Loyola University Chicago

Peace, Justice and Conflict Studies

Faculty Advisory Board

Hannah Rockwell

Title/s:  Professor of Communications

Office #:  School of Communication 237

Phone: 312.915.6847

Email: hrockwe AT luc DOT edu

About

Professor Hannah Rockwell served as Associate Dean of the School of Communication from 2008-2013. She was previously Undergraduate Program Director for the Department of Communication, a Center for Ethics Fellow and Director of Peace Studies. Her Loyola affiliations include Women’s Studies, EVOKE, Student Leadership programs, the Center for Experiential Learning and the Graduate School. She has been recognized as an outstanding ‌woman leader by Loyola’s Gannon Scholars and her biography is included in Notable American Women: 2000-2006.

‌Her area of expertise is philosophy of dialogue. She teaches courses in communication theory and methods, including Interpersonal Communication, Intercultural Communication, Contemporary Culture, Critical Ethnography and Gender Studies. Her Ph.D. in Communication earned recognition for early scholarship from the Organization for the Study of Communication, Language and Gender. Since then, her work in discourse studies has been published nationally and internationally.

Degrees

Ph.D Communication (1993) University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (Competency areas: Critical Theory, Cultural Studies, Conversation Studies, Gender Studies). 

M.A. Speech Communication (1988 With Honors & 30,000. Forgivable loan to complete Ph.D) California State University Northridge (Competency Areas: Rhetoric, Communication Theory & Oral Interpretation). 

B.A. Communication (1980) University of the Pacific, Stockton, California.

Research Interests

Philosophy of Dialogue, Critical-Interpretive Research Methods, Discourse Analysis Intercultural Communication & Gender Studies

Rockwell  participated in engaged scholar trips to several cities and villages in Mexico and in and around Accra, Ghana. Her contributions to the discipline of communication include serving on editorial boards for Communication Studies, International Journal of the Humanities, Oxford University Press and deploying students to teach in under-served migrant communities while emphasizing the historical conditions that shape human lives. Her research in discourse studies aims to develop practical frameworks for understanding relationships among language practices, human relations and social identity formation.

Courses Taught

Communication theory and methods, including Interpersonal Communication, Intercultural Communication, Contemporary Culture, Critical Ethnography and Gender Studies