2022 workshops and conferences in communication, archive

CCSN 2022 SUMMER WORKSHOPS in Communication

RECORDINGS of all summer workshops and conferences in communication are now available through the CCSN’s online store.

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The CCSN’s Institute for Faith and Communication is excited to provide an Early Bird Preview of the following 11 Summer Workshops in Communication, listed below in order of date offered (Learn more about Summer Conferences in Communication).

1. Registration opens on April 1, 2022. Please return to this page to register on or after April 1. Space is limited.

2. All workshops are offered in the virtual environment through Zoom and are from 11:30 am – 3:00 pm EDT. Recordings will be made available.

3. Free and discounted books offered through workshops.

4. Student discounts available for select workshops.

5. If you have an idea for a 2023 workshop or conference in communication, or any other questions related to our summer workshop and conference program, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the CCSN’s Executive Director, Robert Woods (rwoods@theccsn.com).

6. Sponsorships for select workshops are available, which provide you with time in the schedule to share about your program or organization or latest initiative. Please contact rwoods@theccsn.com if you have questions.

7. Please share our summer events with others. We are grateful for your support!

Sincerely,

Robert Woods

CCSN Executive Director

Title: Digging Deeper: Strategies for Research in Communication Studies

Presenters/Facilitators: Amy James, Director of Instruction and Information Literacy, Baylor University; Robbie Bolton, University Librarian, Spring Arbor University

Date and Time: Thursday, June 2, 2022 | 11:30 – 3:00 pm EDT

Description: In this workshop, seasoned research and reference librarians Amy James and Robbie Bolton will provide you with an introduction to using different types of resources to conduct Communication-related research. You will discover resources specific to the field of communication as well as some ancillary databases you may find useful (i.e. databases that index communication content), including resources and databases helpful in locating sources in Christian and religious communication.

Presenters will focus on the process of creating a research strategy by helping you to develop appropriate Boolean search strings with both keywords and subject headings. These search strategies will prepare you to conduct effective and efficient searches to find the research that you need. You will also learn how to do citation index searching which can help you see how often a particular item has been cited by others and provide you with data on the impact of different journals and authors. Citation indexes track the references from bibliographies and give you the insight to help you analyze literature on your topic in a way that is not possible through just keyword searching.

The workshop will conclude with helpful strategies for how you can organize and manage your research using a free, open-source citation manager including but not limited to Zotero. Zotero and others like it can help you to create virtual folders to hold various articles and sources that you have found throughout the research process as your work individually or collaborate with others. It can also help you to generate source citations in Microsoft Word and/or Google Docs.

Amy James (MLIS, Wayne State University) is the Director of Instruction and Information Literacy at the Baylor University Libraries. She guides the library’s instructional strategies and develops curriculum for information literacy instruction sessions with Baylor’s first-year writing courses and other campus partnerships. She also serves as the library liaison for the School of Education. Her research interests include active learning in information literacy instruction and meta-literacy in the academic library. Amy is a member of the American Library Association, the Association of College and Research Libraries (including the Education and Behavioral Sciences subsection, the ERIC Users Group, and the Library Instruction Round Table), and the Association of Christian Librarians.

Robbie Bolton (MS, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor) is the University Librarian at Spring Arbor University. He received an MS in information/archives from the School of Information at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and holds a BA in history from Spring Arbor University. An avid cyclist and hiker, he also teaches a backpacking course every year and enjoys hiking on the Appalachian Trail. He resides in Jackson, Michigan with his wife and three children.

Registration Fee: $25.00

Registration Available now

Title: Teaching C. S. Lewis: Chronicles of a Master Communicator

Presenter/Facilitator: Steven A. Beebe, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Communication Studies at Texas State University

Date and Time: Wednesday, June 8, 2022 | 11:30 am – 3:00 pm EDT

Description: Steven Beebe has been teaching his course “C. S. Lewis: Chronicles of a Master Communicator” at both Texas State University and Oxford University since 2005. Drawing upon his teaching experience, this seminar presents strategies, examples, and suggestions for teaching communication principles and practices inspired by C. S. Lewis. Based on the communication principles presented in Dr. Beebe’s recently published book, C. S. Lewis and the Craft of Communication, this workshop offers practical approaches for including Lewis’s ideas about communication in your course, whether you are teaching Lewis from a communication, theological, or literary perspective. Learn why Lewis was a master communicator as well as how to be a master educator about C. S. Lewis’s craft of communication. This interactive seminar includes opportunities for questions and discussion. Whether you are developing your first course about C. S. Lewis or are looking for ways to freshen an existing course, the seminar offers new insights about C. S. Lewis’s communication principles and practices.

