The Thomas Jay Harris Institute for Hispanic and International Communication Newsletter
Fall 2014

Note from the Director

The Thomas Jay Harris Institute for Hispanic and International Communication (HIHIC) is busy with new faculty, students and initiatives. The Institute is pleased to welcome to the faculty María Elena Gutiérrez Rentería, Ph.D. a visiting professor from Guadalajara Mexico and Marilda Oviedo, Ph.D. who as an M.A. student was among HIHIC’s first student affiliates before receiving her doctorate from the University of Iowa. The HIHIC also welcomes a new class of undergraduate and graduate students, including increasing numbers of Hispanic and international students. This growth is exciting for the Harris Institute as we seek to expand our involvement with diverse populations at Tech. In May, Senior Associate Dean Kevin Stoker, Ph.D. traveled to China with a TTU recruiting delegation, and I did the same to India in September. It’s exciting to see such enthusiasm for Texas Tech halfway around the world. On a day off I had the good fortune to visit S.J. Studios, a “Bollywood” facility in Mumbai, and had this photo taken with Dr. Fred Hartmeister and some TV program extras.

Kent Wilkinson, Ph.D.
Thomas Jay Harris Regents Professor in Hispanic and International Communication

HIHIC Publishes Volume 7 of the International Journal of Hispanic Media

The Harris Institute has published volume 7 of the International Journal of Hispanic Media, formerly the Journal of Spanish Language Media. We changed the journal name to be more inclusive of bilingual and English-language media directed to U.S. Hispanic audiences while maintaining the journal’s international focus. The journal welcomes practical as well as theoretical approaches and aims to provide a forum for discussion among academic researchers and Hispanic-oriented media professionals. We seek to publish work employing a broad range of research methods and epistemologies while pursuing our primary objective of disseminating engaging, quality research that increases knowledge of the Hispanic and Iberoamerican media world. The journal may be found at: www.internationalhispanicmedia.org/

The HIHIC Welcomes New Faculty Marilda Oviedo and María Elena Gutiérrez Rentería

Dr. Oviedo received her Ph.D. in Mass Communication from the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Iowa. Before joining TTU she was a Multicultural Faculty Fellow at the University of Rhode Island. Dr. Oviedo studies the ways that individuals use and produce media content and its influence on identity formation. She specializes in how media literacy contributes to adolescents’ gender, race and ethnic identities.
Dr. Gutiérrez Rentería is a Professor in the School of Business and Economics at the Universidad Panamericana in Guadalajara, México. Her Bachelor’s degree is in Business and Finance, and she received her doctorate in Public Communication from the Universidad de Navarra, Spain. Dr. Gutiérrez Rentería specializes in international media management and economics.

Thomas Jay Harris Institute for Hispanic and International Communication Awards Scholarship

Last year’s generous gift from the estate of Thomas Jay Harris has begun to pay dividends for students who were awarded Thomas Jay Harris scholarships at a college luncheon on September 12:

• Lindsey Blumell (Ph.D. program)
• Roxanne Bustamante (M.A. program)
• Nathian Rodriguez (Ph.D. program)
• Ashlyn Tubbs (Journalism & Electronic Media major)

Texas Tech University International Film Series

The Harris Institute continues to co-sponsor the International Film Series, which has changed its name from Global Lens. Dr. Rob Peaslee, who was recently tenured and promoted to associate professor, continues as the series director with the assistance of a campus-wide programming committee. This year’s films are being screened at Lubbock’s new Alamo Draft House. Other sponsors besides the Harris Institute include Texas Tech’s Cross-Cultural Academic Advancement Center, the Department of Journalism and Electronic Media, and the Jimmie Reeves and Kathryn Quilliam Reeves Fund. The screening schedule and other information about IFS can be found on Facebook or through the HIHIC web page: HIHIC Homepage

Left to right, Dr. Peggie Price, Dr. Hyo Jin Kim, Dr. Kent Wilkinson, Dr. Jessica R. El-Khoury, Dr. Weiwu Zhang and Dr. Brandon Bouchillon.

Recent Doctoral Graduates

This year, four HIHIC-affiliated students completed the Ph.D. program. We are very proud of their accomplishments and wish them success in their careers.

Brandon Bouchillon successfully defended his dissertation, “Patching the Melting Pot: Social Networking and Social Capital in America,” in spring 2014. He is working as a visiting assistant professor at the University of North Carolina at Asheville.

Jessica R. El-Khoury completed and defended her dissertation titled “Prosocial Effects of an Entertainment-Education Television Sitcom and Celebrity PSA: Investigating the Role of Parasocial Interaction, Humor, and Resistance to Persuasion” in spring 2014. She was hired as an assistant professor by Notre Dame University in Lebanon.

