Research Opportunities for Students

Students attending Miami have the opportunity to participate in the intellectual excitement of a department that encourages research. To take classes with faculty who are generating new knowledge, and then go beyond the classroom and work directly with those professors on research projects, can be intellectually stimulating experiences for both undergraduate and graduate students. The collaborative research process can be a defining academic experience and also helps develop skills that are applicable to life after graduation.

Below are opportunities for students to work on research with faculty in the department of communication. Contact the individual faculty member directly to get more information about the projects..

Ann Frymier
frymieab@muohio.edu
November 2004 Anticipated Research Project: Teacher-Student Relationship Impact on the Interpretation of Teacher Use of Humor in the Classroom.

Description: This research project is part of a program of research being conducted by myself and Dr. Melissa Bekelja Wanzer of Canisius College. Earlier research has found that students prefer teachers who use humor in the classroom. In another study we examined students' perceptions of appropriate and inappropriate use of humor in the classroom. We speculate that to some extent, whether a student perceives teacher humor as appropriate or inappropriate depends on the teacher-student relationship.

Research Assistant: a research assistant is needed to assist with data collection, data entry, and review of relevant literature. If the student has an adequate background in statistics and research methods, the student assistant could also assist with data analysis.

Ron Becker
beckerrp@muohio.edu
Background: Research in contemporary politics of gay, lesbian, bisexual and straight representations on television (e.g., Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Boy Meets Boy, Its All Relative, The L Word, etc.). Research Assistant: A student assistant will perform systematic library research (LexisNexis, ProQuest, etc), careful textual analysis, and assist in writing. Interested students should have taken a class like Media & Society or other Mass Communication classes that deal with analysis of television/film texts. Students must be detail oriented and know how to research and write a scholarly paper with an argument.

Dr. Becker is also interested in talking with students who are interested in studying media coverage of the current debate over gay marriage.

Jim Cherney
chernejl@muohio.edu
I am interested in working with students on critical/cultural projects that examine how rhetoric impacts/shapes/constructs our lives.  Much of my work focuses on how rhetoric works around the problem of ableism (discrimination based on ability) but this project connects with/uses  feminist theory, postmodernist theory, rhetoric of the body, and similar approaches.  I’m particularly interested in projects that have the possibility of becoming a conference paper and ultimately a publication in a scholarly journal.