communication Rapport
Larry Flegle (BA 1975) has worked with a
number of AM and FM radio stations and
became co-owner of WBTG-FM in Sheffield,
AL. Today, he is an instructor for American
12
Public University System and runs classic
rock (Internet) Radio for American Military
University in Charles Town, West Virginia;
the Internet radio for the National
Sportscasters and Sportswriters
Association; and the Hall of Fame and
Cowboy Gospel Radio (Internet). In
addition, he is on the air Monday through
Friday as an afternoon weathercaster for 25
over-the-air radio stations around the US on
the Radio Forecast Network.
Brian Johnston (PhD 2011) is now
teaching in the Communication Department
at Indiana State University.
Keith Macksey (MA 1981) lives in Holly
Springs, North Carolina where he works as
an Engagement Leader for Convergency
Partners out of Kirkland, Washington. Since
1981, he has led transformation and
leadership building teams, directed training
and development groups, and facilitated
groups both large and small as they worked
to align personal and professional goals and
strategies. He has designed, launched and
administered leadership development
programs for Walt Disney World, Hard Rock
Café International, and leading retailers.
More recently, Keith was responsible for the
launch and ongoing development of
employee engagement for a Fortune 300
retailer.
Penny Phillips (MA 1999) retired from USF
on September 1, 2011 after nearly 28 years
with the university. She held a number of
positions within Human Resources, serving
as an Employee Relations Consultant for the
past 14 years. She received USF's
prestigious Outstanding Staff Award in 1992
and again in 2005. When she was a student
USF Communication Rapport
in the Department,
she received the
James E. Popovich
Award in
recognition of her
outstanding
achievement in the
master's program.
She hopes that
retirement will
afford her more
time to pursue her
interest in writing.
Leanne Pupchek
(PhD 1998), associate professor in the
Knight School of Communication at Queens
University of Charlotte, has been selected
as a Fulbright Scholar for 2011-12. She will
be living in the Ukraine and teaching at the
Ukrainian Catholic and Franko National
universities.
Rachel Silverman (PhD 2010) is currently
an assistant professor at Embry–Riddle
Aeronautical University at Daytona Beach,
Florida.
Lisa Tillmann (PhD 1998) was promoted to
full professor at Rollins College. She
received the Hugh and Jeannette McKean
Faculty Research Award ($15,000), and had
her film Off the Menu screened at the 2011
Global Peace Film Festival.
Jillian Tullis (PhD 2009) is an assistant
professor at the University of North Carolina,
Charlotte. Jillian received a $6000 Faculty
Research Grant from the university to study
communication during tumor board meetings
at a cancer center.
13
News from the Distaff Side
Elizabeth Bell
Professor of Communication and
Chair, Department of Women’s and
Gender Studies
and students—played a huge part in making
me the feminist scholar and teacher that I
am. Chairing this department is not only an
honor but a way to return all the favors the
department did for me.
Now that I’ve been in the position for six
For readers unfamiliar with the phrase in the
weeks, people ask me how it’s going and
headline, “Distaff Side” is the female line or
what I’m doing. In a nutshell, I love it. Also in
maternal branch of a family. Wikipedia tells
a nutshell, I’ve been doing everything.
me, “This term developed in the EnglishCurriculum
speaking
reform. SACs
communities
assessment.
where a
Budget.
distaff
Scheduling.
spinning tool
Website. Travel.
was used
Search. Cleaning
often to
up, throwing out,
symbolize
painting, and
domestic
ating. The most
life.” For
fun was painting
readers
over the horrid
unfamiliar
Pepto-Bismol pink
with my new
conference room,
Kim
Golombisky,
Michelle
Hughes
Miller,
Elizabeth
Bell,
and
domestic (and
and then ordering
Megan
Pugh
(GLBTQ
Advisor),
in
a
line
up
under
three
professional)
and installing
famous
quotations
life, this fall I
twelve famous
began a four-year term as chair of the
feminist quotations on the walls. It took us
Department of Women’s and Gender
30 minutes to “install” each one, but the
Studies at USF.
impact is terrific. The words serve to remind
all of us—our graduate classes are held in
Moving from Communication after 23 years
this room—of the shoulders we stand on
to chair WGS was a long-thought and heartevery day.
felt decision, but as I told my colleagues, “I
am not leaving, and I’m not dead. I’m just
Because we’re tiny (with two full-time
across campus in a new office with a new
faculty, two jointly-appointed faculty, one
phone number and a new webpage.”
