Politically Correct Morals; Morally Correct Politics Guest Columnist Mark Williams, Ph.D. Professor of Rhetoric California State University, Sacramento Frequently lost on Christians is the distinction between the moral and the sacred, between virtue and holiness. Take the recent remark by RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel who asserted, “I go to church for my moral leadership,” noting, “You can be the nicest, …
What We Can Learn about Christian Communication from First Reformed
What We Can Learn about Christian Communication from First Reformed Guest Columnist Paul A. Creasman, Ph.D. Arizona Christian University The 2019 Academy Awards ceremony came and went with the usual amount of fanfare/controversy: The Academy couldn’t find a host, Spike Lee and President Trump traded barbs, Glenn Close still does not have an Oscar. Lost among the din of Twitter …
“Ode for O Joe,” Motivation and Communication – Part 2 (by Paul A. Creasman)
Motivation and Communication – Part 2 “Ode for O Joe” Paul A. Creasman, Arizona Christian University, Professor of Communication; Chair, Communication and English Department (paul.creasman@arizonachristian.edu) I was saddened to learn this summer that Joey “O Joe” Taylor, the co-founder and driving force behind Undercover, one of the seminal early Contemporary Christian punk/rock bands, had renounced his Christian beliefs. Although this …
The “Why?” of Communication, Motivation and Communication – Part 1 (by Paul A. Creasman)
Motivation and Communication – Part 1 The “Why?” of Communication Paul A. Creasman, Arizona Christian University, Professor of Communication; Chair, Communication and English Department (paul.creasman@arizonachristian.edu) Seems so simple a question yet it is also decidedly complex. Out of the “5Ws” of journalism (who, what, when, where, why) “why” is the most difficult to address because it asks for something more …
What Is Higher about this Education? (by Joel Ward)
What is higher about this education? Joel Ward, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Communication, Geneva College, (jsward@geneva.edu) The question of what higher education demands has recently received notable attention in public conversation. Many have been quick to both defend and deconstruct higher education as we currently practice it in American colleges and universities. As in past decades, arguments have become necessary …
Jesus Christ. . . Documentary Film Maker? (by Samuel Ebersole)
Jesus Christ. . . Documentary Film Maker? Samuel Ebersole, Ph.D., Professor of Communication, Colorado State University, Pueblo (samuel.ebersole@csupueblo.edu) Part I: Cinéma Vérité Cinéma Vérité. Noun: a style of filmmaking characterized by realistic, typically documentary motion pictures that avoid artificiality and artistic effect and are generally made with simple equipment. As a scholar and practitioner who studies media effects and teaches at a state …
Practicing a Theatrical Hermeneutic in Teaching and Performance (by Paul Patton)
Practicing a Theatrical Hermeneutic in Teaching and Performance Paul Patton, Ph.D., Professor of Communication and Media, Spring Arbor University (ppatton@arbor.edu) I left the traditional pastorate at forty years old in 1993. As I began graduate studies in theater and communication, I knew I was no longer getting paid for studying and writing sermons. The time that had been devoted for …
Teaching the “Dark Side” of Communication, Part 3: The How (by Jeremy Osborn)
Teaching the “Dark Side” of Communication, Part 3: The How Jeremy Osborn, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Communication, Cornerstone University (jeremy.osborn@cornerstone.edu) In my previous guest blog post, I discussed what the “dark side” of communication is and why it is an important topic for us as Christian Communication Studies scholars and teachers to address. If you have yet to read that …
Teaching the “Dark Side” of Communication, Part 2: The What and Why (by Jeremy Osborn)
Teaching the “Dark Side” of Communication, Part 2: The What and Why Jeremy Osborn, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Communication, Cornerstone University (jeremy.osborn@cornerstone.edu) My “relationship” with the “dark side”[1] of communication began, at least from a pedagogical and scholarly standpoint, in 2007. I was only three years removed from completing my doctoral program and had spent a great deal of time …
A “Backward Design” Approach to the Integration of Faith and Learning (Part 1)
A “Backward Design” Approach to the Integration of Faith and Learning (Part 1) Jeremy Osborn, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Communication, Cornerstone University (jeremy.osborn@cornerstone.edu) When the CCSN first talked to me about the possibility of contributing to the blog, I was both excited and a bit intimidated. It seems fitting that my posts follow those of Naaman Wood, last month’s guest blogger, …
