Department News:
February 2020 Newsletter
Awards:
Dr. Shuzhen Huang (and co-authored with Dr. Daniel Brouwer from Arizona State University) received the 2019 Feminist Scholar award from the Organization for Research on Women and Communication (ORWAC). The award was given for their article “Negotiating Performances of 'Real' Marriage in Chinese Queer Xinghun." Their article explores how marriage is negotiated by Chinese queers who face tension between the heteronormative expectations of their families and their desire to maintain a same-sex relationship.
ORWAC is a Western States Communication Association (WSCA) affiliate that promotes dialogue, discussion, research, and scholarship concerned with women, feminism, gender, oppression, and social change. Each year, the Feminist Scholarship Award is given to the top essay published in Women’s Studies in Communication, which is widely regarded as the flagship journal in the field of gender and communication studies.
The Xi Omega chapter of Lambda Pi Eta (the National Communication Honor Society) is the recipient of Bloomsburg University's 2020 Student Organization of the Year Award. Seven current members of Xi Omega and the faculty advisor, Dr. Erin Brummett, attended the Legacy of Leadership Banquet on February 29th where they received the award. Chapter President and Communication Studies major, Emel Rasim, provided a few remarks on behalf of the members.
Presentations:
Dr. Hopeck gave a presentation titled “Public Speaking & Engaging Others” at the Husky Leadership Summit on Saturday, February 29th.
Dr. Erin Brummett served as a presenter at the Frederick Douglass Institute for Academic Excellence Symposium on February 13th in the Kehr Union at BU. Her presentation was entitled, “Communicating Support for Interracial Romantic Partners: When Does It Matter?" and focused on a grounded theory research study exploring support communication between interracial romantic partners and their family members.
Dr. Erin Brummett served as a panelist for a community panel discussion entitled, “On the Move: A Community Workshop Honoring the Life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” sponsored by the Bloomsburg Coalition for Social Equity on February 9th. Students from Dr. Brummett's COMMSTUD 314 (Communicating Identity and Difference) and COMMSTUD 493 (Special Topics: Interracial Communication) courses attended the event and participated in dialogue with the panelists and community members about race relations in Bloomsburg, PA.
Dr. Erin Brummett was invited to be a presenter for a Fireside Chat Seminar as part of the Presidential Leadership Program at Bloomsburg University. Her presentation was entitled, “Conflict Management and Resolution Skills” and took place on February 6th. Students learned about the pros and cons of various conflict styles and assessed their own conflict styles in a variety of relationship contexts.