The Spring 2024 Semester in Review By: Michelle Amazeen With the end of another semester, I have been reflecting upon the many activities in the CRC and among our fellows in 2024, thus far. This spring, we launched the inaugural call for Faculty Research Seed Grant proposals with the aim of fostering inter-departmental, cross-disciplinary collaborations […]
Growing Risk of Disinformation By: Michelle Amazeen The new year began with the World Economic Forum releasing its 2024 Global Risks Report which describes hazards occurring in the global landscape from year to year. Topping the 2024 report is the threat of mis- and disinformation intensifying societal divides around the world over the next two […]
The Fall 2023 Semester in Review By: Michelle Amazeen December wraps up another busy semester for the CRC. Our Colloquium Series, which originated in 2009, consists of monthly research presentations that highlight current and original research of CRC fellows. Our Fall Colloquium Speakers were EMS PhD Candidate Alexis Shore (September), Dr. Deborah Jaramillo (October), and […]
In Thanksgiving: Rosalynn Carter as Political Communicator (1927-2023) By: Michelle Amazeen With multiple wars raging and the world enduring infodemics, pandemics, and climate-related disasters, it may seem difficult to be grateful for much of anything at present. However, at this time of Thanksgiving in the United States, I wanted to pay homage to a former […]
By: Michelle Amazeen In the mid-1980s, Rolling Stone Magazine underwent an image transformation. Widely perceived of as a magazine carrying content that only appealed to a niche population of counterculture hippies, the award-winning “Perception. Reality.” advertising campaign, created by advertising agency Fallon McElligott, disputed that notion. Through a series of over 60 print executions, the […]
By: Michelle Amazeen Welcome to the Fall 2023 Semester! With the start of the academic year, I’d like to welcome you to the fall 2023 semester and share some information about the CRC. First established at Boston University in 1959, the CRC serves to support its fellows as thought leaders who advance communication-related theory and […]
By: Michelle Amazeen Barbie: Covert Influence and Representation The billion-dollar blockbuster movie this summer was Barbie. As I prepared to go see it with my mother in July, I reminded myself that I was going to see what amounts to a 2-hour advertisement for a child’s toy, a practice also known as branded entertainment. As […]
By: Michelle Amazeen Speaking Out: Then They Came for the Academics… During my spring 2023 research sabbatical, I have continued my studies of disinformation. While having the time, resources, and support to focus exclusively on research is an increasingly rare privilege in academia, as I prepared to return as COM’s Director of the Communication Research […]
By: Michelle Amazeen As the Fall 2022 semester wraps up, there is an impressive number of new faces and activities at the CRC to reflect on. We welcomed four new faculty research fellows: Dr. Nivea Cannali Bona, Lecturer, Media Science; Dr. Katy Coduto, Assistant Professor, Media Science; Dr. Pablo Miño, Assistant Professor, Public Relations, and […]
AI: Cause to Rejoice or Frankenstein-like Foreboding? Artificial intelligence (or AI) has moved from science fiction to mainstream computer science. No longer is it simply the lore of Frankenstein-like creations but rather something that people use in their everyday lives. For instance, web searches using Google rely upon AI. So do the recommendation systems in […]