What I Like to Study as a Communication Scholar . . .
As a Master’s student at Penn State I was a declared "generalist." That meant I was interested in many aspects of the field. My course work ranged from cultural approaches to organizations to postmodern rhetoric. I eventually completed a thesis that used quantitative methods to survey local ministers about their communication needs. I was attracted to Regent University in Virginia not only because of its Christian worldview, but because it offered a broad approach to studying communication rather than having to declare a narrow niche as is typical with many Ph.D. programs. I still have wide-ranging interests in communication but only have time to address a few.
My research interests center on rhetorical analysis of popular culture. That means that I enjoy using critical concepts that come from a body of scholarship known as rhetorical theory to analyze examples or artifacts of popular culture. This analysis typically begins with questions like "why is this artifact so popular?" or "why is this artifact so controversial?" Artifacts I have analyzed include the NBA draft, Martha Stewart,sport utility vehicle (SUV) and cell phone advertisements and MTV's TRL. I have many other research interests as well including how to be a better teacher, communication in religious organizations, communication ethics, rhetorical theory and more. You can get a more thorough look at my interests by reading my academic vitae that lists my conference papers and publications.
Rhetorical analysis of popular culture is my favorite area of research. A guiding belief I have as a researcher is that human beings haven’t changed all that much. The changes we see in our culture are, I think, new manifestations of timeless aspects of the human condition rather than truly "new" things. Consequently, I often use classical or traditional rhetorical concepts and methods to "unpack" contemporary events and artifacts in popular culture. My goal is not simply to simply point out that the emporer is "neked." Cynical deconstruction is too easy to carry out and often offers no real insight. Rather, I hope to help readers gain insight into how that artifact is functioning in the culture and potentially in their own lives and why it might have such powerful appeal. I also examine the implications of that appeal. What might it say about current values and ideals? What are the benefits or harms that may come from embracing that artifact as an expression of who we are or as a tool for living? In this way I am able to blend my interest in rhetorical theory and criticism with my desire to understand the world I live in today.
Communication in Christian contexts is also of interest to me. Embrace it or reject it, but Christianity is a powerful belief system, institution, and rhetorical symbol in our culture. Occasionally I have taken on projects that directly explore communication and Christianity. I have analyzed the film Sister Act for its implications in communicating the Gospel in popular culture. I have surveyed ministers and also engaged in in-depth interviews with ministers about their communication practices and the role a communication consultant might play in their role as ministers. I have also examined healthy and unhealthy rhetoric in the "War on Christmas" that is often part of Fox News holiday coverage.
A frustrating fact of life for any scholar/teacher is that there are far too many good projects to complete in a lifetime! Every semester new students and new events and reading of journal articles by fellow scholars brings more topics of interest. So, I keep a folder. I try to remember to put the best of those ideas in that folder and save them for a "rainy day." If you have interests in doing some interesting research as prep for graduate school or "just cuz", drop by and let’s chat about your ideas and I can share some of mine. Maybe there is a DIS in our future.