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Dr. Sreyashi Mukherjee

Dr. Sreyashi Mukherjee’s Recent Projects Explore Media and Identity in Various Mediums

Reality dating shows, gender representation in sports advertising, and games are just a few of the subject areas Teaching Assistant Professor Sreyashi Mukherjee, a media studies and identity scholar, explores in her recent professional endeavors.
Grace Lamberto, junior Communication Rhetoric and Film and Media Studies student

Undergraduate Spotlight: Grace Lamberto '26

Choosing a major can feel like a big decision—one you’re expected to have figured out before even setting foot on campus. For many students, that pressure is all too familiar. Grace Lamberto, now a junior majoring in Communication and Rhetoric with a minor in Film and Media Studies, knows that feeling well. Her journey to finding the right academic path has been one of exploration, discovery, and solid networking.
Lester standing in front of large "Pitt" sign

Celebrating the Legacy of Dr. Lester C. Olson

The Department of Communication will host a Celebration of Research to honor Professor Lester C. Olson’s many contributions to the field.

New Book by Professor Caitlin Bruce Now Available Online

Graffiti, Street Art, And Creative Cities in a Global Frame: The City as Discovery, co-authored by Dr. Caitlin Bruce and Dr. Ricardo Klein from University of Valencia, is now available as an ebook.

Dr. Gartner-Schmidt and Dr. Bannon

Finding Your Voice: Jackie Gartner-Schmidt Held Workshop on Public Speaking and Vocal Biology

Public speaking is more than just words—it’s a science.

Peters on the field at Acrisure Stadium

Undergraduate Spotlight: Lily Peters '26

Lily Peters, a junior media and professional communications major, has always been a storyteller.

“I was the girl who was always writing in a journal,” Peters said. “I have loved writing for such a long time and so that’s why I ultimately decided to major in communications at Pitt. I knew that being a communications major would provide me with so many different opportunities and different ways to story tell.” 

In her past two and half years at Pitt, Peters has found a particular passion for storytelling within the world of sports.

Congratulations to Dr. Lane Grafton on new publication, “The Bias of Mediation"

Congratulations to Dr. Lane Grafton on his latest publication, “The Bias of Mediation: How Communication Technologies Transform Social Relations,” which will be published in Explorations in Media Ecology this spring.

Dr. Grafton is a faculty member in the department who currently teaches Argument, Public Speaking, Rhetoric & Society, and Communication & Society. His scholarship focuses on the effect that technology has on individuals as well as society. 

HCUAP receives grant from Andy Warhol Foundation

Congratulations to Dr. Caitlin Bruce and her colleagues at the Hemispheric Conversations Urban Arts Project (HCUAP) for receiving two years of funding from The Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts to be used towards their research on public art and graffiti in Pittsburgh!

Egolf Award Application Announcement

Attention Department of Communication graduate students, applications for the Donald B. Egolf Memorial Teaching Award are now open!

Left to right: Breanne Francis, Zoe Smith, Aahna Sinha, Haniyyah Walls

William Pitt Debating Union Slays at Gorlok Gala with Debate Lock-Out

St. Louis, MO — The William Pitt Debating Union (WPDU) made an impressive showing at the prestigious 27th Gorlok Gala Forensic Tournament, held January 24–26, 2025, in St. Louis, Missouri. Hosted by Webster University’s forensic program, the tournament featured 16 speech events and two debate formats, drawing some of the most competitive teams in the nation. 

COMMRC students awarded at 2024 College Media Business and Advertising convention

We're proud to announce that COMMRC students contributed to two award-winning submissions at this year's College Media Business and Advertising Managers convention! Their work was completed as part of The Pitt News Marketing Internship, supervised by TPN marketing advisor and part-time COMMRC instructor Tara Adamczyk.

See below for more information about the winning submissions. Congratulations to everyone involved in our award-winning TPN Marketing Internship!

Book cover for Making the Human: Race, Allegory, and Asian Americans by Corinne Sugino

Congratulations to Corinne Sugino ('22 PhD) on the publication of Making the Human: Race, Allegory, and Asian Americans (2024, Rutgers UP)

We're excited to announce the publication of Making the Human: Race, Allegory, and Asian Americans by COMMRC alum Corinne Sugino ('22 PhD). In Making the Human, Sugino offers the lens of racial allegory to consider how media, institutional, and cultural narratives mobilize difference to normalize a white, Western conception of the human. 

Event flyer with a background of a graffiti wall

HCUAP Panel Discussion

TitleFreedom of Expression, Stigmatizing Narratives, and Graffiti Policy in Pittsburgh

Panel discussion with the Hemispheric Urban Art Project (HCUAP)

When: Friday November 15th 5:30 – 7pm

Location: The Understory Cathedral of Learning C4C

4200 Fifth Avenue

 

**light dinner will be provided

 

brick building with graffiti in front of blue sky with clouds

Call for Participants: Graffiti Narrative Change Project community dialogue on Nov. 15

On November 15, 2024, the Community Scholar Program for Pitt's Center for Civil Rights and Justice will be hosting an event to share findings from community-based research and outreach conducted by current Community Scholars: addressing issues of racial justice, civil rights, and resource access throughout Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. 

graffiti wall - Images of Community Learning Series activities.

Creating Legends - Rivers of Steel Festival

Creating Legends: Graffiti Writers of the Past, Present, and Future brings together select local, national, and internationally-renowned graffiti artists for a weeklong residency and community workshop series in Pittsburgh celebrating the origins of the graffiti movement and its influence across generations. 

This multi-day, multi-site festivals offer lots of fun events happening throughout the week of Oct 14-20: