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Scholarship rolls on from the School of Communication’s graduate and post-graduate students and from faculty despite the cancellation of conferences because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Initially scheduled from April 14 to April 19, 2020, the annual Central States Communication Association (CSCA) Conference was to be held in Chicago. A virtual conference for at least some of the program is under consideration for later this year.
What is important is that 25 COM researchers submitted research to this year’s CSCA Convention. Many faculty members were on the program to present research papers, on competitive panels, act as respondents, and serve as chairs during the conference as well as to dialogue with other faculty and students of communication from the midwestern states.
CSCA also recognized the novel scholarship of eight of the 25 SoC scholars for their important works and contribution to research in the communication discipline. The following lists the awards:
Awards for CSCA Convention Outstanding Contributions
- Top Paper Award, Sports Communication Interest Group—Joe Blaney
- Top Paper Award, Political Communication Interest Group—Megan Hopper, John Huxford, and Ekaterina Rybakova
- Top Paper Award, Media Studies Interest Group—Divine Narkotey Aboagye
- Top Online/Hybrid G.I.F.T. Activity Award, G.I.F.T. Interest Group—Lauren Bratslavsky
- Top Paper Award, Communication Education Interest Group—Steve Hunt and Chad Woolard
- Melissa Beall Award, Basic Course Interest Group—Nhung Vu, Divine Narkotey Aboagye, Steve Hunt, John Hooker, and Cheri Simonds
- Top Panel Award, Argumentation & Forensics Interest Group—Justin Stanley, Cimmiaron Alvarez
CSCA’s annual event is one of the major communication conferences of the year, and COM faculty encourages and supports their graduate students to submit their work to present their research and receive feedback from other communication researchers studying and teaching in the Midwest. The following is a listing of the accepted papers, panels, and presentations from COM scholars, including the day and time they would have been presented. Note that some scholars have more than one contribution.
CSCA presentations by graduate faculty and current master’s and doctoral Students listed as author, presenter, or respondent on CSCA program
Faculty
Dr. John Baldwin
“(Re)shaping Borders and Boundaries Through Critical Pedagogy and Mentoring”
9:30-10:45 a.m., Saturday, April 18
Dr. Joseph Blaney
“Testing the Compensation Strategy: Relationships between tuition Increases, Image Repair, and College Sports”
9:30-10:45 a.m., Thursday, April 16
Dr. Lauren Bratslavsky
Identifying How Ideology Operates and the Perpetuation of Stereotypes – TOP Online/Hybrid G.I.F.T. Activity
12:30-1:45 p.m., Saturday, April 18
Dr. Ashley Hall
Spotlight: “Racism, Communication Studies, and the Future of CSCA”
12:30-1:45 p.m., Thursday, April 16
Spotlight: “Navigating Racism within Your Department “
8-9:15 a.m., Saturday, April 18
Dr. John Hooker
“Exploring Internationalizing the Basic Course: Crossing Borders and Making Breakthroughs- Melissa Beall Top Competitive Panel Award”
8-9:15 a.m., Friday, April 17
Dr. Megan Hopper
Training Journalism Students in a Post-Truth Era
11 a.m.-12:15 p.m., Thursday, April 16
“Construction of the Trump/Putin Presidential Summit by the U.S. and Russian Press: A Comparative Analysis”
3:30-4:45 p.m., Thursday, April 16
Dr. Stephen Hunt
“Central States Communication Association Committee Vice Chair Award Meeting”
3:30-4:45 p.m., Thursday, April 16
“Exploring Internationalizing the Basic Course: Crossing Borders and Making Breakthroughs- Melissa Beall Top Competitive Panel Award”
8-9:15 a.m., Friday, April 17
“Teaching Ain’t What It Used to Be:” Borders, Breakthroughs, and Adjustments
3:30-4:45 p.m, Saturday, April 18
“Incorporating Political Engagement in the Basic Course: An Examination of the Effects of Participation in a Political Research Action Project on Students’ Perceived Relevance, Efficacy, Political Understanding, and Political Engagement Skills”
3:30 -4:45 p.m., Saturday, April 18
Dr. John Huxford
“Training Journalism Students in a Post-Truth Era”
11 a.m.-12:15 p.m., Thursday, April 16
“Construction of the Trump/Putin Presidential Summit by the U.S. and Russian Press: A Comparative Analysis”
3:30-4:45 p.m., Thursday, April 16
Dr. Lance Lippert
“Break on Through: Training & Development Strategies to Transcend Boundaries”
