Articles by author: pmcilroy

  • CPCF shows up for Wikipedia Edit-a-thon

    Monday, October 26, 2026 | By

    A professor points to a laptop while explaining something to two students

    Last week, CPCF Professor Karen Louise Smith, along with the Brock library, helped to coordinate and facilitate a Wikipedia edit-a-thon with Niagara in Focus.  Attendees at the Rankin Family Pavilion on Wednesday heard presentations from Hannah Clover (Wikimedia Foundation), Ben Hartmans (Local Wikipedian), and David Sharron (Brock Archives & Special Collections). Topics included editing and adding photos to Wikipedia, using local sources, and experiences with Wikipedia through Sharron’s work at the Brock Archives.  Students who dropped in during the event contributed to improving Wikipedia articles to more accurately reflect Niagara and its history.

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    Categories: Events, News

  • New Research Project From CPCF Faculty on GenAI in the Workplace

    Friday, October 16, 2026 | By

    A student looks at a computer screen with an unsure look.

    CPCF Professors Kate J. Cassidy and Michelle Chen have just published a new research project about the impact of GenAI in the workplace.  They ask “…what is being transformed in the workplace and how these shifts are being perceived by the knowledge workers who use GenAI”.

    Read the full article here.

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  • Welcome New and Returning CPCF Students!

    Friday, September 11, 2026 | By

    Faculty and staff are gathered at the front of a lecture hall with students watching them from the seats.

    The Department of Communication, Popular Culture, and Film is excited to welcome new and returning students for the 2025/2026 academic year at Brock University.

    At this week’s  New Student Welcome Orientation session, Dr. Derek Foster, Dr. Tim Dun, and Dr. Anthony Kinik commended the students for choosing Brock as a point of stability in an increasingly unpredictable world.

    They reiterated the importance of media literacy, communication, and the understanding of visual language in an era of video saturation, AI intrusion, and unprecedented trade wars.

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    Categories: Events

  • Student Ambassador Positions in CPCF

    Friday, September 11, 2026 | By

    3 students walk along a sidewalk between campus buildings. Two students pass them in the opposite direction

    Are you interested in strengthening your leadership skills and working as part of a team to enhance campus life for Business Communication, Media & Communication Studies and Film Studies students like yourself?

    THE STUDENT AMBASSADOR POSITION

    The Department of Communication, Popular Culture and Film is seeking up to four Student Ambassadors (primarily at 3rd and 4th year levels). As a Student Ambassador, you will be part of one of two outreach teams. One team will focus on the department’s annual media pitch competition.  The other will be responsible for organizing and facilitating student events throughout the year and assist with introducing prospective new students to Brock University.

    Some Ambassadors will make classroom announcements, while others will prioritize virtual outreach through video and graphic creations on social media. All will be expected to participate in various recruitment events for the university (Ontario University Fair, Fall Preview Day, Spring Open House). Everyone will have the opportunity to practice public outreach within a supportive team context. Training is provided.

    You will be expected to attend regular team meetings to discuss and plan activities. If this role interests you, please read the detailed description below.

    COMPENSATION
    Each Student Ambassador will be paid to work approximately up to 60 hours between early September and mid-April. The hourly pay rate is $17.60 + $2.46 (vacation and benefits). The compensation for working 60 hours is $1,214.40.

    HOW TO APPLY
    Apply by email to the Chair of Communication, Popular Culture and Film, Dr. Derek Foster, [email protected]

    In the body of your email, provide a brief letter (up to 1 page) describing your interest in the position, what you hope to achieve, the skills you bring, and the skills you wish to develop. No AI letters please. Attach a resume.

    If you have any questions, please reach out sooner rather than later. Please specify if you have a preference for a particular student ambassador role (supporting the CPCF Case Competition or helping to organize student engagement more broadly).

    Apply by Friday, September 18th at 4pm.

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  • Join Team CPCF for the 2026 Homecoming Grape Stomp

    Wednesday, August 05, 2026 | By

    A group of students cluster together to take a selfie after they have participated in the Grape Stomp. Their once white "CPCF" t-shirts are stained with red and purple grape splotches.

