Cluster focus

The goal of the Communication Technologies Research Cluster is to engage in research and develop curricula that address the political, economic, cultural and social dimensions of communications and information technologies. Cluster members have expertise in the following areas: 1) Information privacy in paper and electronic environments. 2) Intellectual and cultural property issues and information sharing in digital environments, including digital cultural collections and scholarly communications. 3) Religious expression, religious participation and the role of participatory media in religious communication. 4) Public communication about, and reaction to, controversial new technologies including nanotechnologies 5) Political rhetoric, political participation and new media.

Cluster accomplishments

  • The cluster supports undergraduate and graduate education through courses such as: “Digital Tools, Trends and Debates in Library and Information Studies,” “Information Ethics and Policy in Library and Information Studies,” “CyberLaw in Library and Information Studies/Legal Studies,” “Intellectual Freedom in Library and Information Studies,” “Rhetoric and Technology in Communication Arts,” “Digitally Documenting Everyday Communication in Communication Arts,” “Internet Ethnography in Communication Arts,” “Rhetoric and the Internet in Communication Arts,” “Folklore in a Digital Age in Folklore.
  • Cluster faculty are actively involved with the University of Wisconsin Center for the Study of Upper Midwest Culture’s Digital Folklore Archive and a related course in creation and preservation of digital folkloric materials was developed via a cluster grant. The archive project encourages student production of digital content that captures and preserves diverse folkloric expressions from the Upper Midwest region.
  • Cluster faculty are working with faculty in the School of Medicine and Public Health, the Department of Sociology, and the Holtz Center for Science and Technology Studies on work related to public reaction to nanotechnology.
  • Cluster faculty serve on graduate student thesis and dissertation committees in numerous departments, including the School of Library and Information Studies, and Life Science Communications.
  • Cluster faculty have co-authored numerous recent publications including “The Pre-Internet Downloading Controversy: Understanding Changes in Use Rights for Digital Resources (currently a working paper);” “The Ethics of DeCSS Posting: Toward Assessing the Morality of the Internet Posting of DVD Copyright Circumvention Software;” “Who Posts DeCSS and Why? A Content Analysis of Web sites Posting DVD Circumvention Software;” “The Limits of DeCSS Posting: A Comparison of Internet Posting of DVD Circumvention Devices in the European Union, The People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong and Macau;” and “Software as Protest: The Unexpected Resiliency of U.S. Based DeCSS Posting and Linking.”
  • A cluster faculty is an editor of Western Folklore and encourages submissions related to communication technologies used in everyday or traditional contexts.
  • Awards and grants received by cluster faculty members include: “Taiwan National Science Council, the UW East Asian Legal Studies Center and the UW Global Legal Studies Initiative Young Scholar Award for Early Career Research from the International Communication Association;” “Early Career Development Award from the Institute for Museum and Library Services;” “2009 Rita Muroney Award in Postal History;” “2007 Taiwan Foundation for Democracy grant;” “2009, Pound Research Award, University of Wisconsin—Madison, College of Agricultural & Life Sciences;” “2006-08, Vilas Associate Award, University of Wisconsin—Madison;” “2005, Top Faculty Paper Award (with William P. Eveland), Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Communication Theory & Methodology Division;” and a “Faculty Development grant to develop introductory first-year undergraduate course on critical thinking and effective communication in digital media.

Cluster structure

The cluster’s work is guided by a Communication Technologies Steering Committee, comprised of cluster and other core faculty. The cluster faculty connect with an affiliated faculty network across campus, including Folklore, Journalism and Mass Communications, and the Holtz Center for Science and Technology Studies.

Cluster coordinator, faculty and lead dean

Cluster Coordinator

Cluster Faculty

Lead Dean