9:30-10:45 a.m., Friday, April 17
“Health Communication Division Spotlight Panel: Breakthroughs in Mental Health Research”
4:30-5:45 p.m., Friday, April 17
Dr. Kevin Meyer
“Interrogating the MA Program Climate: Identifying the Borders and Strategizing for the Future”
8-9:15 a.m., Friday, April 17
Dr. Aimee Miller-Ott
“A Translational Approach toward Research on Aggression in Interpersonal Relationships”
9:30 -10:45 a.m., Thursday, April 16
“Health Communication Division Spotlight Panel: Breakthroughs in Mental Health Research”
4:30-5:45 p.m. , Friday, April 17
Dr. Cheri Simonds
“Breaking through the Glass Ceiling: Perspectives on Basic Course Administration and Leadership”
9:30-10:45 a.m., Thursday, April 16
“Basic Course Interest Group: Top Competitive Papers”
12:30-1:45 p.m., Thursday, April 16
“Exploring Internationalizing the Basic Course: Crossing Borders and Making Breakthroughs- Melissa Beall Top Competitive Panel Award”
Dr. Chad Woolard
“Incorporating Political Engagement in the Basic Course: An Examination of the Effects of Participation in a Political Research Action Project on Students’ Perceived Relevance, Efficacy, Political Understanding, and Political Engagement Skills”
Dr. Joseph Zompetti
“It’s the Economy, Stupid!”: Rhetorical Reflections on Class and Common Sense”
Master’s & Doctoral Students
Cimmiaron Alvarez
“But I Was Only Joking: Sexual Harassment as Bullying During Adolescents”
9:30 -10:45 a.m., Thursday, April 16
“Who to Tell: Communication Privacy Management and Self-Disclosure of Sexual Victimization within the Collegiate Forensics Community”
11:00am-12:15 p.m., Thursday, April 16
“Beyond the Post: Examining #MeToo Narratives”
9:30-10:45 a.m., Saturday, April 18
Amy Crumbaugh
“Writing for Equality: Postfeminism, Literacy, and Zines”
11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m., Thursday, April 16
Lisa DeWeert
“Relational Aggression: Aggression: A Guide for Parents”
9:30-10:45 a.m., Thursday, April 16
Similar but Different-ly Abled: An Autoethnographic Account for Navigating Disability as Both a Personal and Shared Community Identity
8-9:15 a.m. Friday, April 17
“Examining Societal and Cultural Borders Around Difficult Topics in Parent-Child Communication, and the Impacts on Personal Identity and Family Dynamics “
11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m., Friday, April 17
Samantha Dunn
Instructional Resources Interest Group: Business Meeting
12:30-1:45 p.m., Thursday, April 16
Central States Communication Association 2021 Program Planners Meeting
7 -7:45 a.m., Saturday, April 18
“Communication Education Interest Group: Business Meeting”
12:00pm-1:45 p.m., Saturday, April 18
Alex Kritselis
“Surviving the Creativity vs. Consistency Dichotomy in the Basic Course”
3:30-4:45 p.m., Saturday, April 18
Mallorie Latora
“#Lovatics: A Thematic Analysis of Parasocial Interactions Directed at Demi Lovato through Twitter”
11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m., Thursday, April 16
Duy Pham
“Pokémon Let’s Go and Player Satisfaction: Applying Transmedia Storytelling into Let’s Go’s Interaction with Pokémon Go to Access the Narrative”
5-6:15 p.m., Thursday, April 16
Nicholas Raes
“Using Technology as both Borders and Breakthroughs in the Basic Course”
8-9:15 a.m., Saturday, April 18
Nhung Vu
“Healthy Workplace Project”
9:30-10:45 a.m., Thursday, April 16
“Exploring Internationalizing the Basic Course: Crossing Borders and Making Breakthroughs- Melissa Beal Top Competitive Panel Award”
8:00-9:15 a.m., Friday, April 17
Jared Worwood
“I Don’t Want to Have a Weird Relationship With You, so I’m Trying”: Relational turning Points and Trajectories of Ex-LDS Children and Their Active LDS Parents
11 a.m.-12:15 p.m., Thursday, April 16
Divine Narkotey Aboagye
“It Ain’t Easy Being a Woman in Popular Culture: From Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Demi Lovato to Wanda Sykes and Cecily Strong”
11 a.m. - 12:15 p.m., Thursday, April 16. Role: Chair
“Exploring Internationalizing the Basic Course: Crossing Borders and Making Breakthroughs – Melissa Beall Top Competitive Panel Award”
8 - 9:15 a.m., Friday, April 17
“Unearthing Obama from Plato’s Cave: A Critical Rhetorical Deconstruction of Media Representation of the ‘First African American President’ (Top Paper Award, Media Studies Division)”
4:30 - 5:45 p.m. , Friday, April 17
“Healthcare Beyond the Borders: Challenges of African Immigrants in Accessing U.S. Healthcare Services”
2-3:15 p.m., Saturday, April 18
