MS students present research at AEJMC Midwinter

Masters in Media and Communication students Alejandro Botia and Laura Hudgins presented papers at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Midwinter Conference in February.

Both traveled to the conference at the University of Oklahoma Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication in Norman, Oklahoma. Botia presented his paper, “Operation Sniper: How American Sniper Constructs Audience as Killer,” and Laura Hudgins presented her paper, “Portrayals of Power and Authority in The Walking Dead.”

The AEJMC Midwinter Conference is an annual forum for the presentation of research and debate in areas relevant to 11 of the AEJMC groups (division, interest groups and commissions). The conference provides a platform for presentations and extended discussions in a relaxed setting.

This is two years in a row that our program has presented papers on the national scene. Last year MS Graduate Program Director Robert Kalwinsky and MS student Matt Binford presented at the Broadcast Education Association’s National Conference in Las Vegas. Their paper, “The Flipped Classroom in Mass Communication Education,” won second place in the open competition in the Curriculum, Assessment and Administration Division.