Hyo Jin Kim successfully defended her dissertation, “Discovering Science Fiction Fandom in Science Communication and Science Culture: A Case Study of Doctor Who Fandom in South Korea” in spring 2014. She is currently working with Sowoon Arts and Heritage in Lubbock.

Mehrnaz Rahimi defended her dissertation “How Tolerant Are People in the Diaspora of Opposing Political Views?: An Evaluation of Media Use and Political Tolerance Among Iranians in the U.S.A.” in June, and graduated in August 2014.

HIHIC Affiliates’ Activities

Lindsey Blumell (doctoral student) presented a paper on framing international news at the 2014 BEA conference. She also presented her work with Kristi Gilmore, Ph.D. on NGOs’ potential agenda-setting influence on human rights journalism through social media at ICA preconference session. Lindsey currently is working with Lea Hellmueller, Ph.D. on a transnational journalism study. An article she co-authored with Nate Rodriguez on media’s framing of marriage equality was accepted for publication in the Journal of Communication Inquiry.

Pria Khandelwal (doctoral student) has primary interests in health communication and how new media can be used to reach mass audiences in diverse, low SES populations. She is also studying PR practices in multicultural environments, intercultural communication and political communication.

Sun Young Lee, Ph.D. is working on several projects related to corporate social responsibility (CSR). Her research focuses on the buffering and boomerang effects of CSR practices, the positive and negative spillover effects of corporate-nonprofit partnerships, and CSR in conjunction with social capital. She is currently organizing comparative studies of CSR practices in South Korea and the U.S.

Yunjuan (Lily) Luo, Ph.D. recently published “The Internet and Agenda Setting in China: The Influence of Online Public Opinion on Media Coverage and Government Policy” in the International Journal of Communication. She presented a co-authored paper about digital literacy and digital divide at the 2014 ICA preconference in Seattle.

Rebecca R. Ortiz, Ph.D. recently published an article in the Journal of Children & Media, a book chapter in Media and Well-Being of Children and Adolescents, and has an article regarding the HPV vaccination and middle school students in press. She is currently testing sexual assault prevention messages for development of a college-wide campaign, and conducting a social media intervention to promote the HPV vaccine to adolescents.

Nathian Shae Rodriguez (doctoral student) presented his paper “Texas Country: A Tale of a Successful Niche in the Tall City” at the 2014 BEA conference. He is currently researching the framing of gay marriage, agenda setting effects of gay athletes, agenda setting effects of entertainment social media and the impact of Beyonce’s digital album. Rodriguez is also collaborating with Liz Gardner, Ph.D. on perceived masculinity and gay dating apps. He co-authored an article with Lindsey Blumell on media’s framing of marriage equality that will appear in the Journal of Communication Inquiry

Autumn Shafer, Ph.D. published an article in the Journal of Health Communication about developing a theory-based campaign to promote caregiver wellbeing among parents of children with eating disorders. She is working with a researcher in New Zealand to replicate the campaign. Her other recent work includes presenting the second phase of a cross-cultural comparison (Lebanon and U.S.) of the effects of anti-domestic violence messages at the Kentucky Conference on Health Communication. Autumn was recently awarded the College’s Billy I. Ross Award for her accomplishments in research, teaching and service.

Weiwu Zhang, Ph.D. published three entries in the Encyclopedia of Social Media and Politics (Sage) with recent graduate, Dr. Sherice Gearhart: “Non-profit Organizations,” “Social Media Strategies and Tactics in Political Campaigns,” and “Social Capital.” He also co-authored “Gay Bullying and Online Opinion Expression: Testing Spiral of Silence in the Social Media Environment” in Social Science Computer Review, also with Dr. Gearhart. Weiwu was recently selected to become the new editor for Communication Booknotes Quarterly beginning in 2015.

HIHIC to participate in Campus-Wide Global Communication Program

HIHIC faculty, affiliates, and students will participate in the Cross-Cultural Academic Advancement Center’s Teaching Diversity Across the Curriculum: Open Teaching Concept in October 2014. This year’s theme is Bridging the Communication Gap: Globalization, Privilege, Poverty & Sustainability. The Open Teaching Concept’s aim is to explore the issues of diversity and social justice, access and disparities, policy and poverty over a variety of disciplines, methods, theories, and paradigms. HIHIC presentations include:

Human Rights and New Media in Contemporary Global Society – Kent Wilkinson
From Oppression to Asylum, A Global Perspective on LGBTI Refugees – Nathian S. Rodriguez