University of Wisconsin–Madison

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Alumnus George Hamel Visits Hamel Family Digital Media Lab

In a September 17th visit to the Hamel Family Digital Media Lab, Department of Communication Arts donor George Hamel (BA ’80) and his parents met with Hamel Family Professor Sabine Gruffat,Professor Vance Kepley, and Faculty Associate Erik Gunneson to visit the Hamel Family Digital Media Lab in Vilas Hall. The Hamel family has a special interest in the …

Department Welcomes New Professors Karma Chávez and Catalina Toma

This year, the Department of Communication Arts is pleased to welcome Professor of Rhetoric Karma Chávez and Professor of Communication Science Catalina Toma. Chávez’s research focuses on the rhetorical practices of marginalized groups and the rhetoric of social movements and activism. Drawing largely on queer feminist of color theories, Professor Chávez examines creative rhetorical responses …

Cinematheque Welcomes new Director of Programming Jim Healy

Starting in October, the Cinematheque and Department of Communication Arts will welcome Jim Healy to the position of Director of Programming. Jim brings a wealth of programming experience to the Cinematheque. Since 2001, he has been Assistant Curator in charge of film exhibitions in the Motion Picture Department of George Eastman House in Rochester, NY. Overseeing hundreds of individual …

Emeritus Professor Joanne Cantor Appears on MSNBC

On Thursday, July 22, Emeritus Professor Joanne Cantor appeared on MSNBC’s The Daily Rundown with Chuck Todd and Savannah Guthrie and later on MSNBC Live with Thomas Roberts. Cantor shared tips from her new book Conquer CyberOverload on how people can manage e-mail and technology without becoming overwhelmed. Cantor is an internationally recognized expert on the psychology of media …

Emeritus Professor John Fiske Honored at Conference

From the late 1970s through the 1990s, Department of Communication Arts Emeritus Professor John Fiske was one of the most influential media scholars in the world. Books such as Reading Television (co-written with John Hartley in 1978),Television Culture (1987), Understanding Popular Culture (1989), Power Plays, Power Works (1993) and Media Matters (1994) proved seminal to the developing fields of media and cultural studies. His …

Alumni Horowitz and Kitsis Reflect on Careers, Lost

Department of Communication Arts alumni Adam Horowitz (’93) and Eddy Kitsis (’93) reflected on their rise from aspiring writers to executive producers/writers of ABC’s hit network drama Lost. Speaking to a group of about 50 Department of Communication Arts students, faculty, and staff in Vilas Hall, Horowitz and Kitsis explained how they met in their Comm …

Independent Film Director Byington Answers Student Questions

The morning after a screening of his new independent film Harmony & Me (2009) to over 1,500 people (including Chancellor Biddy Martin) at the 12th annual Wisconsin Film Festival, director Robert Byington sat down with students from Professor JJ Murphy’s Comm Arts 466: Writing for Television & Film and Comm Arts 659: Advanced Motion Picture Production Workshop classes in Vilas …

Professors Gray and Hilmes Featured on Local WKOW News

Department of Communication Arts Media & Cultural Studies Associate Professor Jonathan Grayand Professor Michele Hilmes discussed the online popularity of the hit ABC network drama Loston Madison’s WKOW-TV 27 news. In one segment, Gray explained how Lost was perfectly timed to take advantage of emerging technologies like the Internet and digital video recording: “So much of Lost depends on people …