October 2008 Newsletter
Hope College Department of
Communication | 257 Columbia
Ave. | Holland, MI 49423 | Phone:
616.395.7595 | Fax: 616.395.7937
Class Looks Deeper Into Politics
By Elizabeth Orlando, Hope Junior
With the 2008 presidential election
in full swing, Communication Professor
Christian Spielvogel’s students are lucky
to have the chance to examine the
election as a case study in his current
class, “Presidential Campaign Rhetoric. “
According to Spielvogel, he created this
course so students could have the chance
to apply what they learn in the classroom
to the daily news about the election.
“We view the campaign as a lengthy
conversation between the press,
candidates, and the public,” Spielvogel
said, “and spend the time before the
election analyzing the quality and
effectiveness of that conversation as it
relates to our democracy.”
The class dissects television ads,
convention speeches, photo-ops, news
coverage, and debates, and looks at
the roles each play and their overall
effectiveness on viewers.
“Each
component
of
the
communication
process,
including
speakers, medium, message, and
audience, is taken
into consideration to
help us interpret the
meaningfulness of this
complex conversation.”
Because this class
coincides
with
an
election
in
which
both candidates are
diversified and extreme
in their own views,
Spielvogel
wants
students to use the
information this class
offers to find value in
each candidate.
“I hope that students
gain an appreciation for both candidates
and their concrete proposals as well
as their styles as speakers and leaders,”
Spielvogel said.
“Importantly, I also want students to
understand the assumptions that inform
each candidates’ rhetoric, and to avoid
demonizing either candidate or party.”
This election in particular has become
quite catty with the opponents bashing
each other on many aspects that are trivial
and nonessential to the presidency or the
main issues currently facing the country.
“We’ve become somewhat cynical
as a society about our politics,” said
Spielvogel, “and I would prefer that
students learn to center their criticisms
around the candidates’ positions and
past performances rather than their
personalities.”
Professor Profile: Deirdre Johnston
methods,” Johnston said. “It also instructs
you in how to present your findings:
Recently Communication Professor How to prepare a poster session, an oral
Deirdre Johnston returned from her conference presentation, or a written
sabbatical, which she spent working to paper for publication.”
Johnston and VanderStoep hope
complete the book, Research Methods
students will take this
for Everyday Life: Blending
book and actually use the
Quantitative and Qualitative
information in their own lives,
Approaches.
as the book is meant to teach
Along with co-author and
real life practices.
Hope Psychology Professor
“I hope readers will
Scott Vanderstoep, Johnston
take
away a set of tools to
spent the past two years
which
they can refer when
writing and researching to
they
encounter
a research
create a book geared toward
problem
in
school
or in their
undergraduate social science
Johnston
job,
”
VanderStoep
said.
students and aiming to teach
Some students may even be able
about research methods.
to
take
this
book and its contents and use
“The unique aspect of this book is
it
for
their
own
projects.
that it provides a thorough introduction
“This
is
a
book that can provide
to both quantitative and qualitative
By Elizabeth Orlando
students with the background to work
on research projects,” Johnston said, “and
present their findings at the National
Conference for Undergraduate Research.”
Johnston said that the project was
strengthened by collaborative research
with a colleague from another academic
discipline.
“It was a lot of fun to work with
Professor VanderStoep on this project,”
Johnston said. “He used to be director of
the Frost Center at Hope and he included
a lot of examples of research done by the
Frost Center.”
Johnston also brought her own talents
to the project.
“Dede is a very good writer,”
VanderStoep said. “She has a winsome
writing style. She has strength in
qualitative methods that I don’t have.”
Department Internship Program Gets Makeover
By Chris Lewis, Hope Senior
The Communication Department
has incorporated several changes into
its internship program that will be
implemented beginning in the spring
semester of 2009.
First, the department will help all
students as they select their internships.
Secondly, in order to obtain an internship
for academic credit, all students must
be either a junior or a senior who is a
declared Communication major with at
least a 2.7 overall grade point average.
“The most significant change
of the internship program is the
recommendation that all majors do an
internship for credit before graduation,”
Communication Department Chair and
Internship Director Dr. Deirdre Johnston
said.