MOU for teaching faculty, and one half-time
office manager), Kim and I are responsible
I accepted the position for three reasons.
for much of the invisible labor that in most
First, I was ready for the challenge of
departments is performed by staff. Here’s a
administration, and last year’s term as
story about invisible labor I’ve been telling
Interim Chair in Communication gave me the
lately.
confidence that I could do the job. Second,
Kim Golombisky (PhD 2000) joined me in
A nobleman in Great Britain hired a new
WGS, moving from Mass Communication,
butler. The second morning of his
and Kim is now serving as our Graduate
employment, the nobleman appeared on the
Director. We do get the occasional giggles
stairwell, waving his toothbrush. “It won’t
about being “in charge,” but I’d be hard
foam! It won’t foam!” he shouted. The
pressed to rebuild this department without
nobleman didn’t know that his previous
her, her tremendous work ethic, and her
butler put the toothpaste on his toothbrush
constant good sense and good humor.
every morning. The nobleman thought it
Third, it was a great way to “pay it forward.”
“foamed” on its own.
Women’s Studies at USF—its past faculty
USF Communication Rapport
14
So Kim and I have had many “It’s not
foaming” moments! We now fill out forms to
mail a letter; certify payroll every two weeks
so everyone gets paid; and we both
completed on-line training to use USF credit
cards and in-put data in Banner. We’ve
developed an incredible admiration for staff
and all the ways they make faculty lives
easier.
We’ve also been working hard with our new
colleagues (Diane Price-Herndl, English and
WGS; Michelle Hughes Hiller, Sociology and
WGS; Sara Crawley, Sociology with a MOU
to teach for WGS) to recruit affiliate faculty
and reinvigorate the Graduate Certificate
Program. Check out the amazing work of
these women at our website and news of
our recent events at http://wgs.usf.edu.
My connections with Communication run
deep, and I’m still advising my PhD students
and serving on PhD committees. I’ll soon be
offering graduate classes in WGS that
feature feminism and performance. And I’m
taking terrible advantage of the teaching of
Communication faculty—Emily Ryalls and
Manoucheka Celeste, especially—to crosslist classes with WGS. Ken Cissna has
learned to run the other way when he sees
me coming. Then again, he taught me very,
very well.
The Communication Graduate Student
Organization hosted an interdepartmental
picnic (Communication, WGS, and
Sociology), and I’m looking forward to
participating in more cross-fertilization—
affiliations, cross-listed classes, pedagogy
colloquia, and more.
In the olden days, I signed my emails,
“cheers.” These days it’s more often, “and
miles to go before I sleep.” But the miles are
joyful ones, and the journey’s a delight. I’m
not gone, and I’m not dead. I’m just across
campus.
Note from the Dean’s office
Eric M. Eisenberg
Professor of Communication and
Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
It’s been almost four years since I left the
supportive intellectual environment of the
Department of Communication for the
Dean’s Office. It was a hard decision to
move because I love the department and
feel that we have built a truly unique
community wherein faculty and students
alike feel comfortable taking scholarly risks
in the interest of creative breakthroughs.
We are known for this throughout the
discipline and my professional identity is
very much tied to this approach to our work.
At the same time, my interest in
organizational communication, culture, and
leadership made this opportunity pretty
much irresistible. I wondered: Would I be
able to apply all of the things I have learned
about communication, collaboration, and
effective organizing to an enormous college
with over 400 faculty, 23 departments and
17,000 students? Would I know enough
about 22 other fields of study to earn their
faculty’s respect for me as a leader?
As it turns out, a background in
organizational communication and
leadership is pretty much the perfect
preparation for academic administration. As
Dean of the College, each day is like a miniresearch project during which I can test what
I know about human relationships and
human organizing for the benefit of the
students, faculty, university and community.
So while I definitely miss teaching and
having more time to write, I feel that I am
contributing to the success and well-being of
a broader community through my
USF Communication Rapport
Dean Eisenberg at a USF commencement
ceremony
administrative work. I encourage others of
you who have these interests to pursue
similar chances as they become available to
you.
And by all means, stop by and see me in
Cooper Hall 107. While I must now of
course advocate for all departments in the
College, my intellectual and emotional home
is and always will be in our superb
Department of Communication.
16
Notes from the Undergraduate
Director
Lori Roscoe
Assistant Professor
I was delighted to be asked to serve as the
Department’s Director of Undergraduate
Studies
beginning in
August. I
inherited a
curriculum
and program
in fine form,
thanks to the
great work of
my
predecessor,
Dr. Elizabeth
Bell, who is
now the
Department
Chair of
Women’s and
Gender
Studies at
USF.
(L-R) Eric, Lori and Rocky celebrate
I am also
the faculty
advisor to Lamda Pi Eta, our local chapter of
the National Communication Honors
Society, which was formerly under the
expert guidance of Dr. Marielena
Bartesaghi. We are in the process of
reviewing applications for this year’s
inductees. One of my goals for the coming
USF Communication Rapport
year is to strengthen our Honors Program in
Communication, and I have been working
with our talented and award-winning
Academic Advisor, Leslie Tod, to identify
qualified students. Honors students
complete a one semester directed readings
course with a faculty member, and then
work
closely with
their faculty
advisor to
develop
and write a
thesis the
following
semester.
