What's New

Congrats to Facia Sirleaf for receiving the Outstanding Atudent in Communication Studies Award - 2018!

Congratulations to graduate Tamika Austin - for winning an award from the Pennsylvania College Personnel Association (PCPA) Read more.

Congratulations to Amanda Weaver and her debate partner Tanisha Webster (Business Administration) for winning the 4th Annual Frederick Douglass Debate Society Tournament on Thursday, April 5th, 2018 at West Chester University. We are very proud of you!

 

Congrats to The National Communication Association Student Club (NCASC)! NCASC was selected as the 2018 Bloomsburg University Student Organization of the Year for their outstanding work in the areas of leadership, programming, and service.

Please see our Communication Studies Newsletters:

The BU Department of Communication Studies is officially on social media! Please like our Facebook page and our Twitter page and share with friends who may be interested!

 

Featured
Student

Facia Nyego Sirleaf
Beginning my undergraduate career as an undeclared student was the best decision I could have ever made. It allowed me the opportunity to fall in love with Anthropology, Gender Studies, and Communication Studies. Not only has this area of study enhanced the love I have for Anthropology and gender and ethnicity, it has given me the confidence I need to thrive as a public speaker and critical thinker. Through classes such as Gender issues in Communication, I was able to develop a passion for analyzing gender as well as ethnicity in different cultural contexts, specifically African culture. After learning tools to effectively communicate in professional settings and volunteering for two semesters, I interned at The Women’s Resource Center on campus and worked as a teaching assistant in the Communication Studies department. I have also won the Undergraduate Research Scholarship and Creative Activities Grant (U.R.S.C.A.), which I used to conduct research in Fez, Morocco for my project titled I Like the Color: Race and Ethnicity in Morocco.  I have also presented research at a Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) conference titled Romance Never Dies: An Ethnographic Study of Romance Novel Enthusiasts which focused on an application of literary anthropology.
I believe that Communication Studies has prepared me for graduate school as well helping me become a well-grounded scholar. Public speaking, gender issues in communication, and intercultural communication prepared me the most with being able to engage with audiences and articulate the love I have for my areas of study. With everything I have learned I plan to complete graduate studies by combining my love for Communication and African Studies to one day be able to work for the United Nations.

Featured Student

Gabrielle Narr
I am currently a Junior at Bloomsburg University in the Communication Studies major with a concentration in Organizational Communication. I also have a minor in Human Resources. The decision to choose this major and minor was the best decision I could have made as an incoming freshman. The classes I have taken in my major and minor have set me up to be successful in any career I choose. I am now an ethical thinker, organized, have great interpersonal skills, work well in diverse groups, and thrive as a public speaker. Not only have I gained these great skills, but being a Communication Studies major has given me the courage to get involved, which led to me joining my national sorority, Phi Sigma Sigma. Throughout my time in Phi Sigma Sigma I have held three leadership positions which are, scholarship chair, sisterhood development chair, and fundraising chair. I loved fundraising when I did it and it gave me the inspiration to want to pursue a career in Event Planning. Through my connections in Phi Sigma Sigma I received the opportunity to intern over the winter of 2017 at an event planning company called Philly2Night. During my internship I was involved in the process of planning and implementing events. I also worked closely with the events production manager. My favorite event that we planned was our New Years Eve Gala at the Seaport Museum. During my time as an intern at Philly2Night I gained real life experience, personal growth, field experience, and professional skill building. Throughout my time in the Communication Studies Department there have been two professors that have really stood out and helped me strive to be my best. Dr. Shavonne Shorter and Dr. Mary King have really been a great inspiration to me. They both encouraged me to be ambitious and do something that I never thought I would be able to do— achieve a 4.0 in the Spring 2017 semester. I also served as a Teaching Assistant for Dr. Mary King's Introduction to Communication Studies course. This provided an opportunity to build leadership and teamwork skills. I am very grateful for my professors and classmates that have helped me become the best version of myself. Communication Studies has prepared me for life after graduation, even if I'm not ready to graduate.


Department Faculty

David Heineman, Ph.D.

HeinemanDr. Heineman joined the faculty in 2007. He earned his Ph.D. in Communication Studies from the University of Iowa and a Masters and Bachelors degrees in Speech Communication from Syracuse University.

Dr. Heineman’s primary research interests are located at the intersection of rhetorical theory and criticism and new media technologies. He is author of Thinking About Video Games:
Interviews With the Experts (Indiana University Press, 2015) and co-author of Rhetoric Online:
The Politics of New Media with Barbara Warnick (Peter Lang, 2012).  Other recent scholarship has focused on game studies, gender in media, the rhetoric of memes, and digital aesthetics.  Dr. Heineman also has research interests in visual rhetoric, public memory, social movements, the rhetoric of science and technology, media criticism, narrative theory, and political communication. He currently teaches classes such as Media and Visual Culture, The Art, History, and Culture of Video Games, Examining Communication, Understanding Social Influence, Gender Issues in Communication, Honors Communication, Issue and Image Campaigns, Persuasion in American Cinema, and Public Speaking.

Dr. Heineman frequently presents his work at international, national, and regional conferences and has earned top paper honors for some of his work. Recent presentations were made at the 2014 Games of Late Modernity Conference in Leusden, NL, the 2013 National Communication Association Convention in Washington, DC, and the 2012 Rhetoric Society of America Convention in Philadelphia, PA.  He has published essays and other original work in scholarly journals such as New Media and Society and The Journal of Games Criticism and on popular media sites like Kotaku.  He has reviewed for a number of highly regarded journals including The Western Journal of Communication, New Media and Society, and Communication Quarterly.  Dr. Heineman has also been successful in acquiring competitive grants to assist in teaching new courses and furthering new research.

In addition to his teaching and research, Dr. Heineman is active in areas of service.  He currently serves as the chair of the College of Liberal Arts Curriculum Committee, has chaired the Communication Studies Search Committee, has been an advisor to the Communication Studies Honor Society Lambda Pi Eta, and is involved in various other university, college, and departmental committees such as the Evaluation and Tenure committees. He has given invited lectures on campus for the TALE Center, for the Student Employee of the Year Luncheon, and for the Chi Upsilon Sigma National Latin Sorority.