Steven A. Beebe (PhD, University of Missouri-Columbia) is Regents’ and University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Communication Studies at Texas State University. He served as Chair of his department at Texas State for 28 years and concurrently as Associate Dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communication for 25 years. Prior to joining the faculty at Texas State, he was a tenured member of the Communication faculty at the University of Miami for 10 years. He is author and co-author of fourteen books (with editions totaling more than 75 books) that have been used at hundreds of colleges and universities (including international, Canadian, Russian, and Chinese editions) by several million students throughout the world. Steve’s research focuses on instructional communication and communication skill development. He is former president of the National Communication Association. His recent book, C. S. Lewis and the Craft of Communication (Peter Lang, 2020) reveals five communication principles that explain Lewis’s success as a communicator. Beebe made international headlines when conducting research at Oxford University when he discovered an unpublished manuscript written by C. S. Lewis that was the partial opening chapter of a book that was to be co-authored with J. R. R. Tolkien called Language and Human Nature. In 2016 and 2019 he also discovered unknown and unpublished poems by Lewis in the Oxford University Bodleian Library. Learn more about Dr. Beebe here: https://www.commstudies.txstate.edu/people/faculty/beebe.html

Registration Fee: $50.00

Registration Available now

Title: Writing Non-fiction Books for Publication

Date and Time: Tuesday, June 14, 2022 | 11:30 am – 3:00 pm EDT

Facilitators: Quentin Schultze, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Communication, Calvin University; Tim Muehlhoff, PhD, Professor of Communication, Biola University; and Robert H. Woods Jr, PhD, Executive Director, Christianity and Communication Studies Network

Description: This half-day workshop with award-winning authors and professors of communication and media focuses on practical advice for Christian educators and professionals who want to write heart-filled, Christ-centered, non-fiction books that educate and inspire. Facilitators explore how to manage writing and publishing while teaching and working full-time. Topics include motivations for writing, communication habits that help promote writing, strategies for developing content for books, and how to bring a book from concept to proposal to final publication. Editors from Christian publishing houses will join the conversation to share tips on how to write a winning proposal and more. Participants will have an opportunity to connect with publishers for proposal pitches. There is plenty of time for Q&A and group discussion with those in attendance.

Quentin Schultze (PhD, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign) is CCSN Senior Fellow and Professor Emeritus at Calvin University, where he received the Presidential Award for Exemplary Teaching. He has written many articles and books, including Communicating with Grace and Virtue, An Essential Guide to Public Speaking, An Essential Guide to Interpersonal Communication, Résumé 101, Communicating for Life, Communicate Like a True Leader. Dr. Schultze was one of the founders of the Gospel Communications Network, which created the online Bible Gateway. He serves on the Board of Directors of Baker Publishing Group. He leads teaching, publishing, and faith-integration seminars online and at universities and seminaries. Connect with Quentin: www.quentinschultze.com.

Tim Muehlhoff (PhD, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) is Professor of Communication at Biola University where he teaches classes in conflict resolution, apologetics, gender, and family communication. For over 30 years he served with Campus Crusade for Christ (Cru) in the campus ministry, short-term missions (Kenya, Russia, Lithuania), and with Keynote as a trainer for The Comm Lab—a center that trains Cru staff, pastors, and lay people in evangelistic speaking and apologetics. For the past 20 years Tim and his wife, Noreen, have been frequent speakers at Family Life Marriage Conferences. Tim currently is co-director of the Winsome Conviction Project which seeks to reintroduce civility and compassion into how we disagree in the public square. Tim is the co-host of the Winsome Conviction Podcast. His book Winsome Persuasion: Christian Influence in a Post-Christian World (with Biola University professor Rick Langer) received a merit award from Christianity Today’s 2018 Book of the Year Awards in the category of apologetics/evangelism. His newest book, Winsome Conviction: Disagreeing without Dividing the Church (with Rick Langer) explores conflict between fellow Christ-followers. Connect with Tim: www.timmuehlhoff.com.

