Campus On The Common

Social movements and activism today receive as much coverage in the news cycle as ever. But with the short attention span of the modern media ecosystem, how do activists and organizers today create and promote the meaningful stories behind their work? Dr. Gino Canella is a researcher, educator, and filmmaker who studies how collaborative media production has the potential to foster meaningful relationships among people fighting for justice. He joins us today to discuss the role of storytelling and collaboration in the success of social movements and share his experiences working alongside community organizers.

Today's media landscape is a digital environment always in motion, presenting new opportunities and challenges for storytellers of all kinds. So what does that mean for broadcast journalism in 2023? And how do young journalists succeed in the industry and tell meaningful stories? In this episode, Larry Potash—Chicago's longest-serving morning anchor and creator of the docuseries Backstory— provides his insight into the state of broadcast journalism today and what it takes to tell a good story. He will also give advice to the next generation of reporters, news anchors, and documentations on the important skills needed to thrive in modern media production.

The U.S. Women's National Soccer Team has won 4 Fifa World Cups since its inception, while the men’s team has yet to make it to the finals. So, why do women have less to show for it on payday? Dr. Mary Anne Taylor has joined us to discuss the recent settlement between US Women's Pro soccer and their players regarding the gender pay gaps in women's soccer. She also gives us some actionable advice on how we can support women’s sports in all its forms.

On an interpersonal level, do you communicate in a positive or negative manner? Do you unknowingly project power or weakness, impatience, or encouragement, are your words edgy or empathetic? In today’s episode, I’ll be speaking with Professor. Philip Glenn about his research into the field of Positive Communication. He’ll tell us about the movement towards Non-Violent Communication and teach us what role humor, laughter, and levity can play in developing interpersonal connections. So let’s get serious about laughter, as we learn more about the world of positive communications.

The Lion Sleeps Tonight is an iconic tune, but what can it teach us about the importance of copyright for artists and other creatives? I’m talking to Dr Bhamati Viswanathan, a copyright lawyer, and professor here at Emerson College, about everything you need to know to protect your intellectual property. Whether it’s copyright, patent, or trademark, securing your IP is the only way to make sure that you can make a living while doing what you love. Together, we’ll learn why speaking some legal-esse is an important part of every artist's vocabulary. Our Guest Dr. Bhamati Viswanathan teaches, advises, and writes about the intersection of creative economies, arts, culture, and copyright law. She is an Affiliate Faculty member at Emerson College’s Business of Creative Enterprise program and has recently written a book entitled “Cultivating Copyright: How Creative Industries Can Harness Intellectual Property to Survive the Digital Age” Included in her many academic degrees, she holds a Doctorate of Juridical

How can you bring an unknown brand out of obscurity? How do you bring awareness to a cause that needs our attention? In this episode, it’s all about small budgets and big impacts as we dive into Guerilla Public relations. I’m sitting down with Professor David Richard, who is the CEO of his own PR firm and a professor here at Emerson College, to learn why this public relations strategy makes sense as well as how to use it. We’ll discuss what Guerilla PR is, where it fits in the broader scheme of Public Relations, and how you can devise a successful Guerilla PR campaign of your own.

President Jimmy Carter’s wife Rosalynn famously said “Don’t worry about the polls. But if you do, don't admit it.” Unfortunately, in today's heated political landscape and 24-hour news cycle, the former First Lady’s advice simply doesn't hold water. So in this episode, we welcome Isabel Holloway ’19, the assistant director at Emerson Polling, to help us pull back the curtain on the study of public opinon — to understand what it is, how it works, and why it’s important. We'll discuss the evolving landscape of polling methodologies, what it takes to be a leader in this field, and how the past is influencing the future of polling.

How can academic researchers convey insight and meaning about the world of Adoption as they know it? Autoethnography, focus groups, and photo-voice (a combination of images and narratives) are qualitative research tools that can provide meaningful context and insight into personal experiences. In this episode, we’ll talk with Emerson College’s Dr. Robin Danzak, about how she combines these tools in order to explore the spectrum of adoption from the perspective of those whose lives it has touched.

