Harrison Connect – Connecting to Life on the Quad

April 20, 2017woocw No Comments

SCOM Celebrating Open Oceans of Opportunity

A party by students for students and faculty?

Sounds like fun—and, yes, it will be!

Each and every April, JMU’s School of Communication Studies hosts an annual dinner where SCOM students, faculty, family, and friends get together to gaze back and ahead. The event includes great food, numerous awards, plenty of celebration and, of course, a dash of education.

Last year’s SCOM dinner. The theme was “the world is waiting for you.”

Eric Fife, Director of the School of Communications, agrees saying, “it’s a wonderful event, and a great way to celebrate a successful year.”

That’s certainly the case this spring. Planning began in January, and has been a time of high anticipation for the student planners, seniors Karan Deengar (’17) and Ian Francisco (’17).

Deengar, a highly organized and detail-oriented individual, chose to plan this event because he wanted to learn.

“This dinner is one of the biggest events within SCOM and I wanted to be a part of the process to learn all about what makes it such a special event for all those involved,” Deengar says.

This year’s theme, “Open Oceans of Opportunity” reflects the many paths to success within communication studies.

Francisco, the creative brains behind the dinner, chose to take part in the event because he wanted this year’s event to be the best one yet.

“My last year in SCOM, or at JMU in general wouldn’t be enough if I didn’t become involved in a big way” the senior says.

Ian Francisco and Karan Deengar have planned the event and sold tickets.

“This was my way to give back to my major and wrap things up as a student here!”

Both students found the planning process enlightening and educational as they learned the importance of having a good partner.

“The success of any two business partners or colleagues is directly reliant on the synergy between the two people,” said Francisco, “I learned this right away as Karan kept catching things I was missing, and I was doing the same to him.”

This year, the event falls on Tuesday, April 25 and will be held in the Madison Union Ballroom. It’s a special time to unwind, listen to live entertainment and enjoy a lovely meal with faculty and students alike.

Most importantly, the evening will feature various awards. For students, recognition will be given to individuals within their chosen concentration and student organizations in SCOM. The best lecturer award, the best professor award and the distinguished alumni award will be presented as well.

Fife noted his excitement surrounding the event saying “Every aspect of the community is represented, which I think is fantastic. If I could find a way to do so, I’d make it an even larger event.”

Both Francisco and Deengar agree they hope the night will be a time for everyone to “take it all in one last night before finals and entering the real world, I know it will be for me” said Deengar.

Melissa Swan, an SCOM major following plans for the event, is also excited. “It’s sure to be a great time,” she says. “After all, who knows how to throw a party better than JMU students?”

February 27, 2017woocw No Comments

How do you teach students to use critical thinking to solve real world problems?

By Matthew Boling (’18)

Dr. Michael Broderick, an assistant professor in JMU’s School of Communication Studies, uses monstrous, magical puppets to teach his students how to develop out-of-the box techniques to address complex social issues and challenges. Students create puppets to address such diverse topics as the similarities between art and science or the predator and prey in society.

But, as in real life, there are no directions or boundaries for this assignment. Broderick’s students are on their own from the moment they are divided into work groups until their final presentations at the end of the semester.

Before then, students spend weeks brainstorming how to articulate and give social issues understandable shape and form.

Puppet with JMU JAC Cards, tuition checks, textbooks and supplies, room and board, and meal plans.

For example, one group brought the predator student debt to life. To express themselves as prey to student debt, students covered the puppets with JMU JAC Cards, tuition checks, textbooks and supplies, room and board, and meal plans.

This innovative approach to teaching SCOM 123, group presentations, is as effective as it is ingenious. But it’s not original with Broderick.

He first got the idea from an event in Athens, Ohio where artists are invited from across the country to construct similar puppets for a four-day parade leading into Halloween.

At first glance, the puppets may seem meaningless, but they prompt both critical and divergent thinking, helping students prepare for the real world.

Critical thinking is essential to successfully solve today’s workplace dilemmas. Divergent thinking is the creative aspect of this combination.

Made famous by Albert Einstein, divergent thinking involves taking a simple concept or object and using imagination to identify new and potential uses.

In Broderick’s class, much like the workplace, his students are given a project with no direction and must come up with a solution, as well as the rationale for their creation and its style, and meaning.

Student grades are based on a portfolio created throughout the entire semester.

Dr. Brodrick with puppets that his students made.

The portfolio contains visual artifacts of everything during the semester: receipts from purchases, pictures taken during the process, sketches of the puppet, text messages within the group, emails, and anything else that was used during the creation of the project.

