Keith Nainby

Blank Space: Taylor Swift and Contingent Identities examines Taylor Swift’s art, her public image, and Swiftie fan communities. It features discussions of several Swift songs, with attention to the poetic effects created by their lyrics. The author argues that these songs offer a consistent focus, throughout Swift’s career to date, on personal identities that evolve through relationships with particular other people. He shows how in Swift’s songs, narrators reflect on how their identities change over time—even in some cases, over the course of the song. The book builds on this discussion of Swift’s art to consider the artist’s image, exploring how multiple forces interact to shape this image and give it meaning—forces including the artist’s management team as well as critics and fans. According to the author, the distinctive characteristics of Swft’s art and Swift’s public image help to create the unique Swiftie fan communities that have emerged and flourished. The book includes two different studies of Swifties’ communication practices, one centering online interactions and the second in-depth interviews with Swifties. It concludes with attention to the implications of Swift’s selection as Time magazine’s 2023 Person of the Year.

This study of Bob Dylan’s art employs a performance studies lens, exploring the distinctive ways he brings words and music to life on recordings, onstage, and onscreen. Chapters focus on the relationship of Dylan’s recorded performances to the historical bardic role, to the American popular song tradition, and to rock music culture. His uses of both stage and studio to shape his performances are explored, as are his forays into cinema. Special consideration is given to his vocal performances and to his use of particular personae as a performer. The full scope of Dylan’s body of work to date is situated in terms of the influences that have shaped his performances and the ways these performances have shaped contemporary popular music.

With emphasis on public speaking as a means for social justice, Empowering Public Speaking helps students develop the communication skills necessary to successfully effect change. Readers learn about public speaking as a means of personal, social, economic, and cultural power, and how communication shapes social relations, identity development, and public awareness. Through examples and discussions, the book demonstrates how public speaking is a significant act that inspires social transformation.Over the course of 12 chapters, students learn how communication creates our social reality and shapes interpersonal relationships. They discover the importance of critical, compassionate listening, careful attention to power, and adapting speeches to a specific time, place, and purpose. Dedicated chapters address the craft required for effective public speaking, the responsibility of finding and sharing reputable sources of information, and strategies for delivering an impassioned address. The closing chapters discuss speaker accountability, the constant evolution of public speaking, and its ability to empower.

With emphasis on public speaking as a means for social justice, Empowering Public Speaking helps students develop the communication skills necessary to successfully effect change. Readers learn about public speaking as a means of personal, social, economic, and cultural power, and how communication shapes social relations, identity development, and public awareness. Through examples and discussions, the book demonstrates how public speaking is a significant act that inspires social transformation. Over the course of 12 chapters, students learn how communication creates our social reality and shapes interpersonal relationships. They discover the importance of critical, compassionate listening, careful attention to power, and adapting speeches to a specific time, place, and purpose. Dedicated chapters address the craft required for effective public speaking, the responsibility of finding and sharing reputable sources of information, and strategies for delivering an impassioned address. The closing chapters discuss speaker accountability, the constant evolution of public speaking, and its ability to empower.Dr. Deanna L. Fassett is Director of the Center for Faculty Development at San Jos State University. She is the author of Critical Communication Pedagogy and Coordinating the Communication Course: A Guidebook (both with John T. Warren). Her published research has appeared in an array of communication studies journals, including Basic Communication Course Annual, Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, Communication Education, Liminalities: A Journal of Performance Studies, and Text and Performance Quarterly.Dr. Keith Nainby is a professor of communication within the Department of Communication Studies at California State University, Stanislaus. His publications include chapters in The SAGE Handbook of Communication and Instruction and The Invisibility Factor: Administrators and Faculty Reach Out to First-Generation College Students, as well as journal articles in Liminalities: A Journal of Performance Studies, Language and Intercultural Communication, and Educational Foundations.

This study of Bob Dylan’s art employs a performance studies lens, exploring the distinctive ways he brings words and music to life on recordings, onstage, and onscreen. Chapters focus on the relationship of Dylan’s recorded performances to the historical bardic role, to the American popular song tradition, and to rock music culture. His uses of both stage and studio to shape his performances are explored, as are his forays into cinema. Special consideration is given to his vocal performances and to his use of particular personae as a performer. The full scope of Dylan’s body of work to date is situated in terms of the influences that have shaped his performances and the ways these performances have shaped contemporary popular music.

The third edition of Communication: A Critical/Cultural Introduction provides a comprehensive, yet focused, overview of communication theory, interpersonal communication, and public communication and culture through the lens of contemporary critical theory. The text shows how we produce our world through communication, challenging us to explore power, ideology, and diversity through daily interactions, both public and private. The book begins with explanations of how communication relates to culture and power, how to distinguish between representative and constitutive communication, and how to build a message for an audience with an emphasis on social advocacy. Later chapters explore the responsibilities of speakers and listeners, alliance-building, the application of communication theory in the study of identity and perception, the relationship between language and culture, nonverbal communication, and more. The text closes with a discussion of communication as a means of social action, encouraging readers to use communication as a foundation for the advancement of issues that matter most to them.Dr. Deanna L. Fassett is a professor of communication and chair of the Department of Communication Studies at San Jos State University. She is the author of Critical Communication Pedagogy and Coordinating the Communication Course: A Guidebook (both with John T. Warren). Her published research has appeared in an array of communication studies journals, including Basic Communication Course Annual, Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, Communication Education, Liminalities: A Journal of Performance Studies, and Text and Performance Quarterly.Dr. Keith Nainby is a professor of communication and chair of the Department of Communication Studies at California State University, Stanislaus. His publications include book chapters in The SAGE Handbook of Communication and Instruction and The Invisibility Factor: Administrators and Faculty Reach Out to First-Generation College Students, as well as journal articles in Liminalities: A Journal of Performance Studies, Language and Intercultural Communication, and Educational Foundations.Dr. John T. Warren was a professor of communication at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. He was the author of numerous books including Performing Purity: Whiteness, Pedagogy and the Reconstitution of Power, Casting Gender: Women and Performance in Intercultural Contexts, Critical Communication Pedagogy, and Coordinating the Communication Course: A Guidebook. He authored articles for several education and communication studies journals, including Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, Communication Education, Educational Theory, and Text and Performance Quarterly.

A Student Workbook for Public Speaking: Speak from the Heart asks students to think critically about the speech-making process while building their mastery of the fundamental practical skills of public speaking through a series of exercises and activities. Nineteen brief chapters cover the essentials of public speaking including selecting a topic, researching your topic, organizing your topic, overcoming speech anxiety, and delivering informative, persuasive, and special occasion speeches. Each chapter includes a concise introduction to the most important skills and concepts related to each chapter topic, and offers opportunities for critical reflection on how to use each aspect of public speaking appropriately and effectively. Each chapter is paired with an activity, checklist, or worksheet that students may use to develop their speeches, assess their performance, and chart their progress in becoming competent public speakers.