The College
of Arts and
Sciences is
divided into
three
schools (the
School of
Humanities,
the School
of Social
Sciences,
and the
School of Natural Sciences and
Mathematics) and I will also be representing
the School of Humanities on the College’s
Undergraduate Committee. This will provide
an excellent opportunity for me to learn
more about how I can improve the success
and experience of our undergraduate
students.
17
News from the Graduate Director
Jane Jorgenson
Associate Professor
First, I want to give a huge welcome to the
students who are joining our Master’s and
Doctoral programs this fall. It’s been
delightful meeting them and also getting to
know our wonderful returning students
better.
This first two months as graduate director
has been an adrenaline-pumping
experience. I’m learning a lot quickly,
especially about recruiting and admissions,
and what a team effort those are. With help
from Kristen Blinne, the GCA and our
faculty, I’m hoping we’ll make a splash at
this year’s NCA Graduate School Open
House in New Orleans.
I’ve also enjoyed working with the GCA as
they plan several professional development
activities for our students this fall. And I’m
thrilled to announce a visit by Mary
Catherine Bateson to our department next
February. Dr. Bateson is an anthropologist
and the author of several books, including
With a Daughter’s Eye: A Memoir of
USF Communication Rapport
Jane in her office
Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson and
most recently, Composing a Further Life:
The Age of Active Wisdom (Knopf, 2010). In
addition to giving a large lecture, she will
also spend time in our department, meeting
with faculty and students.
Until then, I’m looking forward to getting
better acquainted with everyone. Please
stop by my office to chat about your work
and your interests, or just to say hello.
18
From the desk of the Undergraduate
Advisor
Leslie Tod
This year started strong with new student
orientation and getting geared up to teach
my favorite courses, Public Speaking and
Family Communication! Our student
recruitment efforts have been extremely
interesting as I am now meeting potential
students who were friends of my son’s from
grade school. I am certainly gaining a new
perspective on advising and dealing with
parents, as I engage in a similar process
with my own son.
Last spring I presented at the regional
advising conference in Birmingham, AL with
Dr Christie Rinck on how advisors can better
utilize national data to inform their advising.
This encouraged me to submit a paper
proposal for the national advising
conference (NACADA) in Denver, CO. The
proposal was accepted, and I presented my
paper last month, “Happy Advising:
Applying Choice Theory to Academic
Advising.” This presentation is based on a
variety of case studies to help advisors
reflect on creating more positive climates for
students to engage in advising.
I look forward to another year working in the
department with our wonderful
USF Communication Rapport
undergraduates, faculty, GTAs and staff. I
have been in the advising office for 7 years
and I am proud to say I finally rearranged
my desk and office. That’s right – the first
time in 7 years!
19
Meet the New Faces
Chris McRae: New Instructor
‘I am always playing and listening for that next opportunity’
By Emily Ryalls
On any given weeknight four
years ago, you might walk into a
restaurant or bar in the Tampa
Bay area and hear the sounds of
Chris McRae playing the trumpet
with a variety of different bands.
During the day, you would
probably find him involved and
engaging in conversations with
students at USF in the
Department of Communication.
However, four years ago, Chris left Tampa
to work on his doctorate in Speech
Communication at Southern Illinois
University Carbondale. This year, he
returns, with PhD in hand, to the Department
of Communication at USF, where he earned
both his B.A. and M.A.
Chris was initially hesitant about moving to
Carbondale. “It’s a smaller town than I was
accustomed to, and, unlike Tampa, they
actually have winter up there. I saw snow for
the first time in my life four years ago! But I
grew to appreciate Carbondale, and the cold
weather motivated me to write.” During his
time in Carbondale, Chris continued to
pursue his musical interests by joining a
band with two philosophy professors from
the university. Chris explains, “We played
covers of the Grateful Dead, the Band, and
Merle Haggard. In between songs it wasn’t
uncommon for heated discussions about the
finer points of American Pragmatism to take
place. It was a good learning experience.”
In addition to playing music, Chris’s primary
research interests center on questions of
music performance in relation to the study of
performance, culture, and pedagogy. His
dissertation, Hearing Miles Davis: A
Pedagogy of Autobiographical Performance
and Jazz, considers the communicative
implications of the music performance and
autobiography of trumpet player Miles Davis.
