News
Paul Johnson interview on The Majority Report regarding his new book, I The People: The Rhetoric of Conservative Populism in the United States
Paul Elliott Johnson, assistant professor in the department, recently appeared on The Majority Report to discuss his new book, I The People: The Rhetoric of Conservative Populism in the United States. The wide-ranging conversation touched on a number of topics, including the role of race in the rise of the American Right, the widespread obsession with victimhood in US politics, and how we should use the term populism in discussing conservatism in the US.
Deborah J. Danuser and Kelly M. O’Donnell Selected for Whittington Leadership and Innovation Challenge for Ph.D. Students
Deborah J. Danuser and Kelly M. O’Donnell, along with doctoral students Kirby Sigler and Abby Hillmann from the Psychology Department, developed a winning proposal in the inaugural professional development competition, the Dietrich School Whittington Leadership and Innovation Challenge for Ph.D. Students.
Congratulations to Dr. Guthrie on her promotion to Senior Lecturer
Dr. Guthrie has been a part of the Communication Department since 2006. She teaches media studies classes, serves as the Director of Undergraduate Advising, and sponsors clubs like Her Campus Pittsburgh and Right On Bigelow. Dr. Guthrie’s research focuses primarily on television. Most recently, she presented on race in The Bachelor franchise.
Max Dosser Awarded the Claudia Gorbman Graduate Student Writing Award
Max Dosser was recently awarded the Claudia Gorbman Graduate Student Writing Award by the Society of Cinema and Media Studies for his paper "These Visual Delights Have Sonic Ends: Affective Attunement and Audiovisual Prolepsis in Westworld’s Title Sequence." The Claudia Gorbman award is awarded annually by SCMS's Sound and Music Special Interest Group and "recognizes outstanding scholarship in the field of sound and music media scholarship." The winning essay will be published in Music, Sound, and the Moving Image.
An interview with Dr. Caitlin Bruce on Global Expressions
Caitlin Bruce and HCUAP Collaborator Max Gonzales are interviewed on the Saturday Light Brigade about the HCUAP created gallery show, Global Expressions: Spray Can and Graffiti Art in Motion, as part of the visiting artist residencies of Eva Bracamontes, Sasha Primo, and Tomas Garcia.
link to interview: https://neighborhoodvoices.org/interview-colors-nature-caitlin-bruce-max-gonzales
Graduate alum Dr. Amber Kelsie (PhD, 2020), wins Critical and Cultural Studies Division Dissertation of the Year Award from the National Communication Association
Graduate alum Dr. Amber Kelsei was recently award the 2021 Cultural Studies Division Dissertation of the Year Award from the National Communication Association. Dr. Kelsie completed her award winning dissertation, “‘I Know Who You Are’: Antiblackness in the Speculative Rhetorics of Genetic Genealogy,” in the Spring of 2020, under the direction of Dr. Brent Malin, with committee members Caitlin Bruce, Paul Johnson, Karma Chavez, and Shanara Reid-Brinkley. Dr. Kelsie will receive her award at the annual conference of the National Communication Association in November.
“A Program of Complete Disorder”: The Black Iconoclasm Within Fanonian Thought” by Charles Athanasopoulos
Charles Athanasopoulos, a Ph.D. Candidate and DSAS Fellow in the Department of Communication, has published his most recent article “”A Program of Complete Disorder: The Black Iconoclasm Within Fanonian Thought” in Lateral’s 10th issue (10.1) dedicated to celebrating a decade of open access scholarship in Cultural Studies. Lateral is the official journal of the Cultural Studies Association.
Dissertation Defense: Sam Allen
Sam Allen is defende his dissertation titled, “Comparative Enfreakment: A Rhetorical History of the Lives and Exhibitions of Chang and Eng Bunker, ‘The Original Siamese Twins,’” on Thursday, December 2nd. The dissertation was advised by Dr. Lester Olson.
Corinne Sugino Awarded an NCA Donald P. Cushman Memorial Award
Corinne Sugino was recently awarded an NCA Donald P.
Student Spotlight: Charles Athanasopoulos
Charles Athanasopoulos, 4th year Ph.D student, in the Department of Communication has been recognized by the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences in his recent "student spotlight" feature. Charles has had many accomplishments thus far including his research and topic for his dissertation: "Rhetorics of Complete Disorder in Post-Ferguson America". To gain further knowledge about Charles, please follow this link https://www.asgraduate.pitt.edu/student-spotlight-charles-athanasopoulos
Dissertation Defense: Robin Kanak Zwier
After hard work researching and writing, Robin Kanak Zwier is defended the dissertation titled, "Making Maternal Mortality Public: Racialized Reproduction in Medical Review, Investigative Journalism, and Birth Justice Activism” on June 24th The dissertation was advised by Dr. Gordon Mitchell.
Charles Athanasopoulos Awarded Dietrich School Arts & Sciences Fellowship for AY21
Charles Athanasopoulos was recently awarded the Full-Year Dietrich School Arts & Sciences Fellowship for the upcoming academic year (2021-22). Charles is a PhD student in the Department of Communication. While this fellowship is usually awarded to first-year graduate students for recruiting purposes, COVID-19 restriction resulted in there being no incoming class for AY 2021-22. Consequently, it was decided that continuing graduate students could compete for this award.
Congratulations to the winners of the 24th Annual Oratory Competition!
Oratory Competition Graduation Commencement Speech Category Tia Brownmiller -"A New Beginning, But Not the End" Maura Shapiro -"Reflection" Caroline Nesbit -"The Cant's and Cans of the Class of 2021" Diversity and Inclusion Anna Skerrett -"The Necessity of Intersectional Feminism" Cameron Cesare -"The Moon Over Pittsburgh" Joanna Wang -"Do People With Depression Deserve Love?" Persuasive Speech Policy Kerry Lyons -"Raise the Wage: The Case for a Minimum Wage Hike"Corinne Sugino Awarded an Andrew W. Mellon Predoctoral Fellowship
Corinne Mitsuye Sugino was recently awarded an Andrew W. Mellon Predoctoral Fellowship for the 2021-22 academic year. Corinne is a currently a doctoral candidate in the Department of Communication. She plans to use the fellowship to work on her dissertation, tentatively titled “Familiar Foreigners: Multicultural Rhetorics and Asian American Racialization” which focuses on the dynamics of Asian American inclusion/exclusion amidst an era of multiculturalism.
William Pitt Debating Union, the University of Pittsburgh’s Intercollegiate Policy Debate Team Breaks Records at the 75th National Debate Tournament
The 75th National Debate Tournament—debate’s most prestigious tournament and national championship—has just concluded, and William Pitt Debating Union, the University of Pittsburgh’s intercollegiate policy debate team has broken several Pitt records. Two of our teams (each team has two members) qualified for the tournament: the team of Alex Reznik and Zach Lim, and the team of Christian Mendoza and Kwudjwa Osei. Both teams reached the elimination rounds, which is roughly equivalent to a college basketball team qualifying for March Madness.