Gabriel Wisnewski-Parks, communication professor, presented at the National Communication Association Convention, in Harbor, Maryland, Nov. 16-19.
Wisnewski-Parks started at WCU in the Fall of 2022, teaching Foundations of Communication. He has continued to work on independent and collaborative research projects in his time here.
This includes the paper he co-authored with Professor Vincent Russell, entitled Democratic Education Through Public Speaking: A Review and Advance Citizenship Preparation for Public Speaking Pedagogy.
“I wanted to work on this project because I was interested in how political theory has intersected with communication pedagogy and education,” said Wisnewski- Parks. “The world of political ideologies and how we communicate those ideologies fascinates me. And how we teach the foundations of communication is a very important context for thinking about how we teach, and what assumptions underlie our teaching, things related to democracy, citizenship, etc.”
Additionally, Wisnewski-Parks wanted to work with Professor Russell on this project.
“I knew I could learn a lot from Vincent through researching together, and I also knew he would be a capable co-author,” said Wisnewski-Parks. “I wanted to research something that was highly relevant to my current teaching work, and which I knew would also help me think about my own teaching philosophy.”
Research is a guiding factor in Wisnewski-Parks career.
“Research represents our ability to reflect on our communication practices, to aid us individually and collectively in our constant quest of becoming better and more ethical communicators,” said Wisnewski-Parks. “Research is one of my favorite parts of working in academia, not just from the intellectual satisfaction it can give—but because it can give us tools for tackling all the challenges and opportunities we face in our lives.”
This is not Wisnewski-Park’s first publication, he has other publications that touch on political communication. But this was the first about education communication or democratic theory on this scale.
Wisnewski-Parks and Russell were awarded the top paper from NCA’s Basic Course Division.