CCT Students Go Public with Research in 2009-2010 Academic Year

One of the reasons students choose the Communication, Culture & Technology program at Georgetown is the countless research opportunities students have at their fingertips. Whether it is going to Harvard to showcase work on political social networks or to Poland to puzzle through research on national identity, CCTers are going public with engaging and compelling research. We look back and forward at the research our students have accomplished this academic year.

Fall 2009 was a busy one for many CCT students. Lauren Alfrey ’10 started the semester early with a summer presentation at the Harvard Political Networks Conference. Alfrey presented her research with Professor D. Linda Garcia entitled “Has Barack Obama Read Ron Burt.” This research examined the structure of the Obama administration using Burt’s theory of structural holes. She is currently continuing her research with Dr. Garcia by comparing their findings to the structural network of the Bush administration.

Just as the United States has confronted issues of race and gender on the political scene over the past two years, CCT students and faculty are similarly puzzling through the implications for race and gender on media and language. In October 2009, Francesca Tripodi and Professor Mirjana Dedaic presented a paper entitled "Inconceivable Construction: A Woman and a Politician - Examining Discourses of Female Opinion-Makers." Tripodi and Dedaic traveled to Michigan State University for the Feminisms and Rhetorics - 7th Biennial Conference of the Coalition of Women Scholars in the History of Rhetoric.

Continuing into November, current CCTer Sarah Upton ’10 traveled to Chicago for the annual convention of the National Communication Association. Her research, "Ni Una Mas: Cross Imagery Surrounding the Femicide in Ciudad Juarez," was presented as part of the convention’s “Discourses of Stability and Change” theme.

Looking forward into 2010, our students will continue to be busy engaging in intellectual dialogues at numerous conferences. Brannan Cullum ’10 will present her research "Smart Mobs: How Mobile Technologies are Transforming Social Movements and Civic Activism" at the Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities in Honolulu in January. The research examines how innovative mobile technologies have transformed how individuals and groups organize for social change.

CCT student Kate House will present "Bollywood in Hollywood: The Burgeoning Synergies of Two Great Film Industries" at the 2010 International Studies Association convention in New Orleans, LA in February 2010.

In March, Professor Mirjana Dedaic and her research team exploring national identity through Pierre Bourdieu's habitus lens will present their latest research at the Humanities Education and Research Association conference in El Paso, Texas. Joining Dedaic to present a panel, "From Imagination to Habitus: National Identity Construction through Bourdieu's Lens," will be both current students and CCT alums Irina Avetian, Cynthia Ferman, Joshua Scacco, Rebecca Jakob, Margaret Daher, and Suzanne Shenk. The team continues to work toward completing their edited volume.

As our 2010 graduates complete their theses, Joshua Scacco ’10 will present his published research "Shaping Economic Reality: A Critical Metaphor Analysis of President Barack Obama's Economic Language During His First 100 Days" at annual meetings of the Central States Communication Association and the Midwest Political Science Association in April. Scacco's research will also be featured at the Eastern Communication Association in April.

There are numerous other opportunities on the horizon as our students prepare for conferences in American Studies, The Science and Technology in Society Conference, and the Eastern Communication Association among many others. Check out the Conferences, Research, and Achievements page for updates as our students take their research public!