Chris explains, “I wrote and staged an
USF Communication Rapport
autobiographical performance at SIU
titled Miles Away from ‘The Cool’, in
which I presented my autobiographical
and musical reading of the
autobiography of trumpet player Miles
Davis, Miles.” In his dissertation Chris
uses his performance to develop his
argument for what he calls a relational
ethic of listening. He says, “I am
interested in how, as listeners, we
might be positioned as students to the
other, working to ethically account for
and learn from the cultural, historical,
and embodied differences of the other.”
This relational ethic of listening is something
Chris strives to enact in his teaching and
interactions with his students. He is currently
teaching undergraduate courses in
performance studies at USF, including
sections of Introduction to Communication
as Performance and Writing for
Performance. In his teaching he values
experiential and critical approaches to
education. He explains, “I am especially
excited to be teaching courses here at USF
in performance studies because these
classes provide such great opportunities for
students to engage with questions about
communication, culture, and aesthetics in an
embodied and critical way. I’m looking
forward to extending these opportunities for
students through the development of an
undergraduate performance troupe.”
On how he feels about returning to USF,
Chris said, “I learned so much in the last
four years, and one of the most important
lessons I learned was how valuable my time
at USF had been as a student. Coming back
as a faculty member is an amazing
opportunity. I feel lucky to be back here
teaching and working alongside such a
smart and supportive group of scholars.” I
asked Chris if and where we could hear is
next musical performance. He said, “I’m
always playing, but right now I’m still
listening for that next opportunity.”
20
Manoucheka Celeste: New Post-Doctoral Scholar
House Hunters, Border Wars and fantasy hobbies
Manoucheka Celeste joins us
as a Postdoctoral Scholar
from the University of
Washington. A native of Haiti,
she also attended the
University of Florida where
she studied Journalism and
later Mass Communications.
Although she left Florida
years ago, Manoucheka
enjoys rediscovering it and
spending time with her friends
and family. “I appreciate being
on this campus and feeling
that my work and ideas are
supported,” she said.
Manoucheka’s research is located in Media
Studies and Cultural Studies. She is
interested in how media represents
difference, particularly as it relates to social
and legal citizenship. She is currently
working on a chapter of a manuscript that
looks at the Caribbean immigration
experience, the negotiation of blackness in
the United States, and the role that media
play in how Black immigrants see
themselves. “There is an active Caribbean
community here with generations of
immigrants and their stories are helping me
to further think through the multiple identities
that we are constantly negotiating,
sometimes simultaneously,” she said. Her
other current project is the analysis of the
HGTV show House Hunters International,
where she looks at the lack of immigration
discourse, the framing of the re-discovery of
Latin America and the Caribbean by home
buyers, and the representations of the
“local”. “The interesting thing about this
show is that it makes it possible to not think
about the immigration process because it is
packaged as leisurely, but when considered
with a show like Border Wars, which focuses
on the criminality of immigration, then the
question of why are some immigrants
framed as criminals while others are framed
as ideal global citizens becomes important
to consider.
With the Border Wars website there are
interactive games that visitors can play
where they can be border patrol
agents, which adds another
dimension of structuring and
interpreting difference,” she said.
When asked what drives her work,
Manoucheka said, “I wake up every
day excited about the possibilities.
Imagining that our social world can
be different keeps me in a positive
place.” Manoucheka is currently
teaching Critical Studies in Popular
Culture, what she calls her favorite
teaching experience so far. “One of
the jobs of the critical scholar is to
ask questions which can sometimes
be uncomfortable, but the students in my
class have been up for the challenge. I often
leave class re-invigorated,” she said.
Manoucheka will teach “Global Woman of
Color” in spring 2012 as a graduate seminar.
She is a founder of the Women of Color
Collective at the University of Washington
and has a Graduate Certificate in Women,
Gender and Sexuality Studies where she
studied transnational feminisms.
Manoucheka has been an active member of
Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc., since 2000
and has done the bulk of her community
service work through this organization. She
has held multiple positions in this
organization including president and
treasurer and brought a chapter of the
organization to the University of Washington
campus. She said she is looking forward to
finding communities locally with whom she
can continue her passion for mentoring
young people.
Manoucheka will participate as a panelist at
the Florida Educational Fund, Inc TwentySeven Annual McKnight Doctoral Fellowship
conference. Outside of research, teaching,
and community work, Manoucheka said she
is still in search of the perfect hobby. “I
spend a lot time traveling and visiting with
friends and family. I fantasize about hobbies
like sewing and rock climbing, but so far
these remain fantasies,” she said. She likes
music, reading and quality time on an
elliptical.
Emily Ryalls: New Visiting Assistant Professor
“It’s wild!”