Broderick then he assesses the quality of the puppet, the inspiration and rationale for the group’s creation, and how well the team can justify their choices and meaning behind the puppet.

Since he does not teach an art class, the craftsmanship of the puppet is not important to Broderick. However, he can tell when a group fails to invest themselves in designing and creating the puppets—and grades accordingly.

Yes, Broderick’s method is abstract, ingenious, and enhances students’ critical thinking skills as they prepare for life after college.

And it starts with puppets.

Do you want to know more about Dr. Broderick’s class and puppet project? Please contact him at broderml@jmu.edu.

February 15, 2017woocw No Comments

Building History: JMU’s First Bateman Teams

By Hope Gallagher (’17)

When JMU students go head-to-head in a national competition, two things happen: great work and great experience.

Before the judges even look at the entries, this makes the prestigious Bateman Case Study Competition a win-win for the JMU Chapter of Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) members.

The Bateman competition is an annual, nationwide campaign that began in 2011. They ask teams of four or five students to create full public relations campaigns through research, strategy development, implementation, and evaluation.

And for the first time in program history, SCOM students are competing. Because one team would be too predictable, two teams from PRSSA are entered in the 2016-2017 competition.

The top three teams receive monetary prizes, and get to pitch their idea in-person to the judges.

The winner’s campaign becomes the inspiration for a real-life campaign by Bateman competition. It’s an incredible opportunity, and not one to be taken lightly.

The competition begins today. Read more Building History: JMU’s First Bateman Teams

February 4, 2017woocw No Comments

SCOM’s newest study abroad program: Public Relations in Korea

By Sara Hardiman (Class of 2017)

JMU classes, particularly communication classes, are great.

But even the best of classes have their limitations.

That’s why a dozen Public Relations students in JMU’s School of Communication Studies packed their bags and went to South Korea last summer.

Sports and International public relations in Korea is one of the newest study abroad programs the School of Communication Studies offers. Read more SCOM’s newest study abroad program: Public Relations in Korea

January 23, 2017woocw No Comments

Nathan Selove: A Testament to Communication

By Bree Riddick (’16), Morgan Gaines (’16), Morgan Galea (’16), & Sam Greene (’18),

Public speaking is difficult. Representing JMU in national speaking competitions is even more so.

But for Nathan Selove and his teammates, going for the win is as exhilarating as it is challenging. It’s also particularly rewarding for the JMU senior who, despite Asperger’s Syndrome, has helped JMU’s Speech Team rank among the top teams in the nation for the past four years.

The momentum doesn’t seem to be slowing. Lee Mayfield, faculty head of the speech team, attributes this success to the hard work and dedication of all team members top to bottom.

November 13, 2016woocw No Comments

Communicating for the Future

By Anthony Barletta (’17)

There is no lack of controversial issues within the City of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, and even on our campus. But there is a place to discuss them. In 2011, JMU faculty and students in the School of Communication Studies (SCOM) program, created an outlet to create spaces where these issues could be discussed productively.

For the last five years, SCOM’s Institute for Constructive Advocacy and Dialogue (ICAD) has collaborated with both the campus and the community to ease different groups of people into complex discussions.

Dr. Britt is facilitating a discussion at the ICAD's Recidivism Summit. — Dr. Britt is facilitating a discussion at the ICAD’s Recidivism Summit.

Unraveling and understanding these public issues is no easy task. Issues that challenge these communities range from mental health disabilities to sexual assault to the recidivism rate. Hitting close to home, community members have difficulty discussing these complex issues.

Engaging diverse groups in productive talk is a collaborative effort headed by ICAD’s director, Dr. Lori Britt and associate director, Dr. Rob Alexander.

ICAD brings community members, JMU faculty, and JMU students together in these discussions. According to Dr. Lori Britt, the talk “is not always about finding solutions but is sometimes focused on creating spaces where people can gain others’ perspectives.” As Dr. Britt explains, encompassing different perspectives helps strengthen community relations on campus, in the community and between the two. Read more Communicating for the Future

November 8, 2016woocw No Comments

From Social Media to Undecided Voters: Real-Time Political Communication Research for SCOM Faculty, Students

By Carrie Holland (’17)

This year’s presidential race has been like no other.

When candidates speak, spar, and court voters in the countdown to the election, political communication takes center stage. So does political communication research.

That’s provided an exciting combination for SCOM faculty Dr. Dan Schill and Dr. Lindsey Harvell-Bowman, and their political communication students. Both professors are involved in nationwide individual and collaborative research projects and share these opportunities with their students.

