Allen presents Distinguished Lecture at National Communication Association’s annual convention
Photo courtesy of National Communication Association, Chris Martinez
On Nov. 8, Brenda J. Allen delivered the 2011 Carroll C. Arnold Distinguished Lecture during the National Communication Association's 97th Annual Convention in New Orleans. Her lecture, titled "Voice Lessons for Social Change," explored how communication scholarship about voice can inform efforts to effect social change and create a more humane discipline.
Since 1994, the National Communication Association has offered the Carroll C. Arnold Distinguished Lecture and has featured the most accomplished researchers in communication. The topic for the 97th annual convention was "Voice," and during her speech in front of a packed grand ballroom, Allen invited, "all members of the discipline of communication to work toward social change by examining power dynamics related to how we communicate with one another in academia."
Dr. Allen is an associate dean in CLAS and professor in communication. Her research and teaching areas are organizational communication, diversity, group communication, and computer-mediated communication. She is the author of the groundbreaking book titled "Difference Matters: Communicating Social Identity." Dr. Allen is currently on sabbatical until August 2012, but for more information on her work visit www.differencematters.info.
—Chris Ferguson, graduate research assistant and master's student in the Department of Communication