The Latinx community is a complex, diverse group of people who have had a massive, unquestionable influence on North American culture and society. Whether it is music, art, sports, or politics, you can’t tell the story of U.S. history without Latinx history. Yet, for far too long in this country, they have felt oppressed, forgotten, and treated as a monolith. So, in a moment where many social movements have enveloped the nation, how can one tell the intricate story of the Latinx experience in America? How can those stories be used to bridge communities and create significant, lasting change? ABOUT OUR GUEST... Lina Maria Giraldo is a Colombian-born, Boston-based artist focusing on interactive storytelling towards social change, with a diverse background ranging from digital educational tools, public art, screen based installations and computer-generated work. She explores the questions of identity as an immigrant, the impact of Mankind on our surroundings, and is constantly experimenting different ways of

Injustice, discrimination and hate are issues that we face here in the US as well as throughout the world. While 2020 was a year that clearly reflected how much work still needs to be done. Affecting meaningful change is easier said than done. Emerging from all this hostility we are now seeing a new generation of activists that have heard the call to action in the fight against Hate. So who are these young leaders of social change? What are they doing to promote this global movement to bring about tolerance, equality, and justice? Team Harmony Foundation, is an organization “committed to educating, inspiring and engaging youth in the battle against hate in all its forms”. In today’s episode, we’ll talk about Team Harmony with three members of the Emerson community that have been instrumental in expanding Team Harmony’s connection to young change agents throughout the world Today’s guests include Emerson College Department of Communication studies Chairman Dr. Gregory Payne, Khary Higgins an Emerson Colle

In France, we’re seeing a continuous pattern of discrimination, fear, hatred, and violence associated with Islamophobia. What’s at the heart of the matter and is it possible to be both French and Muslim in France? COTC spoke with Dr. Carol Ferrara, assistant professor of Marketing Communication at Emerson College and a sociocultural anthropologist with expertise and field experience in France. ABOUT OUR GUEST... Drawing upon her diverse academic and professional expertise in anthropology, diversity, pluralism, religion, education, and business, Carol Ferrara's teaching in Marketing Communication encourages students to explore the ways that the social sciences can be leveraged to help make marketing and business better, smarter, and more socially and environmentally responsible. Her research has focused on religion in secular societies, and most prominently, the ways that Muslims and Catholics navigate and negotiate faith, plurality, ethics, and national identity in secular France. She has published multipl

How do children with autism spectrum disorder develop language skills? Recent research shows signs that third party conversations may be a possible avenue for children with ASD to learn the language. If correct, this hypothesis may reveal insights into new ways of teaching children important early language skills. In this episode, we’ll talk with Dr Rhiannon Luyster about her research into how children with autism may benefit from a language-rich environment. ABOUT OUR GUEST... Dr. Luyster is a developmental psychologist who studies social communication and language in young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Her research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, American Philosophical Society, Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, Organization for Autism Research, and Emerson College. Dr. Luyster has published her work in several peer-reviewed journals, including Developmental Psychology, Development & Psy

A picture is worth a thousand words. Some of the most iconic moments in modern history have been captured through the lens of photojournalists. These dedicated witnesses to history conform to an ethical code of conduct and apply their truth in documenting what they see. As modern technology democratizes who gets to craft and share the story, what separates the professional photojournalist as a multimedia storyteller from a passerby with a smartphone camera? ABOUT OUR GUEST... Gina Gayle joined Emerson's Department of Journalism as assistant professor in the Fall 2020 semester. Dr. Gayle is a photojournalist, educator, and researcher whose professional work has taken her across the United States, as well as to Cuba and Italy, while previously working in New York City with numerous news organizations. Gayle earned her doctorate in Mass Communications from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, with research interests in media credibility, innovation, new technologies, the f

NFL Quarterback Colin Capernick took a knee during the national anthem, Olympic medalists John Carlos and Tommie Smith raised their fists on the podium, and basketball legend LeBron James refused to shut up and dribble. How do professional sports and social activism intertwine, and what impact do sports continue to have on the ongoing struggle to build a more equitable world? ABOUT OUR GUEST... Lauren Anderson earned her Ph.D. in Communication at Florida State University, with a cognate in Sports Management. Her research and publications focus largely on media representations of gender and race in sport, as well as the ways in which media shapes social and cultural values and (re)produces dominant ideologies. Currently, Lauren is working on a book project on media coverage of domestic violence in sport, as well as a critical media analysis of mainstream media coverage of Kobe Bryant’s death. A critical scholar at heart, her research agenda is driven by a desire for social change, which is also a large focus

In stressful times, it’s easy to lose our cool. Empathy and reason become hard to come by and we can react to others as well as ourselves in a less-than-positive manner. So what can we do about how we feel and how we manage relationships with others? Let’s talk about emotional intelligence.  In this episode- we’ll talk with Sara Asem ’00, MA’02 founder of Luminary Minds and emotional intelligence coach. ABOUT OUR GUEST... As the founder of Madrid-based Luminary Minds, Sarah is a personal growth consultant and emotional intelligence professional with experience in creating multidisciplinary workshops that enhance social and emotional learning to support self-management. Sarah's creative skills are focused on developing programs that magnify innate strengths that exist within each individual. Her work manifests core life skills to improve well-being. Kindness, resilience, growth mindset, gratitude and self-awareness are essential takeaways in every session she facilitates.

