On October 6 and 7, 2023, associate professor Laura Russell, accompanied by communication students Thu Nguyen, Lily Goers, Alina Mayton, and Daniel Ortiz Sifonte, all members of the Class of 2024, traveled to the Ohio Communication Association Annual Conference to present their research.
The students showcased their final projects from Russell’s course, Fracturing Frictions of Fear. In their research panel, Making Sense of Fear in the Face of Reality: Phenomenological Investigations of Human Experiences and Interpretations of Fear, audience members discovered the ways fear weaves through protective instincts and identities. The students offered practices designed to help uncover the origins of fear and understand how fear influences social relationships and overall well-being.
During a faculty panel presentation, Russell introduced a teaching activity, Constructions of Self: Using Building Block Imagery to Visualize the Self-Concept. She proposed creative techniques for visualizing abstract concepts such as the “self,” by using building blocks. Russell designed the activity for “students to name parts of themselves that make them who they uniquely are,” she said. “After identifying these parts and writing them on blocks, they create a structure by considering how the parts go together, what belongs at the foundation, and other ideas that inspire what they build.”
In addition to sharing their research, Russell and the students gained new insights into critical issues and varying perspectives in the field of communication. The students received funding from the Lisska Center for Intellectual Engagement to attend the conference.
