Communication Studies News

Dr. Isaac West was recently awarded the Jeffrey Nordhaus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. The Jeffrey Nordhaus Award was established in 1982 by a gift from Katherine Stumb Nordhaus and George Nordhaus in memory of their son, Jeffrey, who was a victim of an airplane crash in… Read More

Dr. Claire Sisco King recently discussed celebrity and meme culture in a news interview with Yahoo Entertainment. In this interview, Professor King focuses on the multitude of factors that contribute to the virality of popular ‘sad Affleck’ memes that center on paparazzi images of the Oscar-winning actor, Ben Affleck. Professor… Read More

Since Vanderbilt’s founding, public speaking and debate have played an instrumental role in campus life. Always at the helm of fostering campus dialogue, the Vanderbilt Debate Team exists to provide on-campus, national, and international educational opportunities that enable students to improve analytical, communication, critical thinking, listening, and research skills. Watch… Read More

Vanderbilt’s Department of Communication Studies recently inducted 15 members into its Delta Psi Chapter of Lambda Pi Eta. The Communication Studies faculty congratulates the following students – along with returning member, Caroline Lingle – for their academic excellence.   2023-2024 Inductees Macy Browning Reilly Caldwell Scott Coberly Mykayla Couchenour… Read More

The Civil Rights Movement is sometimes described as a religious phenomenon. Many of the Movement’s leaders were ministers, and many more individuals were inspired to participate in the Movement because of their religious beliefs. While religion motivated many church members to join the struggle for civil rights, most churches were… Read More

The Department of Communication Studies celebrates the publication of two books written by faculty members Claire Sisco King and John Sloop. In May, Professor Sloop published Soccer’s Neoliberal Pitch: The Sport’s Power, Profit, and Discursive Politics with the University of Alabama Press. Read More

Tuesday, April 25th in Buttrick 103 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm the annual Houston Symposium will be taking place. Several Student Projects will be on display from 6pm-7pm. Visitors are encouraged to interact with the students who created the projects to learn more about them. The public speaking portion of… Read More

Dr. Claire King was interviewed by the on-line site Engadget for a story about artificial intelligence, celebrity, and the human quest for immortality. We can build immortal celebrities from ChatGPT and their existing back catalogs… Read More

Professor John Sloop recently published an essay in The Conversation about the cultivation of diversity in Major League Soccer. Sloop traces how apartheid, racism, and the superstar Pelé all contributed, in different ways, to this development. You can read the full essay here:… Read More

Dr. Claire Sisco King discussed celebrity culture and parasocial relationships with CNN. King focused on widely-regarded “nice” stars such as Dolly Parton and Tom Hanks. CNN reports: These “sweethearts” become symbols in American pop culture. We turn to them for inspiration, moral guidance, reliable entertainment and even solace, said Claire… Read More

Vanderbilt University invites the Nashville and campus communities to an exhibition designed to introduce the craft of debate to new audiences while exploring a timely topic. The University of Mississippi will team up with Vanderbilt to host a debate exhibition at 6 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 3, in Wilson Hall,… Read More

Dr. Claire King has published an essay that focuses on the ascent of Nashville’s bachelorette party scene. The essay, “‘Bach, Please’: Nashville bachelorette party culture’s investments in white Southern femininity,” was published in the journal Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies. Professor King writes: In the… Read More

John Sloop, professor of communication studies, has published a piece in The Conversation about the World Cup, national identity, and fan cultures. Professor Sloop notes that U.S.-based soccer fans are often cheering for players whose national identities are different from their own. This is a stark contrast to the… Read More

Dr. Anjali Vats will deliver a talk to the Department of Communication Studies on December 1, from 4:15-5:30, in Commons Center 235. Vats’s talk, “Owning Your Masters (Taylor’s Version): Postfeminist Tactical Copyright and the Erasure of Black Intellectual Labor,” considers Taylor Swift’s decision to rerecord her master records, beginning… Read More

“I came from a very small town in Alabama, so being able to meet people from different cultures, with different life experiences and opinions, exposed me to a lot more of the world,” said Oswalt, who graduated with a double major in psychology and communication… Read More

The Department of Communication Studies was proud to sponsor Dr. Roxane Gay’s keynote address at the Rhetoric Society of America’s 20th Biennial Conference in Baltimore. Dr. Gay is trained as a rhetorician and is best known for her popular books, Bad Feminist, Difficult Women, and Hunger. She… Read More

Bohyeong Kim, assistant professor of communication studies, has been named a Dean’s Faculty Fellow by the Vanderbilt College of Arts and Science. The Dean’s Faculty Fellows Program launched in 2018 to support untenured faculty in their research, scholarship, and creative expression. Faculty are selected because of their… Read More

The Wild Alaska Pollock tasting event, hosted by Communication Studies students in Dr. Courtney Travers’ Persuasion class, has been featured in an article published in the Tennessean and syndicated in Yahoo News. The article was authored by Suzanne Herron, the Sustainability Coordinator for Vanderbilt Campus Dining. The story documents how… Read More

Professor Claire King was quoted in a Washington Post article about Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s recent wedding. You can read the story here. Read More

Dr. Jeff Bennett appeared on Design Observer‘s podcast “The Futures Archive” to discuss innovations surrounding the insulin pump. The episode explores how acts of care get “designed into our everyday lives — beyond medical procedures and technology, into our relationships, our schedules, our lives.” You can listen… Read More