Robert H. Woods Jr. (PhD, Regent University) served as Professor of Communication and Media at Spring Arbor University for nearly 20 years. He currently serves as the Executive Director of the Christianity and Communication Studies Network (CCSN) (www.theccsn.com), a non-profit network providing resources and training on faith-learning integration in the field of communication studies. He has served as the President of the Religious Communication Association (RCA) and was named Scholar of the Year by RCA in 2013. Robert is the co-author with Paul Patton on Everyday Sabbath: How to Lead Your Dance with Media and Technology in Mindful and Sacred Ways (Cascade Books, 2021). His book co-authored with Kevin Healey (University of New Hampshire), titled Ethics and Religion in the Age of Social Media: Digital Proverbs for Responsible Citizens (Routledge, 2019), received the 2020 Book of the Year Award from RCA. Connect with Robert: www.roberthwoodsjr.com.

Registration Fee: $75.00

Registration Available now

Title: Strategic Leadership for Christian Higher Education Administrators in Communication and the Arts

Lead Facilitator: Denise Edwards-Neff, PhD, Azusa Pacific University

Additional Presenters/Facilitators: Diane Badzinski, PhD, Colorado Christian University; Stephanie Bennett, PhD, Palm Beach Atlantic University; Tom Carmody, PhD, Vanguard University; John Hatch, PhD, Eastern University; Brandon Knight, PhD, William Carey University; Bala Musa, PhD, Azusa Pacific University; Joy Qualls, PhD, Biola University; Kevin Schut, PhD, Trinity Western University; Dorie Shelby, MA, Spring Arbor University; Ken Waters, PhD, Pepperdine University.

Date and Time: Thursday, June 23, 2022 | 11:30 am – 3:00 pm EDT

Description: Please join us for this Administrator Academy for Christian higher education administrators working in Communication and the Arts. If you lead a Communication department or school or program in a Christian college or university, this workshop will provide valuable resources and opportunities to engage with other experienced leaders. Communication departments share many things in common with other disciplines, but we are unique in many ways. We are tech/media heavy, handle debate/forensics, produce theater, and are required to staff adjuncts in highly specialized areas. We have colleagues within our departments from very different traditions within the discipline. The diversity of these program offerings and traditions under one roof present many blessings, indeed, but also inherent challenges to the collective.

This half-day leadership workshop will feature presentations by veteran leaders with Q&A, breakout sessions, roundtable discussions, and an interview with administrators at leading Christian colleges and universities. The workshop will conclude with an implementation session to take the concrete knowledge gained to produce individualized strategic development plans for the year ahead.

Workshop topics include:

– supporting the Christian formation of employees, or faculty and staff
– development in support of the institution’s Christian mission
– building a positive faculty and staff working culture
– cultivating a positive and effective working relationship with deans and provosts
– modeling and supporting active scholarship
– hiring faculty and staff
– having difficult conversations
– faculty annual review and evaluation
– promotion, tenure, and contract negotiation and decisions
– dealing with problem students
– innovative curriculum development
– assessment and program review
– enrollment and retention strategies

Denise Edwards-Neff (PhD, Purdue University) is Associate Dean in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Professor of Communication at Azusa Pacific University. She has held interim dean, department chair, and undergraduate and graduate program director and faculty positions at APU, Pepperdine University, Indiana Wesleyan University, and the University of Indianapolis.

Dr. Edwards-Neff’s research has been published in the Journal of Public Relations Research, Public Relations Review, Public Relations Journal, Sociological Quarterly, Quarterly Review of Business Disciplines, Business Review Yearbook, Oxford Handbook of Religion and the News, and The Handbook of Public Relations, and has been presented at annual conferences of the International Communication Association, National Communication Association, Religious Communication Association, International Association of Business Disciplines, and Public Relations Society of America.

Denise holds the Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) from the Public Relations Society of America, is on the board of PRSA-Los Angeles and is an executive member of the international Commission on Public Relations Education. She has served as President of the Religious Communication Association and Chair of the Public Relations Division of the National Communication Association.