By Chris McRae
When I sat down to interview Emily for her
new faculty profile in this year’s newsletter,
she was still reeling from the recent
successful defense of her dissertation, The
Culture of Mean: Gender, Race, and Class
in Mediated Images of Girls’ Bullying. “For
four years it seemed as though all I thought
about was my dissertation and graduation,”
Emily explained. “Two months ago, I ended
my time as a student at USF, and now here I
am as a faculty member. It’s wild!”
Emily’s research areas are feminist media
studies, cultural studies, and youth studies.
In her work, she explores the ways power
and oppression can be normalized and
made mundane through popular forms of
media. In particular, her work looks at the
interconnected issues of gender, race, and
class. Emily has devoted her scholarship
and teaching to topics that relate to
adolescents, a group she feels is woefully
understudied.
As an undergraduate at James Madison
University, Emily’s interest in communication
studies was piqued when she took a public
speaking class. She declared her major as
communication and never looked back. It
wasn’t until she enrolled in the master’s
program at the University of Alabama that
Emily took her first cultural studies course.
She was always a pop culture junkie. “Each
day of summer vacation, I would walk down
to the video store to rent movies. My family
thought I was destined to be a film critic. I
guess they were right.”
As much as Emily enjoyed popular culture,
she was also troubled by the images and
storylines that she felt were damaging to
girls and women. An assignment for her
cultural studies class helped to illuminate
why this was: “I was writing a response to
Janice Radway’s Reading the Romance.
Although I had never read many romance
books, I was an
active consumer
of soap operas.
As I was writing,
I began to
remember a
particular story
line in which one
of the female
characters was
raped by a man
whom she later
fell in love with
and married.
What really
resonated for
me was that for
years I thought
this was a
romantic
storyline. I like
to think of this as my a-ha moment.”
When Emily began her Ph.D. program at
USF, she knew that she wanted to study
representations of adolescents in popular
culture. Emily notes that the faculty in the
department were completely open to where
she saw her scholarship going. “From the
moment I started at USF, I felt both
challenged and supported by the amazing
professors who became my mentors.”
When I ask Emily if she had any concerns
about accepting a one-year position in the
department from which she received her
degree, she hesitates, “Of course I had
some worries, but they have all been put to
rest. I am thrilled to be a member of a
department that cares so much for the
success of its students. I know that having
this year to expand my teaching repertoire
and to focus on getting a permanent job is a
rare gift. My goal is to pay it back by
teaching thought-provoking courses for the
USF students and by securing a great job.”
Next year, Emily hopes, we will read about
her in the “Alumni News and Notes” section
of this newsletter.
Sampling Dissertations
The Culture of Mean: Gender, Race, and Class in
Mediated Images of Girls’ Bullying
Emily Ryalls
Cultural anxieties about bullying have
become commonplace in popular press
books, films, television programming, and
news media. These concerns are reflected
in anti-bullying legislation, the criminalization
of bullying tactics, and a White House
conference on preventing bullying in
schools.
In my dissertation, I accessed contemporary
social concerns about female aggression
through analyses of representations of girls’
bullying in popular culture. I
examined ideas about bullying,
gender, race, and class through
images of “mean girls” (White
girls who employ bullying tactics
to maintain their elite social
positions).
Although the popular mean girl
may be a familiar trope, I limited
my analysis to texts released
after 2002 because in this year
Rosalind Wiseman’s book
Queen Bees & Wannabes and
Rachel Simmons’s book Odd
Girl Out claimed to document a
hidden aspect of girl culture
where bullying and female
aggression run rampant and unchecked.
These books and their authors received
significant mainstream attention. Wiseman’s
Queen Bees & Wannabes landed on the
New York Times best-seller list and was the
basis for the film Mean Girls (2004).
Simmons’s Odd Girl Out also climbed the
New York Times best-seller list and was the
basis for the 2005 Lifetime movie of the
same name.
The image of the “mean girl” developed in
these popular books, as well as in
entertainment and news media, is
predicated on the idea that popular girls are
USF Communication Rapport
protecting and cultivating the power
associated with their elite status in
increasingly duplicitous and cruel ways.
Specifically, mean girls are framed as using
indirect aggression, a covert form of
aggression, also referred to as “relational” or
“social” aggression, which includes a series
of actions aimed at destroying other girls’
relationships, causing their victims to feel
marginalized. The bullying tactics associated
with indirect aggression include gossiping,
stealing friends, and not talking to someone.
I argue that media accounts of
girls’ bullying equate girls’ verbal
actions with the physical violence
more often linked to boys’
bullying. In doing so, boys are
removed from accounts of girls’
bullying and the “threat” of female
aggression is exacerbated.
