Graduate Students
Doctoral Students
Zachary Benjamin
Current CV: Download the PDF Previous Institution(s): Northwestern University (B.S.); Columbia University (M.A.)
Degree(s) and Date(s): B.S.,Communication Studies/Chinese Language and Culture, '05; M.A., East Asian Regional Studies, '06
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Current Research Interests: My research interests are currently under development, although I am most interested in organizational and political communication applied to topics of education and public opinion. My current interests include politeness theory and the rhetorical devices associated with competitive application processes. I am also interested in how China's education system uses new media to update social constructions of leadership.
Publications, presentations and awards:
- Benjamin, Z. The Designer I: Self Presentation on Facebook as Part of a Pluralistic Identity. Association of Internet Researchers 9th Conference, Copenhagen, Denmark. October, 2008.
- Benjamin, Z. Embodying Denial: Face Loss and the Rhetoric of the Undergraduate Admission Process. Organizational Communication Mini-Conference, West Lafayette, Indiana. September, 2008.
- Benjamin, Z. Storming the Gates at the House of Confucius: Academic Pressure, Social Mobility, and the Preservation of an Empire. Indiana University-Northwest Arts and Sciences Conference. Gary, Indiana. November, 2007.
- Award for Outstanding Achievement in Student Research, Indiana University-Northwest Arts and Sciences Conference. November, 2007.
- Northwestern University Communication Century Scholar (Departmental Award), 2005.
What attracted you to UIC? The department's joint focus on culture and communication technology matches perfectly with my goals as a doctoral student. Additionally, the high quality of the master's students and their excellent track record, along with the robust research output of the faculty, will serve as a strong foundation for our program. I was also intrigued by the opportunity to be part of the department's first cohort of Ph.D students and the ability to help build a strong tradition of doctoral-level education in communication at UIC.
Gordy Carlson
Previous institution(s): Oregon State University
Degree(s) and date(s): B.S., 2004; M.A., '05
Hometown: Sandy, Ore.; or Cary, Ill.
Current research interests: Technological creation and mediation of communication and interaction.
Publications and presentations:
- Co-author, "Assessing the Range: A Comparative Analysis of AFA-NIET and NFA Rating Points", under review, National Forensics Journal.
- Presented Paper: Peeling "The Onion:" Exploring Constructive
Subversion via Ideological Criticism, Northwest Communication Association 2005 Conference (rhetorical theory division).
What attracted you to UIC? The openness and willingness to embrace so many viewpoints, willingness to incorporate many fields, and the sheer expertise of the department in a theoretical and technological sense.
Maggie Griffith
Previous institution(s): Trinity College, Hartford, Conn., Temple University, Philadelphia, Pa.
Degree(s) and date(s):B.A., Religion, '02, M.A., Broadcasting, Telecommunications and Mass Media, '07
Hometown: Newtown, PA
Current research interests: At the moment I am interested in the Internet's impact on social life. I want to continue exploring the internet's impact on the way people communicate with each other as well as to investigate inter-cultural communication in an online context.
Publications and presentations:
- Griffith, M. (2005, May). Territories of the Screen. International Communication Association, Visual Studies Division, New York, NY.
- Griffith, M. (2006, November). Calypsos and Pichakaarees: Trinidadian Music as Social Commentary. Global Temple Conference, Poster Session: International Research Division, Philadelphia, PA.
- Griffith, M. (2007, August). Looking for you: An analysis of video blogs. Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Visual Communication Division, Washington, DC.
What attracted you to UIC? The renowned Communication faculty and their interest in new media and intercultural communication. Also, the city of Chicago.
Ginnifer Mastarone
Previous institution(s): Allegheny College, Meadville, Pa.; Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Ill.
Degree(s) and date(s): B.A., English,'05,;M.S., Technical Communication and Information Design, '07
Hometown: Erie, PA.
Current research interests: Health communication in mediated environments, including the use of rhetorical strategies/tropes to foster community and create knowledge in networked communities of practice. The use of Web 2.0 technologies in the networked information economy, particularly when leveraged for identity maintenance, social action, work and production. Semantic network analysis, distance education curriculum development and analysis of systems (i.e. information, public health, usability of online media).
Web site: www.techcommunicator.net
Plans and ideas after receiving degree: I plan to be a research professor.
What attracted you to UIC? The academic interests of the faculty as well as the supportive academic environment. All of the graduate students I met were excited and knowledgeable about their research interests.
Ishani Mukherjee
Previous institution(s): Jadavpur University (Calcutta, India); Northern Illinois University, Dekalb, Illinois.
Degree(s) and date(s): B.A., Comparative Literature '01; M.A., Comparative Literature '03; M.A., in Communication Studies '07.
Hometown: Calcutta, India; Chicago, Ill.
Current research interests: Gender concerns in Indian advertising/media.
Publications and presentations: None yet.
Plans and ideas after receiving degree? Not sure.
What attracted you to UIC? The faculty, the research publication output, the city of Chicago, among others.