Registration Fee: $75.00

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Title: Digital Hope Re-imagined: Foundational Questions and Practical Strategies for Cultivating Dialogue and Civility in Local and Global Contexts (A DIALOGIC UNCONFERENCE)

NOW FREE – REGISTRATION FEE HAS BEEN WAIVED

Date and Time: Monday, June 27, 2022 | 11:30 am – 3:00 pm EDT

Presenters/Facilitators: Tim Muehlhoff, PhD, Professor of Communication, Biola University; Debra A. Schwinn, MD, President, Palm Beach Atlantic University; Stephanie Bennett, PhD, Professor of Communication and Media Ecology, Palm Beach Atlantic University; Dennis Smith, Former Presbyterian Church (USA) Regional Liaison, South America

Description: Our current global scene is one of ideological division, amplified by the grammar of web 2.0 technologies that promotes rapid fire messaging and self-aggrandizement with little reflection. Our times are characterized by the propagation of fake news and tribal rhetoric that divides rather than unifies. To this mix, Christians would suggest the presence of “post-truth” and “post-Christian” voices that seek to tear apart the very fabric of neighborly love. The Apostle Paul calls all Jesus followers to be filled with hope in times of cultural despair: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Romans 15:13, ESV)

But how can hope and peace be maintained in our current public sphere where sloganeering and demonizing runs unchecked? How can we speak truth in love in winsome ways with competing voices? What hope is there for Christians to be different as we digitally engage others?

This dialogic unconference invites a sub-ideological dialogue among participants that does not presume a particular, predetermined outcome. It provides a means of asking deeper questions about the human condition that pervades digital discourse. The unconference recognizes that if Christians do not seek to cultivate unifying communication, then newly emerging ideological conflicts will threaten to tear the remaining fabric of societal neighborliness.

This unconference will break new ground by including international voices. A round-table of Latin American communicators, each of them recognized for their academic work and commitment to building the common good in adverse circumstances, will describe their context and strategies and challenge participants to broaden their horizons.

Debra A. Schwinn (MD, Stanford University) became Palm Beach Atlantic (PBA) University’s ninth President on May 4, 2020. Previously she was Associate Vice President for Medical Affairs, Dean of the Carver College of Medicine, and Professor of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology and Biochemistry at the University of Iowa. Prior to those appointments, Dr. Schwinn served in senior leadership roles at the University of Washington and Duke University.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the College of Wooster in her native Ohio, Dr. Schwinn earned a medical degree from the Stanford University School of Medicine where she has also been honored as a distinguished alumnus. A physician scientist and member of the National Academy of Medicine, Dr. Schwinn’s laboratory was funded for 27 years by the National Institutes of Health.

Stephanie Bennett (PhD, Regent University) is Professor of Communication and Media Ecology at Palm Beach Atlantic University where for the last 17 years she has practiced an interdisciplinary approach to the classroom, integrating faith, culture, and communication within a contemplative frame. Along with a full-time appointment teaching courses in Interpersonal, Nonverbal, Civil Discourse and the Common Good and Communication Ethics, The Church in the Age of Entertainment and Music as Communication, Stephanie spent several years as University Fellow for Student Engagement and a decade as Associate Dean of the School of Communication and Media. Currently, she serves as Director of Wordship—a campus-wide initiative to advance the use of words as an act of worship and a way to nurture healing and reconciliation in the public square. Author of five books, including Within the Walls, a fictional trilogy about the future of community, her latest project is non-fiction and draws upon the dialectical relationship between speech and silence. Released in March 2022, Silence, Civility, and Sanity: Hope for Humanity in a Digital Age is published by Lexington Books/Rowman & Littlefield. Stephanie is committed to helping undergraduates navigate the relational, interpersonal, and ethical challenges in an evolving digital culture. She invites dialogue at Stephanie_Bennett@pba.edu.

Dennis Smith has served as a mission worker for the Presbyterian Church USA since 1977. He recently retired as regional liaison for South America. Dennis was based in Guatemala, training church and community leaders in radio and citizen journalism. He also taught theology of communication and was active in the local ecumenical movement. In the 1980s, he began to travel throughout the region and work with Latin American colleagues in social research on media, religion, and culture, as well as the role of media in the growth of new religious movements in Latin America. From 2008–2015, Dennis served as President of the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC), where he focused on promoting communication as a human right.