My method was primarily textual
analysis of popular media
featuring mean girls (for example,
television shows such as Gossip
Girl and films like Mean Girls), as
well as national news coverage of
the case of Phoebe Prince who
reportedly committed suicide
after being bullied by girls from
her school. Drawing from critical feminist
scholarship, my work explored how media
accounts about girls’ bullying reproduce
societal anxieties about a female culture of
aggression. My central argument is that the
popular mean girl discourse frames girls’
problems as emanating from girls
themselves (constructing girls as inherently
mean), concomitantly individualizing the
solution (girls need to learn to be nicer). This
way of framing the issues thwarts any
discussion of the structural determinants
that might be implicated in images of girls’
bullying, while simultaneously ignoring
material differences among girls.
23
Giving Meaning to Grief: The Role of
Rituals and Stories in Coping with Sudden
Family Loss
Julia Barnhill
In this dissertation, I sought to
understand the sensemaking
process among surviving family
members after a tragic loss of a
teenage or young adult child. Using
social constructionism (Gergen,
1991) as a theoretical framework, I
focused on how meanings of loss
are constructed through the use of
language and other symbols. I
specifically looked at the role of
family stories and rituals in making
sense of the sudden loss as well as
how a survivor’s role as a
sibling or parent may
impact the grieving
process. The participants
in my research were all
members of families in
which a child had died
unexpectedly in
adolescence or young
adulthood. I combined
multiple in-depth interviews
with parents and siblings in
each family with episodes
of participant-observation.
Then I used inductive
thematic analysis to examine the
patterns of ritualizing in each family,
and a process of narrative analysis
focusing on the accounts of three
siblings and two parents in order to
explore how survivors structure their
experience in stories.
found that survivors, in sharing with
me the stories of sudden loss,
worked to construct storylines that
tie events together by showing how
they are meaningfully, and
sometimes causally, connected. In
addition, the stories showed how
survivors “find benefit” by reframing
painful events as positive and
growthful.
Throughout my analysis of rituals
and stories, I looked for similarities
or differences between the
siblings’ and parents’
experiences. One insight to
emerge from the study was
that bereavement is a very
individual event, and the
resulting differences in
expressions and degrees of
grief among different family
members can put a strain
on the family system.
Another key theme that
emerged was the protective
stance taken by surviving
siblings towards their
parents after the death of a brother
or sister, which sometimes involved
minimizing the display of their own
emotions. In this sense, the siblings
seem to have experienced what the
literature has called “prohibited
mourning.” By contrast, parental
grief seems to be more socially
acknowledged.
Rituals and
artifacts play a
significant role
in assisting
family
members in
coping with
bereavement
I found that rituals and artifacts play
a significant role in assisting family
members in coping with
bereavement. Even though previous
family rituals and traditions are
disrupted by the death, families find
ways of creating and enacting new
rituals. The invention and adoption
of new rituals seems to serve an
important role in “successful”
grieving as a way of sustaining
bonds with lost loved ones. I also
This study holds potential benefits
for those scholars interested in
bereavement as a meaning-making
process as well as the effects on the
family system. Therapists who treat
families might find the insights these
participants contribute to be helpful
in creating ways to communicate
with their clients.
Leaning Back with the Chair (from page 1)
Comings and Goings
Indeed, Elizabeth functioned so well as
Chair that Eric Eisenberg, who continues
as Dean of the College of Arts of Sciences,
appointed her the new chair of the
Department of Women’s and Gender
Studies. She remains Professor of
Communication and continues working with
graduate students here. Read about Eric’s
and Elizabeth’s musings in their columns.
We also lost Stacy Holman Jones to
California State University at Northridge.
We all wish her well.
Liz Edgecomb, who spent last year with us
as a visiting assistant professor, has left for
New Orleans and a position as Assistant
Stacy with Blake at her going-away party
Professor of Communication at Xavier
University of Louisiana.
The departures of Bell and Holman Jones
left us without Directors of Undergraduate
and Graduate Studies. Lori Roscoe agreed
to take on the position of Undergraduate
Director, and Jane Jorgenson has
assumed the role of Graduate Director.
As much as we miss our departed
colleagues, we welcome new ones. Chris
McRae has re-joined us as an instructor.
Chris received his BA and MA degrees here
and then went to Southern Illinois University,
Carbondale for his PhD. He has returned to
teach courses in performance studies.
Emily Ryalls (PhD 2011), one of our recent
graduates, has joined us for a year as a
visiting assistant professor. Read about
Emily and her dissertation in our Snapshots
section.
And we hit the jackpot in the
Provost/Graduate Schools program to
recruit Postdoctoral Scholars in the social
sciences and humanities, landing two of the
six new postdoctoral scholars.