In just the last few months, we've witnessed plague, brutality, protest, murder hornets, locusts, wayward comets, and unemployment numbers unseen for generations. So who do we look to in a time a crisis? What do we, the public, need to hear? Why are some leaders effective in getting the public to respond, while others fail miserably? How do you get the word out? What are the key concepts and best practices of crisis communications? ABOUT OUR GUEST... In addition to his appointment as assistant professor of Communication Studies at Emerson College, Vincent Raynauld is an affiliate professor in the Département de lettres et communication sociale at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (Canada). He is also serving as research associate in the Groupe de recherche en communication politique (GRCP), as member of the Réseau démocratie électronique based at Université Paris-Est Créteil (France), as member of the North American Digital Diplomacy Initiative (NACDI) based at Queen's University (Canada), and as ac

In this powerful and insightful discussion, we explore... • The origins and persistence of institutional racism in the U.S., and how its driven by individual racism • The legacy and manifestation of white privilege • The definition and nuances of racism, and what we get wrong about it • What white people can do to understand and combat racism About Cheryl Owsley Jackson... Cheryl is a is a journalist-in-residence at Emerson College and a certified diversity trainer. She previously directed the Washington, D.C. video news program for Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. Prior to joining the academic world, Cheryl worked for CNN, PBS, and Racing Towards Diversity Magazine. About Heather May... Heather May is chair of the Emerson Faculty Assembly and a senior lecturer in Communication Studies. She has worked as a consultant in public speaking and presentation skills, and is currently pursuing a doctorate in psychology.

Media is a powerful tool that shapes our everyday lives. But how do others worldwide engage with media and harness its power for social change? In this episode, we’ll talk with Azeta Hatef, Assistant Professor of Journalism, who studies how marginalized groups—such as women in Afghanistan and the Czech Republic's Roma community —find ways to shape their own identity by engaging the media. ABOUT OUR GUEST... Azeta joined Emerson's Journalism faculty in the summer of 2019. She is a media researcher and award-winning instructor whose academic interests focus on issues of social media as activism for underrepresented groups, gender and identity, and media systems in a global context. She has conducted research in Afghanistan examining the complex global beauty industry, including analysis of the post-feminist politics of choice, ethnic/class politics, and consumerism in Afghanistan. In 2017-2018, Hatef was the recipient of a Fulbright Research Scholarship in the Czech Republic. Her research examined minority me

"Alexa, help me with my homework!" Voice-enabled technology has arrived and is becoming a bigger part of our daily lives. Where is this technology going, what are the implications for industry, education and at home? How do you get in on this trend's ground floor? Why should we care? In this episode, we speak with Emerson Launch Director Sanjay Pothen, who is leading several initiatives to advance the use of voice technology here on campus and beyond... ABOUT OUR GUEST... Sanjay's career began in management consulting and ultimately transitioned into digital and mobile marketing and advertising. He is passionate about helping brands engage with consumers in impactful ways and scale emerging media and technologies. Having successfully founded a variety of startup companies himself, Sanjay is a driven entrepreneur with specific knowledge of the startup ecosystem. Sanjay first started at Emerson College as an Emerson Launch Mentor and has now taken on the role of Director to help infuse creative and problem s

In our discussion with Laura, we also learn about... • The symptoms and processes of different types of dementia • Tools and strategies that family members and caregivers can use to help their loved one with dementia • How family members can take care of themselves as well as their loved one • The different types of therapies used at Emerson's Robbins Center, and how therapists determine which is best for each patient. ABOUT OUR GUEST... Laura Glufling-Tham has more than 20 years of clinical experience working with adults who have cognitive-communicative disorders, including aphasia, apraxia of speech, dysarthria, cognitive-linguistic impairments, and difficulty in swallowing, known as dysphagia. An experienced clinical supervisor and teacher, Glufling-Tham works in Emerson's Robbins Speech, Language and Hearing Center. There, she supervises graduate students as they conduct evaluations and therapy with adult clients who present with various neurogenic communication disorders. Glufling-Tham also teache