Sabrina Pasztor
Previous institution(s): Cornell University; Bryn Mawr College
Degree(s) and date(s): Masters - Organizational Behavior/Labor Relations; 1997; Bachelors - Political Science; 1991
Hometown: Chicago, Ill.
Current research interests: Deceptive and authentic communications/identities on Social networking sites, celebrity rhetoric and influence in Web 2.0 media, social impact communications (graffiti as expression and identity), influence of communication within social labor movements, media impact on gender/women's identity and socialization.
Publications and presentations:
- Pasztor, S. Social Networking Sites and Constructs of True and Fake Identity. Transforming Audiences 2 International Conference, London, September 2009.
- Pasztor, S. Celebrity 2.0: Do Celebrity Endorsements Matter Anymore? Rhetoric and Influence in Modern-Day Social Media. Eighth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, June-July 2010.
Plans and ideas after receiving degree? My goal is to work for a center or institute for advanced policy/communication/gender studies, and as a university professor.
What attracted you to UIC? Good reputation; Strong faculty; interdisciplinary studies.
Kelly Quinn
Previous institution(s): Dominican University, Northwestern University, University of Notre Dame
Degree(s) and date(s): M.LIS, Academic Libraries '07 - M.M., Finance and International Business '85 - B.B.A., Finance '81
Hometown: Hinsdale, Ill.
Current research interests: Computer-mediated communication, especially the use of social tools in collaborative work.
Publications and presentations: None yet
Plans and ideas after receiving degree? Teaching, research.
What attracted you to UIC? The focus on media technology, the faculty and research being done, and the flexibility to pursue my specific interests.
Adriane Stoner
Previous Institution: DePaul University
Degree and Date: BA 2002, MA 2008
Hometown: Davenport, Iowa.
Current Research Interests: Intercultural Communication
Publications and presentations:
- -Bryant, L. E., & Stoner, A. (2008, April). "Guess what I heard?" Analyzing gossip as a form of persuasion. Paper presented at the meeting of the Central States Communication Association, Madison, WI.
- -Master's Thesis: Sorting out a Sojourn: An analysis of study abroad research and the challenge of measuring personal identity transformations.
What attracted you to UIC? Research and teaching opportunities.
Master's Students
William Aungst
Previous Institution: University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Filmmakers
Degree and Date:
Hometown: Dallas, Texas
Current Research Interests: I am interested in how torture stories involving the U.S. are framed in the news media and presented in pop culture narratives and the effect that these presentations have on shifting categorical imperatives concerning torture for large audiences. I am also interested in most issues under the general rubric of violence and media.
Publications, presentations and awards: None yet Plans/ideas after receiving your master's degree: When I finish my M.A., I plan on pursuing a PhD.
What attracted you to UIC? Many things attracted me to UIC, some of them being: the faculty presented a range of research interests that, as an M.A. student, I felt would expose me to the different paths that communication research has to offer; and the movie theaters in Chicago.
Michele Aymold
Previous Institution: Salisbury University
Degree and Date: B. A., Interpersonal and Organizational Communication; Minor in Sociology, '06
Hometown: Westminster, MD.
Current Research Interests: Group Communication and Decision Making in Student Organizations.
Publications, presentations and awards:
- "Defective student group decision making," University of Illinois Communication Conference, 2007.
What attracted you to UIC? The Communication program and the city!
Jill Caravelli
Previous Institution: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree and Date: B. S., Media Studies, B.A., Spanish, '05
Hometown: Wheaton, Ill.
Current Research Interests: popular culture (music, visual culture), identity politics.
Publications and presentations:
- "Celebrity Culture," in Donsbach, ed. The international encyclopedia of communication. Forthcoming.
Plans/ideas after receiving your master's degree: Continuing life in academia either teaching or pursuing a PhD.
What attracted you to UIC? faculty with diverse backgrounds and a program flexible enough to accommodate my many academic interests.
Dayna Earlene Chatman
Previous Institution: Saint Mary's College of California Moraga, CA
Degree and Date: BA in Communication 2005
Hometown: Oakland, CA
Current Research Interests: Privacy, and self-presentation on Social Networking Sites; intergroup contact and communication, how segregated organizational structures within institutions influence communication between groups, limit intergroup contact and maintain stereotypes; relationship maintenance and negotiation of identity in interracial friendships; race and gender stereotyping in print and television (masculinized and sexualized women and historical black representation and current stereotypes); "black beauty" in fashion advertising (racial identity and body imagery).
Plans/ideas after receiving your master's degree: I plan to go on to receive a PhD in Communication Studies. I would like to teach in the field.
What attracted you to UIC? The small size of the department and the personalities of the faculty and staff. I felt welcomed.
Nathan Earixson
Previous Institution: University of Colorado at Boulder
Degree and Date: B.A., Media Studies, '06
Hometown: Inver Grove Heights, Minn.; Arvada, Colo.
Current Research Interests: Globalization, electronic communication, economic aspects of communication, hermeneutics.
