John Sloop, professor of communication studies at Vanderbilt University, has been awarded the prestigious 2008 Charles H. Woolbert Research Award for "The Critique of Vernacular Discourse," published in Communication Monographs. Sloop, who is also associate dean of the College of Arts and Science, is sharing the award with Kent Ono, professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and co-author of the article.
The National Communication Association, the oldest and largest association dedicated to the communication discipline, presents the award annually to a member who has published a journal article or book chapter which has stood the test of time and has become the stimulus for new conceptualizations of speech communication phenomena. All entries were read and reviewed by a selection committee comprised of college professors from around the country.
The selection committee said that those writing in support of the essay were passionate about the ways that "The Critique of Vernacular Discourse" had influenced their careers, "offering spaces of possibility and entry for many of us." The article was first published in 1995.
The award will be presented to Sloop and Ono during the annual convention of the National Communication Association in San Diego Nov. 21–24. The association, which has more than 8,800 members, supports the communication research, teaching, public service and practice of a diverse community of scholars, educators, administrators, students, practitioners and publics.
More information on Sloop’s research is available by clicking on www.vanderbilt.edu/comm/faculty. To learn more about the National Communication Association, visit www.natcom.org.
Media contact: Ann Marie Deer Owens, 615-322-NEWS
annmarie.owens@vanderbilt.edu