Goals for Future Scholarly Activity
In the years ahead, I will remain committed to advancing a rigorous research program that is recognized by experts in the field beyond Fredonia. Specifically, I will continue focusing on the following goals.
Goals: Publish Works in Progress
1. I have begun a new study that examines a group of women in the U.S. House of Representatives known as "The Squad" and their use of the phrase "sisterhood." My main source of data is mediated texts.
3. By learning more about studying rhetoric in situ , I will be positioned to enter into the communication sub-fields: deliberative democracy and online deliberation.
5. I would like to oversee an edited book that discusses original research on one of these topics: political communication, women's political communication, and/or college student civic engagement.
Goals: Collaborative Research with Undergraduates
6. In his 2021 recommendation for reappointment memo, Interim Provost Kearns encouraged me to "find ways to involve students in her research." As I begin to delve into the "public deliberation" research realm I would like to have 1-2 students work with me on a research paper. Together, the students can I will learn about rhetoric in situ and advance scholarship on public deliberation and civic engagement at a primarily undergraduate institution.
Goals: Publish Works in Progress
1. I have begun a new study that examines a group of women in the U.S. House of Representatives known as "The Squad" and their use of the phrase "sisterhood." My main source of data is mediated texts.
- Paper summary: Even if people believe the women’s sisterhood is based on a shallow notion of closeness or simply a philosophical position, its appearance in political discourse is worth discussing given the renewed interest in and evocation of the metaphor by women serving in the 117th Congress. Notably, “The Squad,” comprised of Democratic congresswomen Rep. Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rep. Omar (D-MN), Rep. Pressley (D-MA), and Rep. Tlaib (D-MI), have used “sis” and “sister” to humanize politics while also displaying camaraderie (Salam, 2018). A few weeks before reelection, Rep. Ocasio- Cortez (D-NY) tweeted, “Sisterhood is everything” (Grantham-Phillips & Flores, 2020). After the four congresswomen of “The Squad” won reelection in 2020, Rep. Omar (D-MN) tweeted, “Our sisterhood is resilient” (Flores, 2020). Congresswomen of color possess intersectional identities and experiences that differ from the white women with whom they serve. Although their “sisterhood” consists of only Democrats, examining a multi-racial self-proclaimed sisterhood, like “The Squad,” could help scholars understand the observable behaviors and informal ways in which women’s experiences, identities, and approaches to legislating influence their daily work in Congress. Studying a multi-racial sisterhood could also help researchers discover how women legislators act and norms they follow when there is more diversity in their ranks.
- Methodological approach & paper summary: This line of inquiry uses fieldwork and other qualitative methods to access, document, and analyze forms of everyday in situ rhetoric rather than using already documented texts. Once I have a solid grasp of the participatory critical rhetoric approach to communication research, I would like to use the approach to study Fredonia's campus efforts to support deliberative democracy and civic engagement in the realm of politics. In doing so, the study has will contribute to rhetorical theory and criticism.
3. By learning more about studying rhetoric in situ , I will be positioned to enter into the communication sub-fields: deliberative democracy and online deliberation.
- Methodological approach & paper idea: This goal requires that I understand emerging debates, alternative perspectives, as well as critical views on deliberation. Using my experience as Fredonia's chair of the American Democracy Project, I would like to submit a manuscript to the Journal of Deliberative Democracy . This peer-reviewed journal brokers knowledge between scholars and practitioners of citizen's political engagement. Specifically, my proposed manuscript will discuss ADP's online efforts to use civility as a means for inviting dissent that generates discursive openings.
5. I would like to oversee an edited book that discusses original research on one of these topics: political communication, women's political communication, and/or college student civic engagement.
Goals: Collaborative Research with Undergraduates
6. In his 2021 recommendation for reappointment memo, Interim Provost Kearns encouraged me to "find ways to involve students in her research." As I begin to delve into the "public deliberation" research realm I would like to have 1-2 students work with me on a research paper. Together, the students can I will learn about rhetoric in situ and advance scholarship on public deliberation and civic engagement at a primarily undergraduate institution.