SC&I Faculty and Graduates Contribute to the Newly Released "Teaching Communication, Vol. III: Journalism and Media"

 

The new book "Teaching Communication, Vol. III: Journalism and Media," recently published by Cognella, demonstrates SC&I's leadership in shaping how journalism, media studies, and mass communication are taught nationally.

Edited by Associate Dean for Programs and Professor of Journalism and Media Studies Susan Keith, the book is intended for educators at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

"It features chapters offering an overview of history and curricula in journalism, public relations, advertising, and media studies, as well as how to teach common courses in those four areas," Keith said. "In addition, the book includes chapters explaining how to teach common introductory courses in media or mass communication and how to teach courses that reach across areas in media and mass communication education."

Keith’s book is the final volume in the four-volume "Teaching Communication" series, for which Deanna D. Sellnow of Clemson University and Michael G. Strawser of the University of Central Florida served as series editors.

The series, according to the publisher, "is an innovative series designed to help communication instructors develop a course for the first time or to guide teacher-trainers as they work with new teachers in formal classroom settings or informal mentoring sessions. Providing theoretically grounded research-based guidelines for teaching communication effectively, each volume in the series provides robust suggestions for what to teach and how to teach various communication topics."

The series also has a link to Gus Friedrich, dean emeritus and Department of Communication professor II emeritus. In 1990, he was co-editor of a book called "Teaching Communication: Theory, Research, and Methods" (Routledge), which was updated for a second edition in 1998. That book, Sellnow and Strawser wrote in a preface to each volume, inspired them.

"Like many of our colleagues across the communication discipline, we both relied on the wisdom offered within the pages of 'Teaching Communication,' first as new teachers and then as teachers of new teachers. However, as years turned into decades, the need for an updated version grew more pressing," they wrote.

The other three volumes in the new "Teaching Communication" book series are:

· "Teaching Communication Vol. 1: Foundations," by Sellnow and Strawser.

· "Teaching Communication Vol. 2: Communication Studies," edited by Joseph P. Mazer, dean of the College of Communication and Information at the University of Tennessee.

 · "Teaching Communication Vol. 4: Instructional Resources," edited by Brandi N. Frisby and Renee Kaufmann. Frisby is a professor in the School of Information Science, associate provost for academic affairs, and acting director of the graduate school at the University of Kentucky. Kaufmann is an associate professor and associate dean for graduate programs in the School of Information Science at the University of Kentucky.

In addition to editing Vol. 3 and writing the preface, Keith also wrote the Vol. 3 chapter "Teaching Journalism: An Overview" and co-authored the Vol. 4 chapter "Introducing the Media Law Course With Artifacts: A First-Day Activity" with alumnus Christoph Mergerson Ph.D.'22, an assistant professor in the Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland.

 Additional chapters in the series written by SC&I faculty members and graduates:

· "Teaching Social Media" (Vol. 3) by Mary Chayko, distinguished teaching professor of teaching in Communication and Information and director of undergraduate interdisciplinary studies. Chayko also contributed to Vol. 4: a syllabus for an asynchronous Social Media course and three more chapters: "Using X to Achieve Classroom Objectives: Planning, Implementation, and Best Practice"; "The Impact of Emerging Technologies: Development of a Project, Paper, and Digital Presentation"; and "The X Cross-Course Activity: Using X to Connect Students Across Courses and Institutions."

 · "Teaching Global Media" (Vol. 3) by Associate Professor of Practice, Journalism and Media Studies Mary D'Ambrosio and alumna Qun Wang Ph.D.'20, an assistant professor in the Department of Communication and Media Studies at Fordham University.

 · "Teaching Media History" (Vol. 3) by alumnus Kevin M. Lerner Ph.D.'14, professor and chair of the Department of Journalism and Sports Media at Montclair State University.

· "'Our University Mascot Is Missing!': Teaching Principles of Interpersonal Deception Through an Adaptation of the Game Mafia" (Vol. 4) by Tiffany R. Wang, professor of communication studies at the University of Montevallo and SC&I Associate Professor of Communication Kristina M. Scharp.

Learn more about the Rutgers School of Communication and Information. 

Images provided by Susan Keith.