Registration Fee: $50.00

Registration Available now NOW FREE – REGISTRATION FEE HAS BEEN WAIVED

Title: Words, Images, and Witnesses: Faith-learning Integration Strategies in Communication Studies

Date and Time: Tuesday, July 12, 2022 | 11:30 am – 3:00 pm EDT

Presenters/Facilitators: Quentin Schultze, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Communication, Calvin University; Bill Strom, PhD, Professor of Media and Communication, Trinity Western University; Tim Muehlhoff, PhD, Professor of Communication, Biola University; Naaman Wood, PhD, Saint Paul College

Description: Christian higher education, like the rest of higher education, is in a time of transition. Christian higher education institutions are no longer viewed nonthreateningly by the culture in general or the Academy in particular. Meanwhile, Christian faculty seek to guide students in “thinking Christianly” across the disciplines, providing Christ-centered perspectives for lifelong learning that equip students to critically engage culture in biblical and transformational ways. Faculty are charged with a faith-learning integration mission in all areas of service, including teaching, research, and administration. Along the way, helping students navigate the increasingly complex, nuanced social and political issues they encounter often requires new frameworks and training. It takes vision and courage to navigate these challenges and to fulfill this faith-learning mission in ways that sustain institutions and contribute to strengthening students’ faithful witness in the uncertain years ahead.

Our mission as Christian educators leads us toward an education of the entire student—body, mind, and soul. While we may recognize this important calling, its implementation can be difficult. How do we help students “think Christianly,” or integrate their faith with their learning? How do we foster righteous discernment? How do we impart knowledge that leads to true wisdom? What methods do we implement that both display our own faith foundations and encourage students to build their own?

Operating from a framework that views lived experience as a valuable teacher, this workshop provides personal narratives and faith-learning integration strategies from seasoned communication teachers and scholars in Christian higher education. Presenters share specific strategies coupled with detailed examples. Taken together, the successes and failures of these faculty provide wisdom on how to reason Christianly and integrate faith into one’s communication classroom and research program.

Bill Strom (PhD, University of Iowa) teaches human communication at Trinity Western University in Langley, British Columbia. He was first drawn to how people relate and influence each other while attending Wheaton College where he studied under Em Griffin and completed a first social science study on self-disclosure among dormitory guys. Following intercultural communication studies at Northern Illinois University (MA) and Iowa (PhD), Bill moved to western Canada where his interests grew in integrative scholarship and close relationships resulting in an introductory text, More Than Talk: A Covenantal Approach to Everyday Communication which applies covenant principles across the field, and The Relationship Project: Moving From “You and Me” to “We” which explores personal virtues that predict human thriving through redemptive communcation. His social science studies on virtue, covenant, friendship, listening, and relational resilience are published in regional, national, and international journals. When not teaching and writing he serves part-time as the executive director of a crisis and caring call center in Abbotsford, fishes local rivers, and lives with his wife Shelaine.

Naaman Wood (PhD, Regent University) served as Assistant Professor of Media and Communication at Redeemer University College and has taught communication courses at Tidewater Community College, Spring Arbor University, and courses in theology and culture at Northwest University. He is co-editor of Words and Witnesses: Communication Studies in Christian Thought from Athanasius to Desmond Tutu and the forthcoming Humility and Hospitality: Changing the Christian Conversation on Civility (Integratio Press). His work has been published in the journals Symbolic Interaction, Jazz Perspectives, and the books Prophetic Critique and Popular Media: Theoretical Foundations and Practical Applications, and More than “Precious Memories”: Critical Essays on the Rhetoric of Southern Gospel. Wood has also completed a M.T.S. and Th.M. at Duke Divinity School. He currently serves as a faculty member in communication at Saint Paul College in Minnesota.

Registration Fee: $75.00

Registration Available now

Title: Practicing Professional Civility: Communication Ethics in the Workplace

Date and Time: Wednesday, July 20, 2022 | 11:30 am – 3:00 pm EDT

Presenter: Janie Harden Fritz, PhD, Professor of Communication and Rhetorical Studies, Duquesne University

Description: How can we communicate with others in the workplace in ways that support productivity and human flourishing? This workshop presents communication principles that lead to healthy organizational relationships. Topics include language and shared meaning, content and relationship dimensions of messages, and the power of communication in shaping work contexts. Opportunities for questions, discussion, reflection, and application invite participants to put professional civility into practice in their own institutions.

Dr. Fritz (PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison) is professor and director of the BA, MA, and PhD programs in the Department of Communication & Rhetorical Studies. She teaches courses at the undergraduate, MA, and PhD levels, including Exploring Interpersonal Communication, Exploring Leadership Communication, Intercultural Communication, Organizational Communication, Communication Research Methods, Communication Ethics and Professional Civility, Rhetoric and Philosophy of Organizational Communication and Leadership, and Rhetoric and Philosophy of Interpersonal and Intercultural Communication. Dr. Fritz holds the William Patrick Power, C.S.Sp. Endowed Chair in Academic Leadership (2019–2024).

