News

Fascism mixed into cringey online content is easy to mock – but no less dangerous

Against the backdrop of an unpopular war in Iran, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced on July 15, 2026, that the Pentagon would begin testing male service members 30 and older for low testosterone.

Tales from Telluride

For over a decade, generous support from the Hamel family allowed Communication Arts to send a professor and a small group of graduate students to the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado. This year’s group included Professor Jonathan Gray and graduate students Stephanie Chung (Film), Marianne Nacanaynay (Media and Cultural Studies), and Ethan Robinson (Film). Telluride …

Extending a Legacy

How the Front Row Center Campaign Honors Professor David Bordwell to Build the Future of Film Studies David Bordwell, the Jacques Ledoux Professor Emeritus of Film Studies in Communication Arts, spent the entirety of his career in Communication Arts and was a foundational figure in cinema studies for the entire world. Since his passing in …

Chasing the Dark

How Two Communication Arts Researchers Are Interacting with the Global Effects of Light Pollution When you look up at the night sky, are you struck by an endless horizon of dazzling stars or the intense glow of a full moon? You could be lucky and see the wisping bands of green and blue from the …

Futures for Rhetoric and Democracy

In the origin stories of Western rhetorical theory and practice, democracy appears as a main character. Scholars have cast the relationship of rhetoric and democracy as mutually constitutive: rhetoric fostered the growth of democracy, and democracy facilitated the development of rhetoric. 

How Politicians Use Comedy to Push Agendas

Politicians reach for humor more often than you think. Mari Henderson wants to understand why this functions as a political strategy.

Fakebian or Gold Star Lesbian: Homonormative Purity Rhetorics of Lateral Containment

Although many lesbians may recognize or resonate with the gold star label, its contemporary treatment as a sacrosanct standard is incredibly detrimental to queer community. As many self-proclaimed gold stars vilify lesbians whose personal identities, preferences, and labels have shifted, they propagate biphobia, transphobia, and a heavy regulation of queer multiplicity, fluidity, and ambiguity.

She documented her Duke PA school journey for nearly 2 years. Then the internet started asking questions.

Duke says it has no record of influencer and reality show participant Angel Murdock ever attending its PA program. Experts say social media can make a false identity easier to build — and harder to abandon.

The hypervisibilization of girls of color in Disney’s performative wokeness: a cultural analysis of Disney corporate communication

Disney has walked a tightrope in its public relationship to “wokeness,” amplifying and scaling back commitments to diversity and inclusion, most recently through the removal of its “Reimagine Tomorrow” program.

The long afterlife of QAnon conspiracy theories haunting American politics

On Election Day in 2024, as voters cast their ballots, Elon Musk posted a campaign music video supporting Donald Trump’s bid for president.