May 20, 2016woocw No Comments

Welcome Dr. Michael Broderick to SCOM

By Amberly Millis (’16)

Introducing Dr. Michael Broderick, one of the newest faculty members to join the School of Communications Studies. Broderick received a Bachelor of Specialized Studies in ethnobotanical ecology, which focuses on the interaction of humans in the biotic world (e.g. plants and people). Additionally, Broderick has a Master of Arts in an interdisciplinary program in anthropology and history, as well as a Ph. D in communication studies from Ohio University.

Broderick specializes in food, aesthetics and social change. For Broderick’s dissertation, he conducted an experimental ethnography of a small goat farm in rural southeastern Ohio. He examined the ways in which the food was utilized as an agent of social change and asked the following question: what are the ways in which food is used to create community and social change? He traced a phenomenological arc from consumption to the imagination, story and social change. Thus, Broderick states that his area of focus is on critical approaches to food, culture, aesthetics and non-traditional methods of research and reporting (e.g., creative writing, photography and poetry). Broderick is a proud member of the Virginia Sustainable Food Committee, which looks into ways to incorporate more local foods into the “4 VA” (James Madison University, University of Virginia Academy, Virginia Tech University and George Mason University) dining facilities.

Broderick will be teaching a food and communications course in the spring of 2017. Additionally, he would like to continue to teach courses that focus on critical approaches to food and consumption, as well as develop coursework in aesthetic communication and creative analytics/methodologies. When asked what he likes most about working at JMU, Broderick states, “What’s not to like? It is hands down the best place I’ve ever worked. I’m absolutely excited to come to work each day. My colleagues and the department as a whole are incredibly kind and supportive. The students here are excellent as well. No doubt.”

In Broderick’s free time, he likes to read, spend time with his family, take photos, go to concerts, watch movies and explore the outdoors! Broderick offers his students the following advice, “Live the dream. Take risks. Spend time figuring out what you love and what you’d like to spend your time thinking about; passion drives good research. Be selfish with your time, read good books, listen to good music, go out in nature, see some art, and spend time with thoughtful people. It’s all grist for the mill.”

Please give a warm welcome to Dr. Broderick!

May 12, 2016woocw No Comments

Welcome Professor Sarah Taylor to SCOM

By Amberly Millis (’16)

Introducing Professor Sarah Taylor to the School of Communication Studies! Prior to coming to James Madison University, Taylor studied English literature and women’s studies at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Her academic work revolved around gender identity and how people construct/disclose personal narratives. Following that, Taylor attended the University of Northern Iowa for graduate school to continue her studies on how the way in which individuals “story” themselves reveals their identity narratives, specifically sexual orientation and gender identity. As a student, Taylor was heavily involved in intercollegiate forensics (a form of competitive public speech). First as a competitor and then as a coach— Taylor states that this involvement acted as the application of what she had learned in her academic history.

After completing her graduate work, Taylor spent a few years working as a corporate trainer for both an academic software company and digital marketing firm. Within this position, she spent her time working with adult learners and preparing them for their future careers. Taylor states that this helped her further apply what she had learned in communication studies with regards to organizational communication. Following this, Taylor accepted the position as instructor at JMU! Taylor states that she came to JMU for many reasons, most notably due to the wealth of professional development opportunities for her as both a teacher and an academic. She states that she believes most teachers, who find themselves working in higher education, care very deeply about developing and honing their research abilities, as well as refining their pedagogy. Taylor has been thrilled to find both avenues teeming with chances to better herself. In her time at JMU, she hopes to continue to revise and polish her approach to teaching the basic course (SCOM 123) and find more productive ways to meet University requirements while still empowering her students to become engaged, passionate human beings.

Taylor’s research interests have evolved dramatically within the last five years. She continues to have a strong interest in the performance of queer identities in the corporate space, especially following her experience as a corporate trainer. However, her immediate research interests apply to what is most present in her life as of the moment, which involves integrating social justice paradigms and ethical reasoning into the basic communication course. She is currently working with Professor Annelise Ewing, a fellow new faculty member, to explore themes of social justice in the basic course. Both Taylor and Ewing will be co-teaching a summer program for Valley Scholars that will explore some of these themes!

Taylor states that her love for JMU and the SCOM has only continued to grow ever since she first stepped foot on campus. She provided us with one example in particular as to why she believes working here is truly an exceptional experience. During the spring semester, Taylor was wrought with challenges that she had not anticipated. A family emergency led her 1000 miles away from JMU and back to Wisconsin. During that time, she received no backlash from the department but an outpouring of sincere thoughts, prayers and offerings of support. In reflection, Taylor states, “I cannot say how much that has meant to me as a new faculty member, and I am entirely grateful for the community in this department that elicited that response.”