Publications and presentations:
- Co-Presenter, "The Oral Traditions of Business Culture," University of Illinois Communication Conference, Champaign, Ill., 2007.
Plans/ideas after receiving your master's degree: Read some novels.
What attracted you to UIC? The faculty and their areas of expertise. Also, the architecture.
Blake Gladfelter
Previous Institution: University of Kansas
Degree and Date: B.A., Film Studies, '04
Hometown: Wichita, Kansas
Current Research Interests: New Media, Internet Subcultures
Plans/ideas after receiving your master's degree: Go on to doctoral work
What attracted you to UIC? It came highly recommended.
Ryan Henke
Previous Institution: Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
Degree and Date: B.A., Philosophy, '03.
Hometown: Belleville, IL.
Current Research Interests: Political communication, particularly in news coverage; Media conglomerates.
Publications and presentations: None, except for a few letters to the editor of the Belleville News-Democrat.
Plans/ideas after receiving your master's degree: Work for a few years as a roadie for Ashlee Simpson and then continue with doctoral work.
What attracted you to UIC? The department's focus on political communication and UIC's urban location; also, the campus' amazing post-post-Gothic architecture.
Korin Isotalo Hunt
Previous Institution: Western Michigan University
Degree and Date: B.A., Media Studies, B.A., Women's Studies, '05
Hometown: South Lyon, MI.
Current Research Interests: Research Misconduct policies at US universities.
Plans/ideas after receiving your master's degree: Law School
What attracted you to UIC? Broad faculty interests and the GWS concentration.
Rashmi Jha
Previous Institution: University of Delhi, India.
Degree and Date: M.A.,English Lit, '03; B.A., English Lit, '01 Hometown: New Delhi, India.
Current Research Interests: cultural studies, political communication.
Publications and presentations: None yet.
Plans/ideas after receiving your master's degree: To utilize the degree in the best possible way!
What attracted you to UIC? The Communication program, the welcoming atmosphere at the department and that it was a Master's program.
Bryan McLaughlin
Previous Institution: Bucknell University
Degree and Date: B.A., Religious Studies, B. A., Philosophy, May '04
Hometown: Woodside, Calif.
Current Research Interests: Religious rhetoric in Political Communication, Race, Social Cognition.
Plans/ideas after receiving your master's degree: Go on to a doctoral program.
What attracted you to UIC? The interest of the faculty.
Sarah Millermaier
Previous Institution: University of Toronto
Degree and Date: B.A., English, B.A., Ibero-American Studies
Hometown: Kalamazoo, Mich.
Current Research Interests: Multiculturalism and social policy.
Publications and presentations:
- Presenter "Liberty and Community: Canadian Multiculturalism Policy and Egocentric Networks", UICC Conference, March 2, 2007
What attracted you to UIC? Excellent faculty and small size. Research and funding opportunities.
Tom Moss
Previous Institution: Ohio State University
Degree and Date: M.F.A. '98
Hometown: Clinton, Ill.
Current Research Interests: Rhetoric and media
Plans/ideas after receiving your master's degree: No small plans, but no specific ones either.
Robyn A. Pocrnich
Previous Institution: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree and Date: B.S., Advertising, '03
Hometown: Skokie, IL
Current Research Interests: Socially constructed identity; Minority identity formation in the online space.
Plans/ideas after receiving your master's degree: I currently work as an Interactive Account Manager at a digital advertising agency and plan to move into our Interactive Planning department after I complete the program.
What attracted you to UIC? The faculty's focus on new media as well as the location.
William Rinehart
Previous Institution: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree and Date: B.A., Political Science, '07
Hometown: Springfield, IL
Current Research Interests: Rhetoric of economics, online activities of political activist groups, the rhetoric of political activism and political economy.
Plans/ideas after receiving your master's degree: I am either going to work for a think tank, in communication research, or go on to get my PhD.
What attracted you to UIC? The city of Chicago made me first consider UIC and the faculty's reputation settled it.
Wei Tang
Previous Institution: Shanghai International Studies University, China
Degree and Date: B.B.A., ( English), '07
Hometown: Hangzhou, China
Current Research Interests: The impact of new media on ads strategy, cross-cultural communication.
Publications and presentations:
- "The impact of tourism in modern China," 37th St. Gallen Symposium, Switzerland. May 29th to Jun. 2nd, 2007.
What attracted you to UIC? Its high-quality communication program, the nice people here and of course the great city of Chicago!
Xiao Wen
Previous Institution: Nanjing Normal University, China
Degree and Date: B.A., '07
Hometown: China
Current Research Interests: cultural studies.
Publications and presentations: None yet
Plans/ideas after receiving your master's degree: Going on for a PhD.
What attracted you to UIC? The great location and good academic environment attracted me to UIC.
1007 W Harrison Street, Behavioral Sciences Building 1140, MC132 Chicago IL 60607 | Phone: 312-996-3187 | Fax: 312-413-2125
Contact the Department for general information. Contact the Webmaster for this site with suggestions, problems, corrections, or praise.