CMST Spotlight

Community engagement and scholarship enhance our teaching in the Communication Studies department.

Below is a summary of some of our activities outside the classroom. For more information on our work, please explore our faculty page.

Communication Studies Community Engagement

Adam Gaffey organized a panel on power and representations of Native Americans in public art and storytelling as part of the WSU Consortium for Liberal Arts and Sciences Promotion series. Watch the event to hear from all panelists.

Emilie Falc's Intercultural Communication class took part in the International Coffee Hour, hosted by WSU International Services. Read how this event helps connect students from different cultures on campus.

Tammy Swenson-Lepper led a community discussion on managing social media as part of Central Lutheran Church's Parenting Teens Series.

Kelly Herold’s Disability and Culture class regularly organizes a “Disability Culture Celebration.” Learn about this year's event and past events.

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

Ballard. R. L. & Swenson-Lepper, T. (2023). Examining students' social media use and ethical awareness: Class activities and "Coastal Succulents" (PDF). Communication Teacher, 37(3), 198-206.

Swenson-Lepper, T. & Hanson, H. (2023). "Social media, COVID-19, Misinformation, and ethics: A Descriptive Study of American Adults' Perceptions" (PDF). In Pamela A. Zeiser and Berrin A. Beasley (Eds.), Social media ethics and COVID-19: Well-being, truth, misinformation, and authenticity (53-82). Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group.

Flynn, M. A., Veilleux, E., & Stana A. (2022). A post from the woods: Social media, well-being and our connection to the natural world. Computers in Human Behavior Reports (5), 100171.

Gaffey, A. J. (2022). Introducing the rhetoric of narratives with Barack Obama's Of Thee I Sing. Communication Teacher, 36(1), 1-4.

Javanovic, S., Swenson-Lepper, T., McManus L., Velez Ortiz, M., Ballard, R., Leavitt, M., & Charron, L. (2021). Communication ethics: Activities for critical thinking and reflection. Kendall Hunt Publishing Company.

Falc, E. (2020). Water is life: Shared destinies. In Casey R. Schmitt, Christopher S. Thomas, & Theresa R. Castor (Eds.), Water, rhetoric and social justice: A critical confluence (pp. 19-42). Lexington Books.

Stana, A. & Miller A. R. (2019). 'Being a mom = having all the feels': Social support in a postpartum depression online support group. Atlantic Journal of Communication 27(5): 297-310.

Swenson-Lepper, T., & Kerby A. (2019). Cyberbullies, trolls, and stalkers: Students' perceptions of ethical issues in social media. Journal of Media Ethics. 34(2): 102-113 

Adam J. Gaffey & Jennifer L. Jones Barbour, "'A Spirit That Can Never Be Told': Commemorative Agency and the Texas A&M University Bonfire Memorial" Rhetoric & Public Affairs 21 (2018): 75-116.

Scott, Julie-Ann & Herold, Kelly P. (2018). Almost passing: Using disability disclosure to recalibrate able-bodied bias in the classroom. In Michael S. Jeffress (Ed.), International perspectives on teaching with disability: Overcoming obstacles and enriching lives (3-16). New York: Routledge. Recipient of the 2018 National Communication Association Best Book Chapter Award (Ethnography Division).

Adam J. Gaffey, “Flip the Switch: Virtue, Programming, and the Prospect of Automatic Agency in 'WALL•E'” Southern Communication Journal 83 (January-March 2018): 41-56.

White, B. (2017). Boardwalk Empire, shell shock and the Great War: The characters of militarism. Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies, 31(1), 138-149.

Lind, Rebecca Ann & Swenson-Lepper, Tammy (2017). Ethical sensitivity in educational settings: Examining awareness of ethical issues related to media and diversity. In Rebecca Ann Lind (Ed.), Race and gender in electronic media: Content, context, culture (pp. 361-378). New York: Routledge.

McElrath, Karen, Stana, Alexandru, Taylor, Angela, & Johnson-Arnold, Lettia (2017). Race/Sex Interactions and HIV Testing Among College Students. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities 4(1): 112-121.

Stana, Alexandru, Flynn, Mark A., & Almeida, Eugenie (2017). Battling the stigma: Combat veterans’ use of social support in an online PTSD forum. International Journal of Men’s Health 16(1), 20-36.

Falc, E. O. (2015). Citizen-sourcing and reframing environmental discourse: An analysis of Frances Moore Lappé's EcoMind" (PDF). In Meisner, M. S., Sriskandarajah, N., & Depoe, S. P. (Eds.), Communication for the commons: Revisiting participation and environment: Proceedings of the 2013 conference on communication and environment (pp. 487-494). The International Environmental Communication Association.

Flynn, Mark A., Park, Sung-Yeon, Morin, David T., & Stana, Alexandru (2015). Anything but real: Body idealization and objectification of MTV docusoap characters. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research 72(5-6), 173-182.

Flynn, Mark A., Morin, David, Park, Sung-Yeon, & Stana, Alexandru (2015). 'Let’s get this party started!’: An analysis of health risk behavior on MTV reality television shows. Journal of Health Communication 20(12), 1382-1390.

Ha, Louisa, Hu, Xiao, Fang, Ling, Henize, Sarah, Park, Sanghee, Stana, Alex, & Zhang, Xiaoqun (2015). Use of survey research in top mass communication journals 2001-2010 and the total survey error paradigm. The Review of Communication 15(1), 39-59.

