Honors Communication: Contextual Issues and Lessons Learned in Teaching, Advising, and Mentoring the Undergraduate Honors Student in Communication

For years, students and faculty of communication studies have enjoyed the lively, enriched learning experience that an honors curriculum provides. This book draws attention to a dynamic, yet underexplored, site of communication pedagogy: honors education. Honor societies were established in American colleges and universities over a century ago, and the demand for honors courses has grown significantly since that time. Demand for communication studies honors courses began in the 1950s and the first communication studies honor society was founded in the 1980s. This book begins with a description of the unique qualities and pedagogical approaches of honors communication courses. Several chapters are devoted to describing how to teach honors communication courses (e.g., honors public speaking, honors interpersonal, and honors rhetoric) and to providing practical resources for those interested in teaching honors communication. This book also describes how to advise and mentor honors communication students in independent research projects and in groups such as Lambda Pi Eta honor society.

Jennifer A. H. Becker is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Alabama. Her areas of research include interpersonal and relational communication, human communication theory, and communication pedagogy. Dr. Becker innovated the honors interpersonal communication course as part of her program supervisor role at the University of Alabama. As a 2020 Learning in Action Fellow, she has integrated an array of experiential learning opportunities in her honors interpersonal communication course. She has received multiple awards for excellence in teaching and advising.

Caroline S. Parsons is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Alabama. Her areas of research include interpersonal communication, instructional communication, and communication honors pedagogy. She has been a member of the National Communication Association since 1996 and has served as a national board member for Lambda Pi Eta national communication honor society since 2006. She has received several awards for excellence in teaching and advising and was named Advisor of the Year by Lambda Pi Eta in 2017.