Department of Communication Studies
Communication studies bridges two vital disciplines: humanities (English and philosophy) and social sciences (anthropology, sociology, psychology and political science). We provide a solid liberal arts grounding in theory, history, structures, process and functions of human communication relative to individuals, groups, communities, and local and global cultures.
Through our programs, students learn to analyze and integrate a variety of perspectives in the field of communication and apply them to their professional, personal and civic lives.
BA, University of New Hampshire
MA, University of Massachusetts at Amherst
PhD, Temple University
Dr. Al-Obaidi served as the chairperson of the Communication Studies Department 2005-2011. He teaches courses in media studies and communication technologies, media theories, global media, Middle Eastern media, documentary film, and television production. His research interests include global media and intercultural communication, digital media and new frontiers, media in the Middle East and Asian countries, Japanese film, Middle Eastern documentary and feature films, and media literacy. He is also interested in areas of media and sustainability, media and environmental issues, new social media, academic program assessment, and global media as a tool for global negotiation. Dr. Al-Obaidi is the author of Media Censorship in the Middle East(2007) and Broadcast, Internet, and TV Media in the Arab World and Small Nations(2010).
BA, Baghdad University
MAE, University of Hartford
PhD, The University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
BA, Grand View University
MA, University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee
PhD, Indiana University
Dr. Edwards specializes in presidential communication, foreign policy discourse, and rhetoric of war and peace. He teaches courses in communication theory, political communication, and crisis communication. He is the advisor to Lambda Pi Eta, the national honor society of communication studies. His research interests lie at the intersection of rhetoric and politics, primarily focusing on presidential communication and international political rhetoric. He is the author of Navigating the Post-Cold War World: President Clinton's Foreign Policy Rhetoric (Lexington Studies in Political Communication). He has published articles and book chapters in venues such as the International Journal of Communication, Atlantic Journal of Communication, The Journal of Language and Politics, White P House Studies, New Perspectives on the Presidency, Sith, Slayers, Cyborgs, and Stargates: Modern Mythology in the New Millennium, and The Rhetoric of Pope John Paul II. When not teaching or conducting research Professor Edwards loves to play golf, travel abroad, watch his beloved Minnesota Vikings, and get acquainted with the cultural aspects of New England.
BA, Concordia College
MA, North Dakota State University
MA, Minnesota State University
PhD, Georgia State University
BA, MA (Boise State University)
PhD, University of Colorado at Boulder
Christina Hodel received her PhD in film and media studies from the University of Kansas. She currently teaches Beginning Videography, Media and Multiculturalism, and Film Theory and Criticism. As a practicing artist, Dr. Hodel has written, directed, and produced various industrials, public service announcements, commercials, event trailers, video installations, narrative films, and documentaries. Her work has received funding, won awards, and been screened at festivals including Tallgrass International Film Festival and Bare Bones International Film and Music Festival. Dr. Hodel’s current research explores issues of gender, identity, and girl power in contemporary “tween” television. She has published in Girlhood Studies, In Media Res, the Alberta Journal of Educational Research, the Routledge Encyclopedia of Modernism, Studies in the Humanities, and the Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. When not engaging in academic pursuits, Dr. Hodel enjoys high altitude mountaineering, SCUBA diving, and practicing karate.
Bjorn Ingvoldstad's teaching specialization is in media studies and media production. He is the faculty advisor to WBIM-FM, BSU's student-run radio station, as well as the Bridgewater Film & Video Association (BFVA). His current research focuses on media audiences and their interaction with both media texts and industries. His particular focus continues to be in Lithuania, with a wider contextual base in post-socialist Eurasia.
BA, Gustavus Adolphus College
MA, University of Texas at Austin
PhD, Indiana University at Bloomington
BA, MA, San Francisco State College
PhD, University of Denver
Dr. McNaughton specializes in affective rhetorics, using rhetorical theory and criticism to explore subjects like visual culture and the body. She teaches courses in communication theory, popular and visual culture, and critical/cultural studies. Her dissertation takes up the power of style and design, using Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia as her case study . She has published articles investigating prison tattoos as visual rhetoric and guerilla communication practices as visual commodities, and is currently working on her first book, From Berber Carpeting to Blueberry Cocktails: Martha Stewart's Rhetorics of Style and Design. When not teaching or conducting research Dr. McNaughton enjoys watching NASCAR and knitting tea cozies with her cats.
BA, University of Calgary
MA, Pennsylvania State University
PhD, University of Georgia
Michele Meek completed her PhD at the University of Rhode Island. Dr. Meek’s research spans film/media studies, gender studies, literature, and girlhood studies. She has two essays forthcoming, “Lolita Speaks: Disrupting Nabokov’s ‘Aesthetic Bliss’” (Girlhood Studies) and “‘It Ain’t For Children’: ‘Shame-Interest’ in the Adaptations Precious and Bastard Out of Carolina” (Literature/Film Quarterly). She is currently editing the book Independent Female Filmmakers to be published through Routledge. Dr. Meek is also a filmmaker and creative entrepreneur who loves immersive travel.
BA, Boston College
MFA, Emerson College
PhD, University of Rhode Island
BA, Towson State College
MA, Bowling Green State University
BS, Emerson College
MA, PhD, Indiana University
BA, National University of Ireland at Maynooth
MSocSc, University College Dublin
MA, Dublin Institute of Technology
PhD, University of Tennessee
BA, Sungkyunkwan University
MA, Michigan State University
PhD, University of Wisconsin at Madison
Professor Mickey teaches a variety of courses in the Department including Introduction to Communication, Communication Theory, Human Communication Skills, Mass Media and Society, and Communication Studies Research. His particular focus is Public Relations and he has taught several courses in that area of interest. He is an accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America, and founded the student public relations group here at BSU. He has written three books and is currently working on the fourth, The Seduction of the English Garden: The Nineteenth Century Seed Merchants Sold More than Plants. This book is based on his yearlong work in Washington at the Smithsonian where he researched the public relations materials of the nineteenth century seed industry. During the summer, Professor Mickey is a Landscape Designer in Rye, NH where he gardens and also writes a garden column for several papers on the New Hampshire seacoast.
Barbara Landers has been employed by the college for 11 years. For the first 2 years she worked in the Information Technology Department and then 8 years as part of the Fiscal Affairs Accounting Department. Barbara has now joined the Communication Studies Department. In addition to her new position as administrative assistant Barbara loves spending time with her family, friends and being a parishioner at St. Thomas Catholic Church. She also enjoys gardening, sewing, knitting, reading and going to Hansen Farm for ice cream.
A Bridgewater State University Communication Studies bachelor's degree prepares students for careers in public relations, organizational communication, video production, and other fields in which communication is pivotal for success, and for advanced study in the field. It also provides students with critical thinking skills and the personal competencies required for fully engaged citizenship and effective communication in any forum.
The department offers three concentrations:
Communication and Culture
Film, Video, and Media Studies
Strategic Communication
Students must choose a concentration. Students matriculated prior to summer 2013 can opt for a new concentration or continue in an already chosen concentration.
For more information on programs see our Catalog.
