Graduate students in the Department of Communication participate in research in a variety of ways. In addition to developing their own projects, they collaborate with faculty, with other graduate students, and with undergraduate students as well. Here is a sample of current and recent research projects in the department:
Select Dissertation Projects (by area of study)
- Katie P. Bruner, "Seeing Systems: A Rhetorical History of Visual Media at MIT, 1939-1969." Advisor: Ned O'Gorman.
- Matthew Pitchford, "Terrorism on Twitter: Using Topic Models to Examine Topoi and Digital Rituals Following Mass Violence." Advisor: Ned O'Gorman.
- José Izaguirre, "Becoming La Raza: Chican@ Counterpublicity and Rhetorics of the Viet Nam War." Advisor: J. David Cisneros.
- Donovan Bisbee, "Seeing the Constitution as They See it: Presidential Reconstitutionions, Executive Power, and Interbranch Conflict." Advisor: John Murphy.
- Nikki Weickum, "Calls to be Counted: Rhetorics of Aggregation and Representation in 20th Century American Democracy." Advisor: Ned O'Gorman.
- David Tokarz, "Keeping America a White Man's Country: Southern Opposition to Civil Rights in the United States Senate." Advisor: John Murphy.
- Anita Mixon, "Women Speaking in and for Institutions: A Rhetorical History of the Politics of Respectability in Black Chicago, 1919-1939." Advisor: Cara Finnegan.
- Katie Irwin, "Feminism from the Farm: Rural and Farm Women's Authorship and the Future of Rural America, 1920-1929." Advisor: Cara Finnegan.
- Jillian Klean Zwilling, “‘Euphemistic Rhetoric in Advertising during the Comstock Era: The Importance of Persona and Cultural Context in the Lysol Case." Advisor: Cara Finnegan.
- Mark LaVoie, "Telling the Soviet Redemption Story: Ronald Reagan's Changing Soviet Rhetoric." Advisor: John Murphy.
- Marissa Wallace, "Boundaries and Traditions: Defining American Evangelicalism from 1965-1980." Advisor: John Murphy.
- Laura Stengrim, "An American Rhetoric of Globalism: Peace Through International Economic Cooperation in the World War II Era." Advisors: Cara Finnegan & John Murphy.
- Jermaine Martinez, "Rhetorical Dimensions of 20th Century Depression Memoirs: Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar, William Styron's Darkness Visible, & Kay Redfield Jamison's An Unquiet Mind." Advisor: Ned O'Gorman.
- George Boone, "Video Game Rhetoric and Materialistic Contingency: Genre, Circulation, and Narrative." Advisor: Ned O'Gorman.
- Rohini Singh, "In the Company of Citizens: The Rhetoric of Singapore, Inc." Advisor: John Murphy.
Communication and Organizations
- Claudia Montero Liberona, "Institutionalization of Anti-obesity Messages in Chilean Schools." Advisor: John Lammers.
- Natalie Lambert, "More Than Communities: Organizing in Online Interactions Spaces." Advisors: Scott Poole & John Lammers.
- Andrew Pilny, "Social Movements as Networks of Communication Episodes." Advisor: Scott Poole.
- Lillie Williamson, "Using a Communication Approach to Understand the Antecedents of Medical Mistrust: Testing the Ecological Medical Mistrust Antecedents (EMMA) Model." Advisor: Cabral Bigman.
- Tobias Reynolds-Tylus, "An Examination of Descriptive and Injunctive Norms as Antecedents to Psychological Reactance." Advisor: Brian Quick.
- Macarena Pena y Lillo Araya, "An Extended Communication Inequalities Approach to Disparities in Obesity Preventive Behaviors." Advisor: Chul-joo Lee.
- Nicole LaVoie, "From Scaring to Stigma: An Examination of Stigma's and Related Constructs' Association with EPPM-Framed Messages and the Ethical Dilemmas of Health Communication." Advisor: Travis Dixon.
- Kira Varava, "Priming, Social Norms, and Eating Behavior: An Investigation of the Impact of Food Advertisements and Norms on Consumption." Advisors: David Tewksbury & Brian Quick.
