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Melanie B Mills

Professor

Office: 1741 - Coleman Hall
Phone: 217-581-2016
Fax: 217-581-5718
Email: mbmills@eiu.edu

Melanie Mills's Vita

Melanie Mills has been a member of the EIU Communication faculty since 1985. She is also a member of the Women's Studies faculty. She teaches interpersonal and organizational communication classes as well as theories and research methods. Her research is ethnographic and centers around occupational culture studies and work identities.

Office hours for Spring 2013 are 1:30-2:00 & 3:15-4:15 TR, 5-7 W, or by appointment.

Frequently Taught Courses

Communication Theory
Organizational Communication (Intro, Advanced, and Simulation)
Research Methods

Education

Ph.D. Interpersonal & Public Communication, Bowling Green State University

M.A. Interpersonal & Publice Communication, Bowling Green State University

B.A. Speech Communication, University of Toledo

Professional Organizations

Current Professional Memberships
National Communication Association (NCA), Central States Communication Association (CSCA), Organization for the Study of Communication, Language & Gender (OSCLG), International Congress for Qualitative Inquiry (ICQI), Popular Culture Association (PCA)

Speakers Bureau

For more information, please visit the Speakers Bureau Webpage.

• Communication/Public Speaking

Women's Work (gendered work considerations), Dirty Work (stigmatized work identities), Organizational/Occupational Work Cultures, Conflict Negotiation, Dealing with Difficult People, Dealing with Difference, Relational Communication, Health Communication, Friendship, Hiking

Publications

Mills, M.B. (2012). Unbound imagining with the word man. In de la Garza, S.A., Krizek, R.L., & Trujillo, N. (Eds.) Celebrating Bud: A Festschrift honoring the life and work of H.L. “Bud” Goodall, Jr.. Tempe, AZ: Innovative Inquiry, pp. 145-148.

The Ethnogs, Fem Nogs (me!), and Rip Tupp (2011). Performing mythic identity: An analysis and critique of “The Ethnogs”. Qualitative Inquiry, 17:664.

Mills, M.B. & Borzi, M.G. (2011). EIU-CMN Corporate Community: A Corporate Communication Simulation (ebook).

Mills, M. B. (2008). “Intersections Between Work and Family: When a Playpen Can be Office Furniture” in Women’s Studies in Communication, 31:2, Special Issue: Conversation and Commentary on Redefining the Professor(iate): Valuing Commitment to Care and Career in the Academe.

Mills, M. B. (2007). “Miles of Trials: The life & livelihood of the long haul trucker” in Who says? Working class rhetoric, class consciousness, and community. W. DeGenaro (ed.). Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 127-143.

Drew, S. K., Mills, M.B., & Gassaway, B.M. (2007). Dirty work: The social construction of taint. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press.

Conference Presentations

“I'm not Yo' Mama, but I'd be Happy to Tell You a Story, Child” for NCA 2012 in Orlando, FL

“Just drive by that house: A word of encouragement from a friend” for OSCLG 2012 in Tacoma, WA

“(plaster) casting call: A groupie’s take on molding mythical meanings” for ICQI 2012 in Champaign, IL

“Using metaphors to connect communication theory, understanding, and practice” for CSCA 2012 in Cleveland, OH (chair)

“Feminist concepts in the classroom” for CSCA 2012

“Exploring unity among family portrayals in organizations, media, and everyday interactions” for CSCA 2012 (respondent)

“Changing occupational identities: Revisioning aging female archetypes in the workplace” for CSCA 2012

“Refracted Research: God’s Fingers in Spiritual Occupational Studies” for NCA 2011 in New Orleans, LA

“Raising our Ethnographic Voices: Ethics, Justice, and Vulnerability” NCA 2011 preconference planner/presenter with Chris Poulos

"My ovaries have as much guts as your balls (!): Taken for granted assumptions and metaphors that gender talk" for OSCLG 2011 in Evanston, IL

“Feminist Friendships as Collaborative Research Praxis” with Shirley Drew, Nicole Defenbaugh, Patty Sotirin, and Laura Ellingson for ICQI 2011 in Champaign-Urbana

“Home is Where the Ads Are: Analyses of Corporate Use and Exploitation of ‘Home’” invited panel respondent for CSCA 2011 in Milwaukee, WI

“When the Academy Isn't Hospitable: Making a Home for Women's Studies” invited roundtable participant for CSCA 2011

“Work-Life balance: Valuing gender diversity as more than a ‘women’s issue’” (top panel award) for CSCA 2011

“Embracing Ethical and Political Potentials of Friendship in our Research” with Shirley Drew for NCA 2010 in San Francisco, CA

“Constructing Mythic Identity and Culture: A Performance and Critique of The Ethnogs” for ICQI 2010

“Social and political impact of the media and new technologies in multicultural contexts” for CSCA 2010

Funding & Grants

Community

Charleston Rotary Club
Advisory Board, SACIS
Heritage Woods Homeowners Association Board Member
Women Connected Philanthropic Giving Circle, Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Meals on Wheels Coordinator
Boy Scouts, Venturing Crew Advisor

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