Communication Activities for the Classroom : Embodied Pedagogy Across the Communication Curriculum

This book contains over 20 activities for use in the in-person communication studies classroom. Communication is an embodied act: our thoughts, ideas, and messages originate in our body and through our experiences. An embodied approach to pedagogy fosters inclusivity, creativity, and critical thinking, making classrooms more dynamic and equitable spaces. Drawing on a wide range of performance studies-based approaches and theories, the activities in this book can be applied across the communication studies curriculum, including relational communication, organizational communication, media studies, public address, and communication and culture. Whether you are hesitant to incorporate performance in your classroom or you regularly invite your students to “get up and play,” the activities in this book provide a step-by-step guide that is accessible to all communication teachers.

Ariel Gratch, PhD, Syracuse University

Bio: Ariel Gratch is author of the textbook, Speech Performance: Public Speaking for All Occasions, co-author of Digital Performance in Everyday Life with Lyndsay Michalik Gratch, has published numerous essays, and regularly performs as a storyteller.

Lyndsay Michalik Gratch, PhD, Syracuse University

Bio: Lyndsay Michalik Gratch is an Associate Professor of Communication and Rhetorical Studies at Syracuse University. Gratch is co-author of Digital Performance in Everyday Life (Routledge, 2022), author of Adaptation Online: Creating Memes, Sweding Movies, and Other Digital Performances (Lexington Books, 2017), and is a Contributing Editor for Liminalities: A Journal of Performance Studies.

Andrea Baldwin PhD, University of Houston-Clear Lake

Bio: Andrea Baldwin is a Senior Lecturer in Communication at the University of Houston- Clear Lake and advisor to the UHCL Storytellers. Baldwin received a Ph.D from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. Her research explores pedagogical experiences in spaces outside of the classroom and genealogical embodied mentoring in the academy.