This question concerns authority in all senses - legal, moral, religious, scientific, political, aesthetic, journalistic. Investigations might ask about "power,” but also about whom we choose to trust to guide us in making decisions and forming beliefs. This question may open onto thinking about a more even distribution of "power" in a globalized world, but may also aim to rethink the very idea of authority in the past, present, and future.
Ben Pettis, assistant professor of rhetoric and communication studies, presented "Standardizing and Optimizing Education: Constructing the Neoliberal User in Learning Management Systems" at the 76th Annual International Communication Association (ICA) Conference.
Ben Pettis published "Subscribe, Follow, Save: Podcast Preservation in the Platform Era" in the Journal of Radio and Audio Media. The article discusses the PodcastRE project and the ongoing changes in the podcasting industry and audio distribution platforms which create challenges for digital archiving projects.
“Z” by Harrison Moenich, manager of photography arts and media equipment, was selected from their photograph series Q.M.C. for inclusion in Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art's Made in VA Biennial 2026.
Jennifer Jones Cavenaugh, professor of theatre and dean of the School of Arts & Sciences, published “Reclaiming Narrative Authority: Gendered Violence and Feminist Reauthorship in Sharon Pollock's Saucy Jack” in Frame, Journal of Literary Studies.