Manoucheka Celeste comes to us from the
University of Washington where she
received her PhD. Her dissertation
examines how media construct ideal citizens
through an understanding of the immigrant
experience and movement across
boundaries in intercultural settings. She’s
teaching a selected topics class on Critical
Studies in Popular Culture, and next
semester will offer a graduate class co-listed
with the Departments of Africana Studies
and Women’s and Gender Studies, Global
Women of Color. In addition, David Morris
received his PhD in May 2010 in
Communication Studies from the University
of Iowa. To accept this position at USF, he
had to return from Japan where he had been
on a fellowship at Tokyo University of the
Arts, working on turning his dissertation, an
ethnographic study of the impact of the
African Diaspora on Japan, into a book. He
is teaching Analyzing Media and Culture this
Fall. They join two second-year post docs in
the department, Karen Greiner and
Carolina Webber.
This year, not only are we in the hunt for
another cohort of post doctoral scholars,
again within the general theme of “Global
Change in a Dynamic World,” but we have
been authorized to conduct two searches for
tenure track colleagues. First, we are
searching for a senior scholar who does
interpretive/ethnographic/qualitative
work in one or more areas of interpersonal,
family, health, organizational, global, or
applied communication. We are also
seeking an assistant professor who does
interpretive/critical/qualitative work in one
of the same areas or in media. More
information about each of these positions is
available from the department website:
http://www.communication.usf.edu . We
hope all our alumni and friends will help us
find these future colleagues.
Department Events
We had two
major lectures
this year.
Steven
Hartnett of the
University of
Colorado
Denver
delivered this
year's annual,
endowed
Grazier
Lecture, which
was titled
“Prison Stories: Communication, Social
Justice, and Education as Empowerment.”
He shared some of the lessons he learned
through his years of teaching creative
writing, public speaking, and other college
classes and arts workshops in prisons and
jails in Colorado, Texas, and around the
country and highlighted the importance of
communication as a tool of empowerment
and engagement.
Following the success
of Laura Ellingson’s
inaugural lecture a
year ago, the faculty
selected Emmett
Winn, Associate
Professor of
Communication and
Vice Provost at
Auburn University, to
deliver the
Department’s 2011
Distinguished
Alumni Lecture. Titled “The
Communication of Racist Ideologies in
USDA Documentaries,” his talk was based
on his latest book, soon to be released,
Documenting Racism: African Americans in
U.S. Department of Agriculture Films
(Continuum Press).
Colorado, Boulder recently spoke on "The
Collaborative Turn in the Human Studies:
The Place of Difference and Generative
Dialogue.” He also talked with the students
in Ken Cissna’s doctoral seminar on
dialogue.
Awards and Kudos
Our only new book this year is Rachel
Dubrofsky's, The Surveillance of Women
on Reality Television: Watching the
Bachelor and the Bachelorette, which is part
of Rowman & Littlefield's Critical Studies in
Television
series,
edited by
Mark
Andrejevic.
Abe Khan
and Garnet
Butchart
both have
books in
press with
the
University
Press of
Mississippi
and MIT
Press,
respectively. And, of course, the faculty and
graduate students continued to be active in
publishing scholarly articles and book
chapters.
Carolyn Ellis was selected USF’s
Theodore and Venette-Askounes
Distinguished Scholar for 2011. This
award is made annually at USF to faculty
members whose careers have brought them
(and USF) national distinction.
Jane Jorgenson, Garnet Butchart, and
Mahuya Pal received Faculty Research and
Development Grants from the College of
Arts and Sciences in support their research.
Jorgenson’s grant supported data analysis
for her study of reputational issues among
trailing academic spouses. Butchart’s grant
allowed the translation of a chapter of his
co-edited volume Philosophy of
Communication that is being published by
MIT Press. Pal’s grant supported her travel
In addition, Stan Deetz of the University of
USF Communication Rapport
26
to Kolkata, India to conduct interviews with
call center employees there.
Cissna was named the founding editor
Qualitative Communication Research, a new
journal by Left Coast Press. In addition, Art
Bochner and Carolyn Ellis continue editing
their book series, “Writing Lives:
Ethnographic Narratives,” also with Left
Coast Press, and Michael LeVan continues
editing the online performance studies
journal Liminalities.”
Student and Alumni Success
Ambar Basu received the prestigious
Janice Hocker Rushing Early Career
Research Award, which was presented by
Cris Davis (PhD 2005), chair of the Rushing
Award Committee and herself the recipient
of the Rushing Award in 2008. The award
honors SSCA members who have
demonstrated exceptional scholarly ability
through research and publication early in
their academic careers. Besides Davis,
other USF doctoral alumni who have won
the Rushing Award include Michael
Arrington (2004), now at University of
Kentucky and Elissa Foster (2007), now at
LeHigh Valley Medical Center.