When Taylor is out of the classroom, she enjoys spending her free time with her fiancé. Recently, she has been very busy planning their upcoming wedding! She states that she looks forward to all of their adventures ahead, whether that be going to concerts, baking or exploring! Taylor offers her students the following pieces of advice, “Find out what you care about and pursue that RECKLESSLY. I loved my work as a corporate trainer, but I recognized that it was not what I was supposed to be doing forever. So, I shifted gears, pulled up my roots, moved 1000 miles away and began the lifelong work of becoming a teacher. Give yourself permission to decide, change directions, flounder and fly.”

Please give Professor Taylor a warm welcome!

May 11, 2016woocw No Comments

Introducing Dr. Kathryn Hobson

By Brittany Leuth (’18)

Dr. Kathryn Hobson is a new faculty member to join the School of Communication Studies and teaches within the cultural communication concentration. Prior to her career at JMU, Hobson studied at Luther College and majored in American studies with a minor in women’s studies. As an undergrad, Hobson knew that she also wanted to minor in communication studies, however was terrified to take the required public speaking course. She put off taking the class until her senior year, and even after taking the course promised herself that she would never present in front of others again! For her master’s and Ph. D, Hobson attended the University of Denver to study culture and communication with a heavy emphasis on intersectionality of identities. Immediately post-graduation, she began teaching intercultural communication at Bloomsburg University. Hobson taught there for two years before coming to JMU. Today, Hobson public speaks on a daily basis and is proud to say she is proof that the more you speak in front of others, the better and more comfortable you become!

In addition to teaching at JMU, Hobson loves to conduct research and is currently working on a collaborative ethnography with her colleague Dr. Michael Broderick, where they use writing as a method of inquiry to understand family, pain, loss, trauma, and working class identity. Recently, Hobson had a proposal she wrote with a colleague accepted for a book chapter on disabilities, media and queer identity. She is also working on a piece about cognitive and emotional disabilities represented on television with a former student at Bloomsburg University. In previous years, Hobson has published pieces on queer femininity, queer friendship, racial identity and critical whiteness studies. Her work focuses on intersectionality and the performance of identities, specifically in the LGBT*QIQAP+ community and how femininity is impacted by sexuality, race and class.

Hobson believes that JMU is a great fit for her because of how the cultural communication track lines up perfectly with her PhD and communication interests. Hobson states that she feels very much at home within this area. She currently enjoys teaching both the classes, Intercultural Communication (SCOM 248) and Ethnographic Approaches to Communication (SCOM 349). Hobson states that she loves both of these classes because they are her “jam” and where her passions come out. Hobson would eventually like to teach a class on “communication, sexuality, and intersectionality” because it lines up with her interests and she believes that her students would be interested in taking such a class.

Hobson’s talents go beyond her public speaking skills and great knowledge of intercultural communication. As side hobbies, Hobson enjoys hiking, swimming, spending time with her two dogs (Indigo and Morty), and refinishing old furniture. One secret passion that Hobson shared with us is her love for performance and dance. Not only does she love watching performances, but she loves to perform herself! In fact, Hobson was in Shout Out’s annual V-Day event. Hobson states, “I believe that art can create social justice and change. Really, I just want to leave the world a little better than I found it and however I can make that happen is my passion.”

Although Hobson has only been here for a short amount of time, she has many reasons why she already loves JMU so much. “The students—hands down! Especially the cultural communication students, but really all the students, make this one of the best places to work,” states Hobson, “They are all incredibly kind and prepared. They want to be challenged, so I try hard to bring that challenge. And of course, my colleagues. They are just so passionate and caring, and I have so much to learn from them. Just like the students, they too have been incredibly welcoming. It also helps that this university is in a gorgeous setting, with people who, I think, want to make a difference in the world for the better.”

Hobson offers her students the following pieces of advice, “Be open-minded to hearing stories that are different from yours, this will prove invaluable to you as you go through life. Everyone has a story. Listen a lot, but also be willing to speak out or act in ways that serve the greater good. Also, public speaking doesn’t have to be that bad. Practice a lot, stretch and meditate to rid of excess energy before speaking. It helps so much. Then just a general piece of practical advice is to wear sunscreen. It’s science, y’all.”

Be sure to enroll in Professor Hobson’s Intercultural Communication (SCOM 248) and Ethnographic Approaches to Communication (SCOM 349) classes in order to learn more about why these topics are her “jam” this fall!

Please give a warm welcome to Dr. Kathryn Hobson!