Kent State University’s School of Communication Studies will host its annual Cowperthwaite Communication Lecture on Sunday, July 17 at 3 p.m. in the Kent State University Library, third floor lobby. This year, the free lecture will be given by Dawn O. Braithwaite, Ph.D., department chair and Willa Cather professor from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Her lecture, entitled, “100 Years of Communication and Counting,” will examine how communication takes shape and plays a, if not, the, central role in who we are and how we live our lives.
“In 2014, the National Communication Association celebrated its centennial which makes this an opportune time to reflect on how we all understand, teach, study and practice communication,” Braithwaite said. “We will count different ways communication has been approached over these 100 plus years and how and why this matters today. We will also focus on how communication counts in our communities, organizations and personal relationships at present and into our future.”
Braithwaite studies how people in personal and family relationships communicate and manage family change and challenges. Her research deals with communication in understudied and changing families, communication rituals and challenges of relating in stepfamilies and among voluntary kin.
“We are so honored to have a speaker of Dr. Braithwaite’s caliber to present the Cowperthwaite lecture this year,” Jeff Child, Ph.D., School of Communication Studies interim director said. “Her lecture will provide such insight into not only the field of communication studies but communication in everyday contexts.”
The Cowperthwaite lecture was created in 1984 to honor the service of Dr. L. LeRoy Cowperthwaite, director of the Kent State University School of Speech from 1954 to 1983. The Cowperthwaite Communication Lecture Series is an opportunity for students, faculty, staff, alumni and the community to meet a renowned communication scholar.
The lecture is free for all to attend. Light refreshments will be provided for a reception after the lecture. Visitor parking will be located in the C-Campus Center lot located on the east side of Summit Street. For more information on parking, visit www.kent.edu/parking.
To learn more about the School of Communication Studies, visit www.kent.edu/comm.