Lori Roscoe and Ambar Basu won the
Provost’s Outstanding Undergraduate
Teaching Awards in recognition of their
outstanding work in their undergraduate
classrooms, two of only six awards given
this year in the College of Arts and
Sciences.
Anne Copeland, Academic Program
Specialist working primarily with the
undergraduate program and manager of the
front office, was honored with the
Performance Bonus Program Award,
which recognizes staff members within the
College for their extraordinary achievement
in the workplace. Only 15 staff were
recognized.
Two faculty accepted new editing
assignments this year. Ambar Basu was
named co-editor of a new book series,
“Critical Cultural Studies in Global Health
Communication” by Left Coast Press. Ken
USF Communication Rapport
Our undergraduate program continues to be
strong. Navita Cummings James is offering
the new Communication Senior Capstone
course for the first time. Undergraduate
Director Lori Roscoe and Advisor Leslie
Tod are recruiting students for the
department’s Honors program. Leslie just
returned from Denver where she presented
her paper “Happy Advising: Applying
Choice Theory to Academic Advising” to a
standing-room-only audience of 100+ at the
convention of the National Academic
Advising Association. Way to go, Leslie!
We had four doctoral students successfully
defend their dissertations again this year:
Emily Ryalls defended her dissertation, The
Culture of Mean: Gender, Race, and Class
in Mediated Images of Girls’ Bullying and is
serving as visiting assistant professor of
communication at USF.
Julia Barnhill defended her dissertation,
Giving Meaning to Grief: The Role of Rituals
and Stories in Coping with Sudden Family
Loss, and is off to a position as a Health
Educator and assistant professor in the
Tulane School of Medicine in New Orleans
where she works with faculty and residents
of the anesthesiology department to create a
communication element for their program.
It was a busy day in late March when both
Beverly McClay Borawski and Brian
Johnston successfully defended
dissertations. McClay Borawski’s was titled
The Construction of Adversarial Growth in
the Wake of a Hurricane. She continues her
position as an Associate Professor at Pasco
Hernando Community College. Johnston’s
dissertation was titled Constructing
Alternative Christian Identities: An
Ethnography of Jesus People USA’s
Cornerstone Festival. He joined the
27
Communication faculty at Indiana State
University.
Several students,
although not done
with their
dissertations,
couldn’t resist the
lure of fulltime
employment.
Antoine Hardy is
now with Saginaw
Valley State
University; Carly
Geiseler is with
Doctoral alumni books
York University;
Sanford Betz accepted a position with Polk
State College; and Tori Lockler accepted a
position with USF’s Department of Religious
Studies, joining 2010 alumna Sara Dykins
Callahan (now with the Department of
Humanities and Cultural Studies) as
Communication Department alumni teaching
in other departments in the College of Arts
and Sciences at USF.
alumni. This year, Tony Adams published
Narrating
the Closet:
An
Autoethnog
raphy of
Same-Sex
Attraction
(Left Coast
Press,
2011),
Laura
Ellingson
published
Aunting:
Cultural Practices that Sustain Family and
Community Life (Baylor University Press,
2010; with Patrician Sotirin); and Bouziane
Zaid published Public Service Television
Policy and National Development in
Morocco: Contents, Production, and
Audiences (VDM Verlag Dr. Müller, 2010).
One current student and another recent
alumna were selected to participate in
prestigious interdisciplinary summer
seminars. Patrick Dillon was selected one
of 15 participants for the 2011 Health
Communication Doctoral Fellows Seminar,
sponsored by the Cancer Communication
Research Center and the National Cancer
Institute. Beverly McClay Borawski (PhD
2011) was selected as one of 25 participants
for the 2011 Summer Weather and
Society*Integrated Studies national
workshop sponsored by the National Center
for Atmospheric Research (Societal Impacts
Program).
All in all, it has been another very good year
in the department, with important
contributions in research, teaching, and
service from many quarters. I hope you
th
enjoy the 5 edition of Rapport. With
Elizabeth Bell assuming the position of
Chair of Women’s and Gender Studies, we
are grateful to Mahuya Pal and Ambar
Basu for agreeing to assume the editorship
of Rapport. During the year, please check
out the news section of our Web site
(http://communication.usf.edu/news/), which
Michael LeVan populates with more good
news than we can fit here. Also, please
consider “friending” or “liking” the
Department on Facebook
(www.facebook.com/USFCommunication).
Our alumni have been particularly
productive this year, helping to fill in very
nicely the shelf in the departmental
showcase devoted to the books of our
We hope you’ll be able to join us for USF’s
NCA party on Thursday evening (see invite
below) at the Crescent City Brewhouse.
USF Communication Rapport
28
NCA Party Invitation: Print this page, carry it to convention, and
join us at Crescent City Brewhouse.
Party with the USF Bulls
USF Communication Rapport
29