Texas Tech University

Amy N. Heuman

Associate Professor and Associate Department Chair
Communication Studies

Email: a.heuman@ttu.edu

Phone: +1.806.834.0337

Research: Intercultural Communication, Gender Studies, and Cultural Identity Negotiations


Office:
 316

Ph.D. Bowling Green State University
M.A. Western Michigan University
B.A. Spring Arbor University

Amy N. Heuman

Biography

Dr. Heuman's research centers on the role communication plays in cultural identity negotiations and performances of identity, intercultural relationships, co-cultural group, and dominant group interactions, as well as how communication is utilized by community members to mobilize for social justice. She is keenly interested in the intersecting negotiations of race/ethnicity/class/gender/sexuality through critical and feminist lenses.  Dr. Heuman has spent extended time examining these dynamics within Latinx communities the Rio Grande Valley, TX colonias where many residents do not have the resources needed to meet basic human needs (i.e., water/septic systems, paved roads, street lighting, garbage removal) yet are exploring the tools needed to speak truth to power (i.e., access to local/state/national political leaders, organizing collective efforts, persuasive communication strategies). She is currently working on several projects focused on the empowerment of women and girls of color. Her research can be found in publications such as the Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, Journal of Intercultural Communication Research,Health Communication, Qualitative Research Reports in Communication, Journal of Latinos in Higher Education, Communication Teacher, Working in the Margins, The Discourse of Special Populations, Public Memory, Race, and Ethnicity, and Whiteness, Pedagogy, and Performance: Displacing Race. Dr. Heuman is an ad hoc reviewer for numerous journals, serves on the editorial boards for the Southern Communication Journal and Communication Teacher, and is the Associate Editor for the Communication Studies journal.

Selected Publications

  • Heuman, A. N., & Labador, A. (2020). Forging a Critical Intercultural Mentoring Relationship Within the Margins of Academe.In Carolyn "Carolina" Rosas Webber's (Ed.) Working in the Margins: Domestic and International Minority Women in Higher Education (pp. 97-120).Peter Lang.

  • Gonzalez, A., & Heuman, A. N. (2020), Internationalizing Rhetorical Studies. In Paaige K. Turner, Soumia Bardhan, Tracey Quigley Holden, and Eddah M. Mutua (Eds.), Internationalizing the Communication Curriculum an Age of Globalization (pp. 84-98). Routledge.

  • Heuman, A. N. (2018). “Students Writing Culture: Strategies for Illuminating Pluralistic Voices Through Critical Intercultural Communication Pedagogy .” In A. Atay and D. Trebing (Eds.) The Discourse of Special Populations: Critical Intercultural Communication Pedagogy and Practice. Routledge Press.

  • Heuman, A. N. (2018). “Illuminating Everyday Performances of Privilege and Oppression  Within a Matrix of Domination.” Communication Teacher, 32(1), pp. 30-35. Special Issue on Critical Pedagogy and Social Change.  DOI:  10.1080/17404622.2017.1373836

  • Heuman, A. N. (2015).“An Intercultural Partnership for Social Justice in the Rio Grande Valley TX Colonias.” Journal of International & Intercultural Communication, 8(3), 193-207. DOI: 10.1080/17513057.2015.1057916

  • Heuman, A. N., Scholl, J. C., & Wilkinson, K. (2013). “Rural Hispanic Populations At-Risk in Developing Diabetes:  Sociocultural and Familial Challenges in Promoting a Healthy Diet.” Health Communication, 28(3), 260-274. Lead Author. DOI:  10.1080/10410236.2012.680947

Teaching Focus

Graduate Courses Taught: 
COMS 5300 Communication Theories 
COMS 5301 Qualitative Communication Research Methods 
COMS 5302 Intercultural Communication (COMS and Women's & Gender Studies) 
COMS 6308 Seminar in Cultural Communication (COMS and Women's & Gender Studies) 
WGS 5310 Feminist Thought & Theories

Undergraduate Courses Taught: 
COMS 3301 Communication Theory 
COMS 3302 Communication Research 
COMS 3332 Intercultural Communication 
COMS 3334/WS 3312 Gender and Communication 
WGS 4310 Feminist Thought & Theories 
WGS 2300 Introduction to Women's & Gender Studies

Leadership & Awards

  • Spotlight on TTU Women Faculty (2020), Featured during March 2020, Texas Tech University.
  • Integrated Scholar Award (2018), Texas Tech University.
  • Outreach Award (2017), Association-Wide Award, Southern States Communication Association.
  • Outstanding Mentor Award (2016), Master's Education Division, National Communication Association.
  • Faculty Fellow, Women Faculty Writing Program, President's Gender Equity Council, Women's & Gender Studies, and the University Writing Center, 2015-2016, 2016-2017, 2017-Present.
  • Facilitator/Leader, Women Faculty Writing Program, President's Gender Equity Council, Women's & Gender Studies, and the University Writing Center, 2016-2017, 2017-2018.