Working from recently published NCA journal articles and emerging research and perspectives, Communication Currents explains scholarly information in straightforward language geared for broad audiences, including communication experts working with laypeople, instructors and students, the press, and other interested members of the public. Communication Currents highlights the relevance of Communication scholarship, reveals the ways in which communication impacts our world, and demonstrates the leadership of NCA in the study of Communication.
“Wait…did you just call me fat”: A multimethod study of U.S. Americans’ facework in an intercultural face-threatening act.
New Series Vol. 1, No. 11 A non-Chinese learning about Chinese culture often soon finds out that Chinese culture puts a high premium on saving face—not being embarrassed or humiliated by others, and not embarrassing or humiliating others. For example, Chinese people avoid saying that a co-worker is incompetent. Because…
Navigating connectivity expectations and work-life boundaries through sensemaking in global teams
New Series Vol. 1, No. 10 Globalization, or our increasingly interconnected world, has created a social environment in which working in global teams is possible, but with many considerations that are unique to work in this context. These authors explore connectivity expectations, or normative expectations to be logged in and…
Camera perspective and skin color: Biased reactions to viral body worn camera videos of police violence
New Series Vol. 1, No. 9 For centuries, citizens received only descriptions of crimes, crime scenes, police pursuits and arrests. Then news media started printing and eventually broadcasting images of suspects and crime scenes, sometimes including live video of pursuits such as of O.J. Simpson and his infamous white Bronco….
Misogynoir and the Public Woman: Analog and Digital Sexualization of Women in Public From the Civil War to the Era of Kamala Harris
New Series, Vol. 1, No. 8 Black women face a unique combination of anti-Black racism and misogyny (i.e., hatred of women), the combination of these oppressive forces referred to as misogynoir. Similarly, women who claim space in the public sphere, especially Black women, are often subject to a centuries-long trope,…
“This is America”: repurposing the white gaze through imitation
New Series, Vol. 1, No. 7 Childish Gambino’s (a.k.a. Donald Glover) viral music video, “This is America,” received both praise and criticism upon its release on May 5, 2018 for its visual and political messaging and representation of unresolved Black pain and death. While many called the work “iconic,” critics…
TikTok and Black political consumerism: Investigating how TikTok use is linked to Black Americans’ activism and identity
New Series, Vol. 1, No. 6 TikTok is a fast-growing, highly political, and identity-centric platform for information gathering and political engagement. Historically marginalized populations (e.g., racial minorities in the U.S.) may turn to platforms like TikTok due a deep mistrust of mainstream media outlets and formal political processes because of…
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Learning mutual aid: food justice public pedagogy and community fridge organizing online
New Series, Vol. 1, No. 5 Mutual aid, or informal, radical care work performed by interdependent community members, emphasizes solidarity over charity and can help combat state and institutional neglect in the face of crisis, catastrophe, and critical classed, raced, gendered, and ableist infrastructure gaps. Historically, the practice of mutual…
“Do you need a green card or something?” Romantic relationships, citizenship, and stigmatizing communication
New Series Vol. 1, No. 4 Seven percent (4 million and increasing) of all married US couples in 2011 were citizen/non-citizen marriages. People in interethnic and interracial romantic relationships generally experience challenges that partners from similar ethnic backgrounds do not, and necessary immigration-related processes present additional hardships. Despite their prevalence,…
Fighting lies with facts or humor: Comparing the effectiveness of satirical and regular fact-checks in response to misinformation and disinformation
New Series Vol. 1, No. 3 The USA’s founders believed that democracy depends on a well-informed citizenry. So it is important in a democratic society that citizens not only have access to large quantities of accurate information, but also that efforts be made for inaccurate information to be limited and…
“I’m generally just a White European mutt”: Communication strategies for interpreting and sharing DNA-based ancestry test results
Since the early 2000s, direct-to-consumer (DTC) DNA tests have become more affordable (tests range between $100 and $350) for people to know more about their ancestral past. With a small saliva sample or mouth cells, companies, such as 23 and Me® and AncestryDNA™, present a wealth of information that the…
The human cost of chronic mindfulness in U.S. law enforcement: Toward a more nuanced understanding of HRO theory
Background/Theory: Research on HROs has primarily focused on the direct effects of implementing HRO principles, such as mindfulness, to avoid disasters and improve resiliency. Research on organizations implementing HRO principles explains how they cope with uncertainty, create shared knowledge, and use communication to limit the frequency and magnitude of mistakes….