Communication Studies

Department of Communication Studies News

The Department of Communication Studies offers programs focused on relational and public communication. We teach and deploy communication skills in interpersonal, small group, organizational, and political settings, which in turn helps others to develop critical thinking, writing, and speaking skills. Our goal is to best serve communication needs by training citizens to engage, motivate, and impact communities.

Current Communication Studies News

three students playing board game together
Campus News |

Students illustrate the invisible factors that define our status quo, one game at a time.

51ԹϺ seasonal eggs
Campus News |

A collection of colorful headlines featuring 51ԹϺ staff and students.

Spring flowers
Campus News |

The students and faculty of 51ԹϺ are springing into headlines around the country.

spring flowers
Campus News |

The rosiest headlines and highlights featuring the students and faculty of 51ԹϺ.

female looking through Reddit comments on laptop
Research |

Tourist Safety Institute researchers scour social media to see how visitors perceive safety in Las Vegas.

woman in white dress using silks to hang from outdoor pagoda
Research |

Communication studies professor Laura Martinez researches how circus organizations and performers can support career longevity and physical health.

Communication Studies In The News

Las Vegas Review Journal

Nevadans are feeling the effects of extreme heat in their lives and on their wallets, a newly published 51ԹϺ report reveals.

City Cast Las Vegas

Ahead of World Circus Day this Saturday, we’re taking a look behind the curtain at the physical strain performers endure for their careers. Las Vegas is a major destination for acrobats, but our city lacks the protections and medical care needed to help manage the pain that accompanies their dazzling skills. 51ԹϺ professor and aerial performer Laura Martinez studies the culture of the circus industry and how they discuss pain. She joins co-host Dayvid Figler to explain this behind-the-scenes dynamic — and how Las Vegas commodifies performers’ bodies.

Juris Education

What’s the most challenging and the most rewarding aspect of joining a debate union?

Grist

You’re probably familiar with the concept of a carbon footprint: a personal tally of transgressions that contribute to planet-warming emissions. The “carbon footprint” is well established in the climate movement’s lexicon, despite the guilt and shame that it evokes — and despite the fact that many people now know the term was popularized in an ad campaign by the oil company British Petroleum, a shockingly effective gambit to put the onus of addressing the climate crisis on individuals, not the corporations or governments that have contributed the most to the problem.

Yahoo!

There’s now an easy way to turn any aspect of life into something to optimize — just add “-maxxing.” Gymmaxxing is about getting ripped. Moneymaxxing means accumulating wealth as fast as possible. Over the past couple of years, this social media-driven wellness fad has spread to more and more activities: Tanning is sunmaxxing; drinking plenty of water is watermaxxing. Even at night, the grind for self-improvement continues, with sleepmaxxing hacks designed to help you achieve peak rest.

Grist

There’s now an easy way to turn any aspect of life into something to optimize — just add “-maxxing.” Gymmaxxing is about getting ripped. Moneymaxxing means accumulating wealth as fast as possible. Over the past couple of years, this social media-driven wellness fad has spread to more and more activities: Tanning is sunmaxxing; drinking plenty of water is watermaxxing. Even at night, the grind for self-improvement continues, with sleepmaxxing hacks designed to help you achieve peak rest.

Communication Studies Experts

An expert on debate and argument theory.
An expert on interpersonal communication and long-distance relationships.
Dean of the Greenspun College of Urban Affairs and expert in community renewal, risk and crisis communications. 
An expert in competitive debate, policy debate, argumentation and persuasion, and presidential and political debates.
A rhetorical studies professor who researches the impact of cultural influences on how we view food and taste.
An expert in privacy and disclosure in online communications.

Recent Communication Studies Accomplishments

In April 2025, Jeffrey T. Child (Communication Studies) will become president of the largest regional communication association in the nation, the Central States Communication Association (CSCA). Child is the primary conference planner for CSCA’s 94th annual convention being held April 1-6 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He organized this year’s…
Jeffrey T. Child (Communication Studies) recently published an edited book chapter on intentional and mindful social media disclosure practices in a national book for first-year students about enhancing their resilience in college. The citation for the piece is: Child, J. T., & Craig, M. J. A. (2024). Intentional and mindful social media use:…
Jeffrey T. Child (Communication Studies) recently published an edited book chapter on intentional and mindful social media disclosure practices in a national book for first-year students about enhancing their resilience in college. The citation for the piece is: Child, J. T., & Craig, M. J. A. (2024). Intentional and mindful social media…
Tara McManus (Communication Studies) and co-author Courtney Rilinger (Park University) published the paper, "The Influence of Attributions, Emotions, and Sexual Health Knowledge on Support Provision to Friends with Sexual Health Uncertainties," in the journal Health Communication. The results indicate that the more participants assigned blame to…
Rebecca Rice (Communication Studies), published the article "Involuntary Adoption of Information and Communication Technologies During Emergencies: Temporality of Technology Use in Virtual Collaborations" in Management Communication Quarterly, with co-author Natalie Pennington (Colorado State University). 
David R. Gruber (Communication Studies) published a book chapter titled "Material Forces in the Brain Sciences" in the "Routledge Handbook of Rhetoric and Power" edited by Nathan Crick. The chapter initially reviews the scholarly literature sitting at the intersection of the neurosciences and rhetorical studies and argues that three sub-areas have…