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What's New:

The Bloomsburg University Xi Omega chapter of Lambda Pi Eta, the National Communication Honor Society, has been named the 2019 Chapter of the Year by the National Communication Association.

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Featured Student

Sydney Rimmer

My name is Sydney Rimmer, and I am currently a senior at Bloomsburg, double majoring in Communication Studies with a Leadership and Public Advocacy focus and Political Science with a Legal Studies focus, as well as a minor in Public Relations. This summer, I am beyond grateful to have participated in an internship at the Pennsylvania State Capitol in the Senate Republicans Communications Office, as it was an incredibly fulfilling experience.
The office had a group of employees designated to each area of communications. There were teams of employees for areas such as speech writing, webmasters, photography, film, social media, and others. I got to shadow and help complete assignments in each of these areas, and gain an appreciation for the importance of each specialty. This offered a unique opportunity to understand “a day in the life” of the employees in this office and their responsibilities, and it also gave me an opportunity to meet people outside of the office, and experience things many other people will never experience. Seeing the behind the scenes of these events was so interesting.
The brunt of my work was done in June, as that is when the Senate is in session and the budget is being passed. Once the budget passed, July slowed down and there were significantly less events occurring, therefore less events for me to shadow, as the Senators stay in their district offices as opposed to coming to the Capitol. This gave me an accurate representation of the job, both the hustle and bustle of June, and the relaxed nature of July.
This internship has also proven to be a vital step in my networking. I received a follow up luncheon with the lobbying firm who encouraged me to intern in the Capitol, as well as encouragement from my office to look for a career in the Senate when I graduate. I got a chance to work with several Senators, thereby networking with them, which was a personal goal of mine for the summer. Another strength of my internship was the bond I formed with my coworkers. I was the only intern in my office, however I fit in perfectly with the full time employees despite us being in all different walks of life. I had anticipated forming relationships with my coworkers, but I had not foreseen how close I would grow with them. I am so blessed to now call many of my coworkers my friends. We have spent time together in both the office, as well as our free time, and I am elated they have taken me under their wings, and I still stay in touch with many of them despite being many months post internship.
My internship was a wonderful experience, and truly turned out to be a highlight of my summer. I am able to walk away from this office confident that I completed assignments efficiently and to the best of my ability. I have grown from this experience, and I am excited to see how the things I have learned and the connections I have made will apply to my future endeavors.

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Department News:

Summer 2021 Newsletter

 

Publications 

Gettings, P. E., Chernichky-Karcher, S., & Iannarino, N. (2021). A qualitative evidence synthesis of normative rhetorical theory scholarship. Annals of the International Communication Association, 45(2), 113-133. https://doi.org/10.1080/23808985.2021.1945480 

Huang, S. (2021). Why does communication need transnational queer studies? Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies,18(2), 204-211. 

Miller, E.C. (2021). The Eyes of the World Upon Us, Again: John Winthrop’s Remarkable Comeback. Journal of Communication and Religion 44.1: 124-130. 

Petre, E. A., Giorgio, G. A., Petre, J. T., & Harshbarger, J. M. (2021). One class can make a difference: The intersecting paths of mentoring friendship. In D. Trebing & A. Atay (Eds.), Mentoring and communication: Theories and practices (pp. 73-90). Peter Lang. 

Petre, E. A. (2021). Hermeneutical rhetoric and interpretations of “our common home”: Exploring Pope Francis’s Laudato Si’. Journal of Communication and Religion, 44(2), 16-32. 

Petre, J. T. (2021). Mentoring and "the space of communicative praxis": Theorizing mentoring as everyday practice. In D. Trebing & A. Atay (Eds.), Mentoring and communication: Theories and practices (pp. 153-167). Peter Lang. 

Conference Presentations 

Hopeck, P. (2021). Learning the work of caring: A longitudinal case study analysis of nursing students’ socialization to nursing school and the field of nursing. Presented at the 71st annual meeting of the International Communication Association, virtual. 

Huang, S. & Wong, T. (2021). Coming out to the United States: A transnational and queer study of intercultural communication in the United States. Paper presented at the International Communication Association Convention (virtual). 

Service 

Dr. Erin Brummett presented a two-hour online diversity training for the Central Susquehanna Community Giving Foundation’s Nonprofit Leadership Series on May 25, 2021. The presentation was entitled, "Navigating Difficult Dialogues: Understanding the Importance of Identity Differences and Conflict Management in Communication." 

Conversations among people who share different personal identifications and ideologies can be a challenging enterprise. This presentation explored some of the reasons for those challenges and focused on communicative approaches, particularly conflict management strategies, for navigating difficult dialogues in our personal relationships. 

Media Appearances 

Dr. Shuzhen Huang was interviewed for the news article “Cultural Closet: It’s A Challenge for LGBT Asians to Come Out to Relatives in Their Homelands” on Tucson Weekly. Full news reports available online: https://www.tucsonweekly.com/tucson/cultural-closet-its-a-challenge-for-lgbt-asians-to-come-out-to-relatives-in-their-homelands/Content?oid=30905439 

Dr. Shuzhen Huang’s article, entitled “Why Does Communication Need Transnational Queer Studies?,” was featured on the Facebook of Communication and Critical/Culture Studies, one of the flagship journals of the discipline.