Dr. Fritz’s research focuses on communicative practices that constitute, sever, and restore the ties that bind individuals to the institutions of which they are a part. She is the author of Professional Civility: Communicative Virtue at Work (Peter Lang) and has co-edited or co-authored four other books. Her most recent work focuses on the intersection of professional civility and leadership practices. Dr. Fritz is a past president of the Eastern Communication Association and the Religious Communication Association (RCA) and currently serves as executive director of the RCA. Dr. Fritz is editor-in-chief of Listening/Journal of Communication Ethics, Religion, and Culture and editor of the Journal of the Association for Communication Administration.

Registration Fee: $50.00

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Title: Teaching Diversity and Social Justice in Christian Higher Education

Presenter/Facilitator: John Hatch, PhD, Chair and Professor of Communication, Eastern University

Date and Time: Friday, July 29, 2022 | 11:30 am – 3:00 pm EDT

Description: How can instructors disarm the defensiveness felt by some students when a class broaches matters of diversity and social justice? When Christian faith is viewed as a bulwark against critical examination of race, class, or gender-based social stratification, what is the Christian professor to do? Are there ways to turn resistance into willingness to take a closer look? Having studied racial reconciliation and taught Intercultural Communication for nearly two decades, John will share some theological and rhetorical handles he’s found for meeting this challenge.

A diverse group of professors including Kesha Morant-Williams (Penn State-Berks), Theon Hill (Wheaton College), Hyeri Jung (Eastern University), and Naaman Wood (St. Paul College) will then widen the discussion by sharing their experiences and perspectives. All participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and engage in small-group discussion.

John Hatch (PhD, Regent University), CCSN Senior Fellow, Professor and Chair of Communication Studies, Eastern University (retired). Dr. Hatch became interested in the intersection of faith, communication, and culture through his involvement in Youth With A Mission in Mexico, Belize, Honduras, and Navajoland during the 1980s. After getting his master’s degree in Teaching English as a Second Language, he worked in Kazakhstan for nearly three years as a visiting lecturer at Ahmed Yasawi University. During his doctoral studies at Regent University, his intercultural interests broadened, and he began to focus on race relations and public reconciliation initiatives.

Upon completion of his Ph.D., John taught for eight years at the University of Dubuque, including four years in an endowed faculty position within the Wendt Center for Character and Ethics. He then taught at Eastern University for 11 years, chairing its Communication Studies Department during the latter half of that period. Upon his retirement in 2022, he began serving as a Senior Fellow of CCSN.

Dr. Hatch’s research interests include racial reconciliation, public apologies, dialogic rhetoric, religious discourse, the rhetoric of popular music, and contemporary Christian music. He has made numerous presentations at academic conferences on these topics. His published essays appear in such peer-reviewed journals as Quarterly Journal of Speech, Rhetoric & Public Affairs, Communication Quarterly, Western Journal of Communication, the Journal of Communication & Religion, and CCSN’s Journal of Christian Teaching Practice, as well as several edited books. He is the author of an award-winning scholarly monograph on the rhetoric of racial reconciliation and an undergraduate-friendly anthology of speeches on reconciliation by diverse political and religious leaders.

John is currently working on understanding Christians’ troubled relationships with social justice and politics, and he continues to study how the rhetoric of music can shape listeners’ understandings of faith, race, and society. In addition to writing and editing for Integratio Press, he publishes a column for CCSN titled Crossed My Mind: Thoughts on Culture and Communication. He currently lives in the geological wonderland of western Colorado with his wife, Christie, and their lovable beagle, Beau.

Registration Fee: $50.00

Registration Available Now (Student Discount Code: STUDENT2022)

Title: Practicing a Theatrical Hermeneutic in Teaching, Preaching, and Performance

Date and Time: Wednesday, August 3, 2022 | 11:30 am – 3:00 pm EDT

Presenter/Facilitator: Paul Patton, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Communication and Theater, Spring Arbor University

Description: Paul’s workshop introduces an often-forgotten way of interpreting and understanding biblical passages. As “hermeneutics” is the science of interpreting texts, the concept of “theatrical hermeneutics” suggests that there are insights about a text that can be gleaned from watching a portion “performed” as an act of theater. For instance, in “The Seven Woes,” Jesus Christ’s righteous fury is usually easier to feel when presented as a living confrontation than as read silently.

