March 20

10:00AM EST

Introductions

SoC Dean Karin Wilkins

Associate Dean for Research and Creative Activity, Konstantia Kontaxis

10:15AM EST

Opening Keynote

Re-righting Subaltern Narratives in Global Media Discourses
Dr. Wunpini Fatimata Mohammed, Assistant Professor, Cornell University

Following conversations around a decolonial reckoning in the field, little attention has been paid to the way that Indigenous Knowledge Systems can be drawn on to build liberatory futures. This keynote presents indigenous language media systems as a site to reconstruct, rewrite and reimagine representational integrity in media work. It demonstrates that to interrogate media unhistories, we need to disrupt the reproduction of theoretical silences in global media studies which erase the media experiences of marginalized communities.

Wunpini Fatimata Mohammed (PhD, The Pennsylvania State University) is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at Cornell University. She is the author of Media, Culture, and Decolonization: Re-righting the Subaltern Histories of Ghana (Rutgers University Press, 2026). She is the co-editor of the book, African Women in Digital Spaces: Redefining Social Movements on the Continent and in the Diaspora (2023). She is an activist-scholar whose research focuses on feminisms, decolonization, and social movements.

11:15AM

Perspectives of Belonging

Queenie Li    

Generative AI–mediated parent support and first-time mothers: Child development discussions and their effects on parental well-being, SoC

Weiting Tao

Voices of Inclusion: Understanding Workplace Communication for Employees with Autism Spectrum Disorder, PRA

Sallie Hughes

Toward a Comprehensive Understanding of Journalists’ Emotional Well-Being: Role Discordance, Victimization, Gender and Precarity in Latin America.

12:00PM

1:00PM

Reframing Visibility

Nick Carcioppolo, Kaixu Yuan

Enhancing Early Detection of Nail Unit Malignancies: Educating Nail Technicians Through Advanced Certification and Health Communication Intervention, Wolfson Health Communication Award

Rhonda Trust

Social Media to Improve Recruitment in Clinical Studies and Community Health, Wolfson Health Communication Award

Chen Chen (Crystal), Jeongwon Yang

Navigating AI-driven infodemic: Exploring the effect of the unique communication style of AI health misinformation on belief formation among young adults, PRA

Konstantia Kontaxis

LeRoy Reconsidered, PRA

2:15PM

Coffee Break

2:30PM

SoC Awards

Ching-Hua Chuan

Fostering Climate (In)Justice Awareness: A Multi-Person Immersive Mixed Reality Experience, SoC

Kim Grinfeder, Christine Jung, Bryson Rudolph

Swampocalypse: An Immersive VR Airboat Experience for Environmental Awareness, SoC

Michelle Seelig

Debunking Climate Myths: Leveraging Computational Analysis and Conversational AI to Counter Climate Misinformation, SoC

Clay Ewing

Developing a Narrative, Game-Based Mental Health Intervention for College Students, SoC

3:30PM

Graduate Perspectives

Giuliano McDonald (PhD)

Predictors of Helmet Cover Adoption: A Cross-sectional Survey of NCAA Football Stakeholders.

Chao Wu (PhD)

Mapping Climate Contrarian Misinformation Across COP21 and COP25 in Reddit: A Computational-Qualitative Approach.

Rutendo Chimbaru (PhD)

Using the Integrative Model of Behavioral Prediction to Understand Electronic Cigarette Use Intentions and Behavior Among U.S. Young Adults.

Paulina Fiore (MFA)

Pairly: Designing Better Conversations for Couples.

4:30PM

Closing Remarks