Park, Sung-Yeon, Flynn, Mark A., Stana, Alexandru, Morin, David T & Yun, Gi Woong (2015). 'Where do I belong, from Laguna Beach to Jersey Shore?’: Portrayal of minority youth in MTV docusoaps. Howard Journal of Communications 26(4), 381-402.

Swenson-Lepper, Tammy, Leavitt, Michelle A., Hoffer, Melba, Charron, Lori N., Ballard, Robert L., Bell McManus, Leeanne, M., … Tompkins, Paula S. (2015). Communication ethics in the communication curriculum: United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Communication Education 64(4), 472-490. Recipient of the 2015 National Communication Association Top Journal Article Award (Communication Ethics Division).

Adam J. Gaffey, “Recollecting Union: ‘Rebel Flags’ and the Epideictic Vision of Washington’s Farewell Address” Western Journal of Communication 79 (May-June 2015): 327-347. Recipient of the 2011 National Communication Association Robert Gunderson Award (Public Address Division).

Adam J. Gaffey, “Giving ‘Timeless’ Effect to the Farewell Address: Repetition and Reflection in the United States Senate,” in The Effects of Rhetoric and the Rhetoric of Effects: Past, Present, and Future, ed, Amos Kiewe and Davis Houck (Columbia: South Carolina University Press, 2015), 162-177.

Adam J. Gaffey, “Obama’s Change: Republicanism, Remembrance, and Rhetorical Leadership in the 2007 Presidential Announcement Speech.” Southern Communication Journal 79 (November-December 2014): 406-426.

Xu, Jin. (2014). Large U.S. newspapers update their websites more often. Newspaper Research Journal 35(2), 85-99.

Ballard, Robert L., Bell McManus, Leeanne M., Holba, Annette M., Jovanovic, Spoma., Tompkins, Paula S., Charron, Lori J. N., Hoffer, Melba L., … Swenson-Lepper, Tammy. (2014). Teaching communication ethics as central to the discipline. Journal of Association for Communication Administration 33(2), 2-20.

Falc, Emilie. (2013). An assessment of college students’ attitudes towards using an online e-textbook.  Interdisciplinary Journal of E-Learning & Learning Objects 9, 1-12.

Atkinson, Joshua D., Rosati, Clayton, Stana, Alexandru, & Watkins, Sean (2012). The performance and maintenance of standpoint theory within an online community. Communication, Culture, & Critique 5 (4), 600-617.

Flynn, Mark A. & Stana, Alexandru (2012). Social support in a men’s online eating disorder forum. International Journal of Men’s Health 11(2), 150-169. 

Swenson-Lepper, Tammy (2012). ‘Community’ as a guiding theme for the public speaking course. Communication Teacher 26(3), 170-177.

Swenson-Lepper, Tammy. (2012). Teaching communication ethics and diversity: Using technology and community engagement to enhance learning. Communication Teacher 26, 228-235.

Swenson-Lepper, Tammy (2011). Facebook: Student perceptions of ethical issues about their online presence. In Bruce E. Dushel and Kathleen German (eds.), The ethics of emerging media: Information, social norms, and new media technology (pp.175-187). New York: Continuum International Publishing Group.

Lind, Rebecca Ann & Swenson-Lepper, Tammy. (2011). Measuring sensitivity to conflicts of interest: A preliminary test of method. Science and Engineering Ethics 19, 43-62. Recognized as a Top Three Paper by the National Communication Association (Communication Ethics Division).

du Pré, Athena & Swenson-Lepper, Tammy. (2009). Meridians and mind—body congruence: Spiritual aspects of healing in a homeopathic care setting. In Margaret Wills (Ed.), Communicating Spirituality in Health Care (pp. 89-105). Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press, Inc.

Xu, Jin. (2008). Discovering culture and communication on the world wide web. Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal 35(8), 87-92

Lind, Rebecca Ann & Swenson-Lepper, Tammy. (2007). Sensitivity to research misconduct: A conceptual model. Medicine and Law 26, 585-598.

Swenson-Lepper, Tammy. (2005). Ethical sensitivity for organizational communication issues: Examining individual and organizational differences. Journal of Business Ethics 59, 205-231. Recognized as a Top Three Paper by the National Communication Association (Communication Ethics Division).

Herold, Kelly P. (2000). Communication strategies in employment interviews for applicants with disabilities.  In Dawn O. Braithwaite and Teresa L. Thompson (Eds.), Handbook of communication and people with disabilities: Research and application (pp. 131-146). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associations, Publishers.

Lind, Rebecca Ann, Swenson-Lepper, Tammy, & Rarick, David L. (1998). Identifying patterns of ethical sensitivity in TV news viewers: An assessment of some critical viewing skills. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 42(4), 507-520.

Lind, Rebecca Ann, Rarick, David L., & Swenson-Lepper, Tammy. (1997). Cognitive maps assess news viewer ethical sensitivity. Journal of Mass Media Ethics. 12 (3), 133-147. Recognized as a Top Three Paper by the National Communication Association (Communication Ethics Division).

Swenson-Lepper, Tammy. (1996). Ethical sensitivity, cognitive mapping, and organizational communication: A different approach to studying ethics in organizations. The electronic journal of communication/La revue electronic de communication 6(4). Retrieved from Communication Institute for Online Scholarship.

Herold, Kelly, Rudloff, Jerri, & Whitfield, Shirley. (1996). The impact of mood on message formulation: A study of emotion and message design logic. World Communication. 25 (4): 125-132.

Glueck, L. & Ayres J. (1988). Personalization patterns in developing, stable, and deteriorating relationships (PDF). Journal of the Northwest Communication Association, 16(1), 61-81.