The workshop will unfold various principles of oral interpretation and offer a variety of demonstration performances. It will explore numerous biblical texts and provide guidance to pastors and teachers about how to “perform” texts regardless of previous theatrical or performance backgrounds. Faculty, pastors, or anyone involved in Christian education will benefit from the principles and tools presented in this workshop.

Paul Patton (PhD, Regent University) is Professor Emeritus of Communication and Theater at Spring Arbor University in Michigan. It was while pastoring at Trinity Church in Livonia, Michigan, that he founded Trinity House Theater in 1981. He is the author of over 30 produced stage plays, radio plays, and performance essays. He is contributing author to the books, Understanding Evangelical Media (IVP), Evangelical Christians and Popular Culture (Praeger), and Prophetic Critique and Popular Culture (Peter Lang), and co-author of Prophetically (In)Correct: A Christian Introduction to Media Criticism (Brazos Press), and the newly published, Everyday Sabbath: How to Lead Your Dance with Media and Technology in Mindful and Sacred Ways (Cascade Books).

Registration Fee: $35.00

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Title: Navigating Difficult Conversations in Winsome and Grace-filled Ways

Date and Time: Wednesday, August 10, 2022 | 11:30 am – 3:00 pm EDT

Presenter/Facilitator: Tim Muehlhoff, PhD, Professor of Communication, Biola University

Description: How do we communicate with people who disagree with us? In today’s polarized world, friends, and strangers clash with each other over issues large and small. Coworkers have conflicts in the office. Married couples fight over finances. And online commenters demonize one another’s political and religious perspectives. Is there any hope for restoring civil discourse? Communication expert Tim Muehlhoff provides a strategy for having difficult conversations, helping us move from contentious debate to constructive dialogue. By acknowledging and entering into the other person’s story, we are more likely to understand where they’re coming from and to cultivate common ground. Insights from Scripture and communication theory provide practical ways to manage disagreements and resolve conflicts. We can disagree without being disagreeable. And we can even help another see different points of view and learn from one another.

Registration Fee: $50.00

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Title: Professing Christ as a Graduate Student: Navigating Faith-learning Integration in the Secular Academy

Date and Time: Thursday, August 18, 2022 | 11:30 am – 3:00 pm EDT

Presenters/Facilitators: Deanna Sellnow, PhD, Professor of Communication, University of Central Florida; Katherine G. Hendrix, PhD, Professor of Communication, University of Memphis; Lakelyn Taylor, third-year doctoral student in communication, University of Central Florida

Description: Navigating graduate school is arduous enough without also determining how to express certain aspects of identity, especially religious identity in a more secular environment. This workshop brings together graduate students and faculty members to discuss how Christian graduate students can express their faith in the Academy. The panelists and guest speakers will cover topics such as how graduate students can integrate faith into pedagogy, research, publication practices, mentoring, and student or colleague communication. Keynote presenters include. Deanna D. Sellnow (University of Central Florida) and Katherine G. Hendrix (University of Memphis). Student panelists from University of Central Florida, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Texas A&M, University of Memphis, and Ohio University will be included.

Deanna D. Sellnow (PhD, University of North Dakota) is Professor of Communication in the Nicholson School of Communication and Media at the University of Central Florida. Her research focuses on strategic instructional communication in a variety of contexts including risk, crisis, health, and online settings. She has conducted funded research for the United States Geological Survey, Department of Homeland Security, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She has also collaborated with agencies such as the International Food Information Council about food security across the globe. She has published her work in numerous refereed articles in national and international journals, as well authored or co-authored several textbooks including Effective Speaking in a Digital Age, Communicate!, and The Rhetorical Power of Popular Culture.

