Before coming to SEMO, I taught as a lecturer at Indiana State University for six years and have been teaching in higher education since 2011. Teaching and research is not only a career pursuit for me, but my life's calling.

My wife, Emily, and I have three children - ages 13, 9, and 7. I was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult and our oldest son is on the autism spectrum, which makes life interesting, but never dull. We live in Scott City, MO, with a hamster named Chicken Nugget and a cat named Penny.

Education

Ph.D., Communication, Regent University (2021)
M.S., Journalism, University of Illinois (2008)
B.A., Media Studies, Judson University (2005)

Courses Taught:

Research Interests

Communication in Religious Organizations
Crisis Communication
Fact-Checking
Southern Religous Rhetoric
Media Ecology

Quote

"The inspiration of a noble cause involving human interests wide and far, enables men to do things they did not dream themselves capable of before, and which they were not capable of alone.  The consciousness of belonging, vitally, to something beyond individuality; of being part of a personality that reaches we know not where, in space and time, greatens the heart to the limit of the souls ideal, and builds out the supreme character." - Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

Professional Organizations

National Communication Association
Religious Communication Association
Kentucky Communication Association
Christianity and Communication Studies Network
Wesleyan Theological Society
Nazarene Historical Society

Best Advice for Students

Strive for the highest professional conduct and etiquette inside and outside of the classroom.

Publications:  

Book, A (2023). Bemusing Ourselves to Death: Using a media ecology framework toward a Postman understanding of Facebook. Artifact Analysis (2), 2.

Book, A (2023). The Anatomy of Fact-Checking: A cluster and content analysis of selected fact-checks by Politifact and Factcheck.org. Better Journalism (1), 1. 

Book, A (Summer, 2022). Southern Folk Preaching: Suggesting the Existence of a Genre through Comparison of the Sermons of “Uncle Bud” Robinson and Fred Craddock. Artifact Analysis (1),3. 

Book, A (2022). Give Me a Backbone as Big as a Sawlog: An Analysis of the Preaching of “Uncle Bud” Robinson—the Will Rogers of the Holiness Movement. Kentucky Journal of Communication (40), 3. 

Book, A. (2019). New Journeys on Well-Worn Paths: Clarifying and Re-Applying Postman’s Media Ecology from a Judeo-Christian Perspective. Journal of Communication & Religion 

Conference Presentations:  

Book, A. (March, 2023). Reasonable Grace: Reforming Syllabus Policies to Meet the Needs of a Post-Pandemic World While Still Maintaining Standards. Innovation in Teaching and Learning Conference. Rolla, MO. 

Book, A. (November, 2022). Southern Folk Preaching: Suggesting the Existence of a Genre through Comparison of the Sermons of “Uncle Bud” Robinson and Fred Craddock. National Communication Association Conference. New Orleans, LA. 

Panelist. Infodemic: Social Media Influence on Covid-19. Broadcast Education Association Conference. April 20, 2022. Moderator: Dr. Stephen Kabah, Oakwood University. (Virtual) 

Panelist. Mediatized: Social Media Influence on Society and Culture. Broadcast Education Association Conference. April 20, 2022. Moderator: Dr. Stephen Kabah, Oakwood University. (Virtual) 

Book, A. (March, 2022). The Anatomy of Fact-Checking: A cluster and content analysis of selected fact-checks by Politifact and Factcheck.org. Central States Communication Association Conference. Madison, WI.  

Book, A. (November, 2020) “He Being Dead Yet Speaketh: Reuben A. ‘Uncle Bud’ Robinson and the Importance of Narrative Preaching in the Age of Secondary Orality.” Religious Communication Association Conference. (Virtual) 

Book, A. (November, 2020). Online Tithe-Giving and Church Attendance as Social Cognition: A Quantitative Analysis. Religious Communication Association Conference. (Virtual) 

Book, A. (November, 2019). “Communication Dynamics of the Decision to Leave Local Church Pastoral Ministry.” National Communication Association Conference. Baltimore, MD. Sponsored by the Religious Communication Association. 

Book, A. (November, 2018). “New Journeys on Well-Worn Paths: Clarifying and Re-Applying Postman’s Media Ecology from a Judeo-Christian Perspective.” Religious Communication Association (RCA) Conference. Salt Lake City, UT.