Student Research

Many students in the Department of Communication Studies are actively involved in research projects. Several students have received recent recognition for excellence:

Graduate Student Research

  • Brandon Hensley won the EIU College of Arts and Humanities 2011 King-Mertz Research/Creative Activity Award of Excellence for his project titled "Body Billboards and Brand Colonization:  Embodied Corporate Advertising in Postmodern Branding Culture."  
  • Kendra McClure won the 2010 Best Debut Paper award from the Central States Communication Association for her paper "Miracle or Myth? A Qualitative Study of the Communication Strategies Used to Promote and Oppose Clean Coal Technology."
  • Tasha Rennels won the EIU College of Arts and Humanities 2010 Thesis Award of Excellence for her master's thesis titled "Taking out the Trash: Critiquing the Equipment for Living of White Trash Films."
  • Melissa Territo won the EIU College of Arts and Humanities 2010 King-Mertz Research/Creative Activity Award of Excellence for her project titled "Hidden in the Shadows: A Qualitative Analysis of the "Impossible" Possibility: Male Rape." 
  • Nora Swalls received a Research/Creative Activity Grant for her research project: Clark County Ready, Set, Grow! Workshop. Her research partner was the Clark County Development Corporation.

EIU Communication Studies graduate students made 22 presentations at regional and national conferences during the 2009-2010 academic year.  Here is a list of those presentations, along with travel award recipients and on-campus research presentations.


Undergraduate Student Research

  • Heather Roy presented a paper entitled "Harley and Angels' Wings: Nonverbal Rhetorical Response to the Westboro Baptist Church" at the 14th Biennial Conference of the Rhetoric Society of America in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2010.
  • Andrew McLaughlin presented a paper entitled “Words of Wisdom in an Overly Progressive Race for Armament: A Study of Anti-Nuclear Rhetoric” at the 14th Biennial Conference of the Rhetoric Society of America in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2010.
  • Heather Roy presented a paper entitled "Gender, branding, and brand personality: The effects of gendered brands, commercialization, and the reinforcement of heteronormative stereotypes." at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in 2010.
  • Cara Fumagalli received an undergraduate research grant for her project entitled “Strategic public relations in the childhood obesity debate: Pediatrics interest groups vs. Coca-Cola.”

 

Honors Thesis

The following undergraduate students completed Honors Theses during the 2010-2011 academic year:

  • Jillian Braun  "Implementation & Effectiveness of Smoking Ban on College Campuses:  Eastern Illinois University"  (Supervised by Dr. Matt Gill)
  • Tayleigh Brummer  "Deception in Relationships"   (Supervised by Dr. Rodney Marshall)
  • Cara Fumagalli  "The Campaign to Stop Killer Coke:  A Textual Analysis of Online Activism a Threat to the Coca-Cola Company's Corporate Reputation"  (Supervised by Dr. Sherry Holladay)
  • Carolyn Markwood  "The Effects a Parent's Divorce has on a Child's Future Romantic Relationships"  (Supervised by Dr. Beth Gill)
  • Dion Martorano   "Where is Women's Coverage in Sports?"  (Supervised by Dr. Rodney Marshall)