Katherine Grace Hendrix (PhD, University of Washington) is a full professor in the Communication Department at the University of Memphis. Dr. Hendrix is an instructional communication scholar with a broad teaching range. She is dedicated to the scholarship of teaching, and studies professor and graduate teaching assistant (GTA) communication contributing to their classroom credibility. Dr. Hendrix has a particular interest in the pedagogical contributions of and challenges faced by professors and GTAs of color—including international graduate teaching assistants. In all her research, Dr. Hendrix employs a critical approach to investigating implicit rules and issues of power associated with questions of epistemology, axiology, and ontology coupled with the academic research process. Most recently, Dr. Hendrix was awarded the University of Memphis Benjamin Rawlins, Jr. Meritorious Professorship. In 2020, she received the Lifetime Service Award by the African American Communication and Culture Division/Black Caucus of the National Communication Association (NCA) along with the Distinguished Article Award from the NCA Instructional Development Division. Over the course of her career, she has earned numerous national, regional, and campus awards acknowledging excellence in research and teaching. Dr. Hendrix is married with two adult children, one grandchild, and a chocolate Labrador Retriever/American Staffordshire (pit bull). She is a dedicated rosarian, communion stewardess in the Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church, and loves photography. She wants to be a wedding photographer when she grows up.

Lakelyn E. Taylor (she / her / ella) is a third-year doctoral candidate at the University of Central Florida. She is currently a fellow for UCF, for an NSF grant-funded project, and for the Christianity and Communication Studies Network (CCSN). She is also a graduate teaching associate in the communication department where she has adopted a holistic, feminist, critical communication pedagogy. These three perspectives contribute to her research work as well as Lakelyn is interested in applying religion, ethics, and instruction to risk and crisis communication. Her primary goal is to introduce alternative ways of knowing into communication theory and understanding. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7683-180X

Registration Fee: $25.00

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Title: Bridge-building 2022 and Beyond: Promoting Civil Dialogue in our Universities (A MINI-CONFERENCE)

Date and Time: Thursday, August 25, 2022 | 11:30 am – 3:00 pm EDT

Presenters/Facilitators: Richard J. Mouw, PhD, President Emeritus, Fuller Theological Seminary; Tim Muehlhoff, PhD, Professor of Communication, Biola University; Geri E. Forsberg, PhD, Professor of English, Western Washington University

Description: We are excited to invite you to this virtual conference on Christ and Communication. This event is co-sponsored by Faculty Commons (FC), a ministry of Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ), which outreaches with professors and graduate students in public universities, and the Christianity & Communication Studies Network, a non-profit organization focused on faith-learning integration resources and training in the field of communication.

While the “Common Call,” a faculty conference offered through Faculty Commons, has taken place for over a decade, this conference is specifically designed for one academic discipline—Communication Studies. Our theme this year focuses on helping Christian faculty and students in public higher educational settings cultivate civility and build bridges through dialogue and winsome communication with colleagues who may be unfamiliar with or otherwise threatened by Christian voices. Within this theme, some questions that we are thinking through include but won’t be limited to the following: How can we as Christian professors have a stronger presence and voice in the academy and beyond? How do we bring Jesus Christ to the Academy in intellectually hospitable ways? How can we support civil dialogue in a time of discord? How can we balance being both a blessing and a communicator of truth in the university? How does communication theory and research lend itself to addressing these and other questions related to our theme in faithful ways?

Richard J. Mouw (PhD, University of Chicago) is a senior research fellow at the Henry Institute for the Study of Religion and Politics at Calvin University (Grand Rapids, Michigan). Previously, Mouw served as the President of Fuller Theological Seminary (1993-2013) and directed their Institute of Faith and Public Life (2013-2020). His initial career in academia began at Calvin College, where he taught philosophy from 1968 to 1985. A graduate of Houghton College, Richard received his PhD in philosophy from the University of Chicago. He is the author of 19 books, including Restless Faith: Holding Evangelical Beliefs in a World of Contested Labels. He has participated on many councils and editorial boards, serving a term as president of the Association of Theological Schools and six years as cochair of the official Reformed-Catholic Dialogue. In 2007, Princeton Theological Seminary awarded him the Abraham Kuyper Prize for Excellence in Reformed Theology and Public Life.

Geri E. Forsberg (PhD, New York University, M.A. International School of Theology) has served with Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ) since 1975. Currently, Geri is a faculty fellow with Faculty Commons (Cru) and serves on the English Department faculty at Western Washington University. She serves on the board of directors for the International Jacques Ellul Society, the editorial board of New Explorations: Studies in Culture and Communication (NExJ) and Second Nature, an online journal for critical thinking about technology and new media in light of the Christian tradition. Her more recent writings have focused on the relationship between the faith of our communication founders and communication studies. Connect with Geri: https://chss.wwu.edu/english/forsbeg

Registration Fee: $25.00

Registration Available now