    The 2026 Homecoming Grape Stomp is Friday, Sept. 18 from 12-1.

    Will you be joining Team CPCF?  We will have a table where you can meet up with your fellow CPCF students, make some new friends, chat with professors, and store your stuff while you enjoy the fun!

    But first…

    1. Take a moment and tell us a bit about yourself!
    2. Check out the photos from last year!
    3. Most importantly Register at Experience BU!

    You must be registered through ExperienceBU to participate.

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  • Robert O’Neill’s Essay Wins Faculty of Social Sciences Academic Excellence Award

    Tuesday, July 28, 2026 | By

    a photo of a man in a gray t-shirt standing in front of a trees and plants.

    Congratulations to CPCF student Robert O’Neill who was recently announced as the winner of the Faculty of Social Sciences Academic Excellence Award for his essay “Who Gets to Destroy the Environment: Objective Violence and the Ideological Work of Contemporary Eco-Cinema”.

    Professor Christie Milliken, who teaches Eco-Cinema (FILM 4P58), explains that the essay “interrogates some of the traditional ways in which violence is theorized to reconceive the problem of representation that accrues around environmental harms. Using the eco-thriller Michael Clayton (2007), and two eco-terrorist films, Night Moves (2013) and First Reformed (2017) as case studies, O’Neill deftly shows how these narratives conceal the reality of environmental harm by offering narrative trajectories built on character studies that might punish transgressors, or dramatize the psychological toll of fighting eco harms, but which ultimately fail to expose ongoing, intransigent structural harms that are part of the violence of the system itself.”

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  • Congratulations CPCF Graduates!

    Thursday, June 11, 2026 | By

    A group of graduates in their convocation gowns pose with their diplomas

    Congratulations to all the CPCF graduates who crossed the Convocation stage this spring!

    Your passion, dedication and hard work have paid off. We are so proud of all that you’ve accomplished during your time at Brock University, and we can’t wait to see where your next adventure takes you.

     

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  • Dr. Karen Louise Smith Addresses the 2026 Graduating Class

    Thursday, June 11, 2026 | By

    A professor in a convocation gown stands behind a podium clapping.

    On the morning of Wednesday, June 10, Dr. Karen Louise Smith, Associate Professor in the Department of Communication, Popular Culture and Film, delivered an address to the graduating Class of 2026.

    Dr. Smith reflects on the idea of “milestones,” explaining that while graduation is an important one, milestones also include the personal, professional, and guiding moments that shape our journeys. She encourages graduates to define their own milestones by focusing on the people, ideas, and values that matter most to them as they move confidently into the future.

    Watch the complete address here

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  • Professor Emeritus Barry Grant Releases New Book About Director Peter Jackson

    Wednesday, April 08, 2026 | By

    A photo of a man next to the cover image of his book that features a photo of director Peter Jackson

    Dr. Barry Grant, Professor Emeritus from the Department of Communication, Popular Culture and Film, has released a new book – Peter Jackson: Film Authorship in a Global Hollywood.  Tracing Jackson’s trajectory through detailed textual analysis, Dr. Grant examines how he mobilizes the conventions of Hollywood film genres to speak to audiences in his home country of New Zealand, as well as engage audiences around the world. Dr. Grant is an internationally known film critic and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. His book delivers thoughtful close readings of every Jackson film.

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  • Associate Professor Duncan Koerber Releases New Book on Social Media Crisis

    Wednesday, April 08, 2026 | By

    A photo of a man in a suit jacket, sitting in a backyard setting.

    Dr. Duncan Koerber, Associate Professor of Business Communication in the Department of Communication, Popular Culture and Film, has released a new book – Crisis in a Tweet: The Rise of the Social Media Crisis.  “Unlike traditional emergencies caused by natural disasters or product failures, social media upheaval originates in the digital realm but leads to real world consequences – job losses, reputational harm, and public shame – disproportionate to the original act.”  Dr. Koerber’s research and teaching focuses on crisis communication theory, writing pedagogy, and media and journalism history.

     

     

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