Mediated Communication and Technology
- Kristopher Weeks, Street Fight Video Exposure, Affective Response, Racial Judgments, and Criminal Sentencing Recommendations: A Study on Non-fictional and Non-news Mediated Violence." Advisor: Travis Dixon.
- Marisa Smith, "I Saw it on Social Media: Public Opinion on Race, Crime, and Immigration in the Era of Social Media New Consumption." Advisor: Travis Dixon.
- Andrea Martinez Gonzalez, "Crafting and Delivering Effective Energy and Water Conservation Messages: The Role of Forceful Language and Source Features in Psychological Reactance." Advisor: Brian Quick.
- Mary Grace Hébert, From the Arsenal of Democracy to 0% Financing: Promotional Communication at General Motors." Advisor: Robert McChesney.
- Nicole LaVoie, "From Scaring to Stigma: An Examination of Stigma's and Related Constructs' Association with EPPM-Framed Messages and the Ethical Dilemmas of Health Communication." Advisor: Travis Dixon.
- Christopher Josey, "Race and Stereotypes in New Media: An Examination of How Internet News Frames Persons of Color." Advisor: Travis Dixon.
- George Boone, "Video Game Rhetoric and Materialistic Contingency: Genre, Circulation, and Narrative." Advisor: Ned O'Gorman.
- Min Tang, "Tencent as a Nexus: The Political Economy of China's Internet Industry." Advisor: Dan Schiller.
- Julius Riles, "Exploring the Impact of Media Consumption on Interpersonal Interactions Intentions: An Examination of the Social Effect of Exposure to Mental Illness." Advisor: David Tewksbury.
- Kristin Drogos, "The Relationship Between Social Network Sites and Adolescent Identity Development." Advisor: Barbara Wilson.
- Claudia Montero Liberona, "Institutionalization of Anti-obsesity Messages in Chilean Schools." Advisor: John Lammers.
- Laura Stengrim, "An American Rhetoric of Globalism: Peace Through International Economic Cooperation in the World War II Era." Advisors: Cara Finnegan & John Murphy.
- Jermaine Martinez, "Rhetorical Dimensions of 20th Century Depression Memoirs: Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar, William Styron's Darkness Visible, & Kay Redfield Jamison's An Unquiet Mind." Advisor: Ned O'Gorman.
- Min Tang, "Tencent as a Nexus: The Political Economy of China's Internet Industry." Advisor: Dan Schiller.
- Bryan Abendschein, "Adapting to the New Normal: The Process of Relational Change After Stroke Within Romantic Dyads." Advisor: Leanne Knobloch.
- David Roaché, "'Can You Just Put Your Phone Away?': The Effects of Cell Phone Use on Face-to-Face Conflict in Romantic Relationships." Advisor: John Caughlin.
- Erin Wehrman, "Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Meaning-Making: The Process of Identity Reconstruction After the Loss of a Spouse." Advisor: Leanne Knobloch.
- Ningxin Wang, "Social Support in Parent-Child Relationships during Emerging Adulthood: Examining the Effects of Mundane Support and the Support Gap Phenomenon." Advisor: John Caughlin
- Kimberly Pusateri, "'It was Part of the Water We Were Moving in, the Air We Were Breathing': Parent and Adult-Child Communication Across a Mother's Breast Cancer Trajectory." Advisor: John Caughlin.
- Erin Basinger, "Coping with Type 2 Diabetes in the Family Context: A Communal Coping Perspective." Advisor: John Caughlin.
- Amy Delaney, "Mechanisms of Turbulance, Sexual Intimacy Challenges, and Sexual Communication in Depressed Couples." Advisor: Leanne Knobloch.
Complete List of Dissertations Completed in the Department of Communication (1951-2022)
Mentoring Through Research and Practice: Undergraduate Research Opportunities
MTRP is a program that pairs undergraduate students with graduate students to provide undergraduates with hands-on, practical research experience and the opportunity to develop a close, working relationship with a graduate student mentor. For more information on the program and to see examples of recent grad/undergrad research collaborations, see the Undergraduate Research Opportunities page.