In order to intern for academic credit,
students must complete at least four
of the required Communication core
courses or three required Communication
core courses, along with two elective
Communication courses.
Students who are seeking local
internships also need to attend an
internship workshop before they
apply for an internship. The internship
workshop will be held at least once
every semester. Students should sign up
for the workshop at least one semester
before they plan on interning.
After attending the workshop,
students should complete an application
for admission and submit it to Dr.
Johnston. Students will also need to
receive a positive recommendation from
their communication faculty advisor
after applying for an internship.
Once students complete the
application process and receive an
advisor’s recommendation, they will
schedule a meeting with Dr. Johnston
to discuss internship interests. After
the meeting, students will contact
employers, schedule interviews, and
secure their own internships. Students
who complete local internships will be
awarded three to four credits for the
semester-long internship, which will
provide many benefits for all students.
“There is a lot of research to indicate
that students learn from experience,
but that the experience needs to be
integrated in meaningful ways. The
integration comes from writing, reading
and reflection,” Dr. Johnston said. “The
new internship program provides the
structure for reflection on experience,
and as a result students will learn more
from their internship experiences. This is
the advantage of doing an internship for
credit.”
Meanwhile, students do not need
to complete an internship application
program for off-campus semester
programs like the Philadelphia Center
or the Chicago Semester. Students who
intern off-campus for a semester will
receive up to four hours of internship
credit if the internship is related to the
field of communication.
Students who intern internationally
can also receive up to four credits for
Communication 399 if the internship is
related to the field of communication.
International or off-campus interns must
submit an Internship Referral Essay,
though, which will provide information
for future interested interns, once the
internship has been completed.
During the internship, students will
schedule a midterm conference with Dr.
Johnston and will complete a midterm
evaluation. The internship site supervisors
will also complete a midterm evaluation.
At the end of the internship, students will
complete a final evaluation and schedule
a final conference with Dr. Johnston.
Site supervisors will also complete a
final evaluation that will be shown to Dr.
Johnston.
Finally, Dr. Johnston believes that the
integration of classroom experiences with
real world experiences will help students
be fully prepared as they begin to work in
today’s harsh economy.
“The quality of the internship experience
will be enhanced by opportunities to
integrate course learning with internship
training,” Dr. Johnston said. “To receive
internship credit students may choose
to either prepare an electronic portfolio
or respond to reading or writing
prompts. Both of these options provide
opportunities to integrate classroom
learning with employment experiences.”
Internship Opportunities
Holland area:
Contact Career Services (Ext. 7950)
or Dr. Johnston to inquire about possible internships in the Holland area
or around your hometown.
Domestic internship programs:
Hope offers different study programs
that include internship components.
With these programs you can live and
work in Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington D.C. and New York. Contact
the International Education Department (Ext. 7605) for more information.
International programs:
Work anywhere in the world through
Hope’s international study program.
Contact the International Education
Department (Ext. 7605) for more information.
Upcoming Events
t4UVEFOU"EWJTJOHthrough Nov. 5:
Schedule an appointment with your
academic advisor.
t"SU&YIJCJUJPO, through Nov. 22.
Exhibit open M-Sa 10 a.m.-5:00 p.m.,
DePree Art Gallery: “Leadership: Oliphant Cartoons and Sculpture from the
Bush Years.”
t(MPCBM$PòFF)PVS-FDUVSF; Tues.,
Nov. 4, 11-Noon, MMC Rotunda: Communication Professor Teresa Heinz
Housel will give a lecture, “Shadowy
Figures and Working-Class Bodies:
Intersections of Race and Class in the
News Coverage of Australia’s Ciara
Glennon Murder Case.”
t'SPTU$FOUFS'BDVMUZ4UVEFOU$PMMPquium; Thurs., Nov. 6, 11-Noon, AnderTPO8FSLNBO'JOBODJBM$FOUFS3PPN
250: “10 Most Unspoken Questions
About Race in the Age of Political Correctness”; Communication Professor
Ji Hoon Park and student researchers
John Ganta, Quinn Nystrom, Kenneth
Underwood, Micheal VanderWeele,
and Samantha Webbert.
Newsletter questions or comments? Contact Newsletter Editor James Ralston (Hope senior) at: james.ralston@hope.edu