University of North Texas lettermark.
College of Arts & Sciences wordmark.

  • Dr. Walker's "The Bell Jar"

    Join us today at 5PM in GAB 321 for a talkback on the show! Tell us what you think!

  • More Debate Winning!

    Congrats to Colin Quinn and Brian Kersch for being named to the All American Debate Team and to Shelby Pryor and Amy Schade both named National Debate Scholars!

  • Debate's winning!

    UNT Debate wins National Public Debate Award in recognition of its incredible public debate series. Award presented by the Cross Examination Debate Association.

Latest News

COMM Studies Alum Finds Success in the Marine Corps
Thursday, May 03, 2012


Bryan sitting on Sadam's throne in the Al Faw Palace

When you think of a Marine, you might think of popular media images: a tall, fit man charging into battle with a rifle in hand or a squared away soldier snapping off a salute.  However, if you were to meet Kat Muehlstein Bryan, your opinion and definition of a Marine might change.

Compared to the population of men, women make up about 15% of the Marine Corps.  About one percent of those women are officers, but an even smaller percentage makes up female captains.  These female captains are few and far between, and Bryan, and alumnus of the Communication Studies department, can say with pride that she has achieved this honor.

Read More »
COMM Studies undergraduate student received award at Scholars Day
Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Undergraduate James Nichols won an award on Thursday, April 19, for a paper he presented at University Scholars Day.  James received second place for his proposal entitled “Negotiating in the 21st Century: Bridging the Gap Between Technology and Hostage Negotiation.”  He was awarded a cash prize and is eligible for a $500 travel grant to present his work elsewhere within the next academic year.  Included below is an abstract of his work.

James is a junior at the University of North Texas and is also a member of the Honors College.  As a department, we congratulate James on his scholastic achievement.

“Negotiating in the 21st Century: Bridging the Gap Between Technology and Hostage Negotiation”
Hostage negotiation is an interpersonal communicative event that primarily relies on verbal communication through landlines. The purpose of this research proposal is to promote the inclusion of new technology, specifically cellphones with text, call, and video chat capabilities, into hostage negotiation situations.

Read More »
Gender Fair Spring 2012
Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Every semester, Dr. Suzanne Enck and undergraduate students of the Gender and Communication course host the Gender Fair, and event held to teach and inform students in our community about the constructs of gender in society. The students create interactive booths that feature games and other educational information that engages the community about topics such as feminism, sexuality, masculinities, and race and gender. This semester’s Gender Fair will be on April 25th in the 1 O’clock Lounge from 10 AM to 3 PM in the University Union, and will be the sixth fair since Dr. Enck joined the faculty in the fall of 2009.

Lambda Pi Eta will also have a booth at the fair and will be accepting donations for Denton County Friends of the Family. For a list of sought donations, please visit the Facebook event page.

Read More »
Spring 2012 COMM Undergraduate Student Internships
Monday, April 23, 2012

Every semester, the Communication Studies department works with students that show an interest in getting hands-on experience with their degrees. Dr. Brian Richardson, head of our department’s internship program, assists students in finding internships that utilize their skills in communication and help further the knowledge of a career they may wish to pursue. This semester, six undergraduate students are participating in an internship.

Paris Clark is working as an intern with The Arthritis Foundation in Dallas, TX. She is in charge of social media communication and other forms of awareness for arthritis. Along with Communication Studies, her minor is Marketing. She says that working with social media is a great experience for both Communication Studies and Marketing.

Read More »
Need a summer course? Take COMM 4849: Mythic Rhetoric of the American Superhero!
Tuesday, April 10, 2012

 

Good News! The Superheroes course is back for a return engagement. Dr. Shaun Treat will be teaching the Superheroes course (COMM 4849.001) in 5W1 from 12-2 M-Th. Best news yet? No Prerequisite! Only 75 seats! Grab one while they're still available. Check out Dr. Treat's blog about the course here!

Read More »
Dr. Paul Schrodt lecture 4/18 @ 5PM
Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Read More »
This Week in UNT COMM Studies
Monday, April 09, 2012

Lambda Pi Eta will be hosting a Game Night on Monday, April 9, at 5PM in GAB 309. Take a short break from your studies and join us for board games, food, and COMM friends!

For the performers in the department, PIGS will be having a meeting on Wednesday, April 11, at 4 PM in the black box (GAB 321). The meeting will feature the students going to the Petit Jean Performance Festival next week and will be utilized as a workshop to help develop the work each are taking to the festival. Other fun things will ensue, so be sure to join us!

Also, much of the faculty and graduate students will be going to San Antonio this weekend for the Southern States Communication Association Conference. Many faculty members and graduate students will be presenting work at the conference, and you can check out the list of them here.

Read More »
Faculty and former graduate student publish in Communication Studies
Tuesday, April 03, 2012

The recent edition of the journal Communication Studies features an article co-authored by Dr. Brian Richardson, Dr. Zuoming Wang, and former graduate student Camille Hall. The article is titled “Blowing the Whistle on Greek Hazing: The Theory of Reasoned Action as a Framework for Reporting Intentions.” The researchers studied factors contributing to Greek members’ whistle-blowing intentions after reading a scenario depicting hazing. They found several factors contributed to whistle-blowing intentions including severity of the hazing, Greek members’ attitudes about whistle-blowing, and what they believed relevant others would have them do about the situation. The article stemmed from Camille’s Masters Fellowship research project with Dr. Richardson as advisor. Camille is now a doctoral student at the University of Texas at Austin and is working on another study with Drs. Richardson and Wang.

Read More »
UNT COMM presents "The Bell Jar"
Tuesday, April 03, 2012

Join us for a stage adaptation of Sylvia Plath's classic novel, The Bell Jar, April 5-7th at 7:00 pm in the Performance Studies Black Box, Room 321 of the General Academic Building on the campus of the University of North Texas. In this adaptation, director Dr. Rebecca Walker differentiates the novel from the common misconception that the novel is about the author’s suicide and frames the narrative as a coming-of-age tale for young people in a post-modern world.

Dr. Rebecca Walker directs this production with assistance from Andrea Lovoll, and features cast members Kim Nall, Victoria Smith, Brittany Hale, Meagan Oestry, Jenna Ledford-Millerd, Miranda Chesson, and Holley Vaughn.

To reserve your tickets, visit the main office in GAB 309, or by calling 940.565.2588. A $5 donation will be requested at the door. All proceeds from these donations go to support future performances in the Performance Studies Black Box by the Department of Communication Studies.

Read More »
This Week in UNT COMM Studies
Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Lots of meetings this week!

PIGS will be having auditions for the Petit Jean Performance Festival at their meeting this Wednesday, March 28th. If you have a piece that you would like to present for the audition, make you meet the following parameters:

• Your piece must be NO LONGER than 6 minutes, at least 4 minutes would be preferable.
• It can be a contemporary piece or an experimental piece. (Monologues, prose, performance art, etc.)
• Be completely memorized for your audition.
• Be available April 18th through the 22nd

Auditions start at 4 PM in GAB 321 (the black box)!

NCA Future Pros will be hosting a meeting on Wednesday, March 28th, at 5 PM in the COMM Library and will feature guest speaker Karen Ptacek. Ptacek is a representative from Dallas Area Rapid Transit, so be sure to attend if you wish to learn more about her position and how communication is part of her work!

Read More »