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…
You must be registered through ExperienceBU to participate.
CPCF, Grape Stomp, Homecoming
Categories: Events, News
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.”
award, CPCF, environment, Film
Categories: News
The course is designed to foster understanding of relational communication. Explore theories of dialogue and apply them to personal and social relationships. Topics include communication and identity, relational tensions, dialogue in organizations, and bridging differences.
Develop the communication skills that build stronger relationships in friendships, romantic partnerships, families, and workplaces. This fall is the final opportunity to take this course.
communication, CPCF, honours
Categories: News
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.
class of 2026, Convocation, CPCF, graduation
Categories: Events, News
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
class of 2026, Convocation, CPCF, graduation
Categories: Events, News
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.
Barry Grant, CPCF, Film, Film Studies, Hollywood
Categories: News
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.
Communication Studies, CPCF, Crisis Communication, Duncan Keorber, Social Media
Categories: News
The 2026 CPCF Campaign Challenge was held on Friday, February 27th at Brock University. It brought together industry experts and three amazing teams of students who pitched their marketing ideas for how to attract young people to take the GO Train’s Toronto-Niagara route. The Department of Communication, Popular Culture and Film would like to thank everyone who contributed to this year’s successful challenge.
The panel of judges – Elizabeth Beale, Chris Giles, Dharmi Gohil and Claire Terrio, all of whom are CPCF grads who have gone on to prove themselves in the world of communication, marketing and media, were very impressed by the interesting pitches made and the professionalism of the three finalist teams.
At the end of the day, the event’s fantastic MCs Harmon Kaur and Solomon Mike, who were last year’s winning team, handed off the O’Malley Cup to this year’s victors. Congratulations to Mercedes Agahzadeh, Arianne D’Arcy, and Sydney Miller who impressed with their professional ad mockups tied directly into a focus on specific seasonal marketing.
Finally, a special thanks to the cup’s original owner, and the constant patron of the competition, Terry O’Malley who joined us for the day’s festivities.
BusinessCommunication, Competition, CPCF
Categories: Events, News
Whether you want to jump on the fast track to graduation, reduce next year’s course load, satisfy a program requirement or pick up an elective, Brock’s Department of Communication, Popular Culture and Film is offering Spring courses to help you advance your area of study and explore topics of interest.
ONM – ONLINE MIXED
How much of what we’re thinking and feeling is communicated without saying a word? In this course, you’ll decode the hidden language of nonverbal cues and gain greater insight into how people manage conversations and relationships across the channels of communication that escape our everyday attention.
Recommended for Business Communication and Media Communication students looking to fulfill a third year COMM 290+ requirement.
Restrictions: Open to Business Communication, Communication, Media Communication, and Popular Culture majors until date specified in Registration guide.
This course may also be of interest to students in Sociology, Psychology, Political Science, LawPlus and Business.
Learn more about our Spring COMM courses, FILM courses and CPCF courses.
For more information or to register for Brock’s Spring/Summer courses, visit brocku.ca/springsummer
The CPCF Campaign Challenge is back for 2026! The Department of Communication, Popular Culture and Film will once again host the event on Friday, February 27.
Teams of students will attempt to solve a contemporary communication issue by developing and presenting a creative pitch that offers a compelling solution. Finalist teams will pitch their ideas to a panel of industry expert judges. The winning team will take home $1,500, with additional cash prizes for the second and third place teams.
This year’s challenge asks: How do you get 18–24 year-olds to switch from cars to the new Toronto–Niagara GO Train route? How would you make the train more attractive than the alternative?
For more information and official contest rules, be sure to check out the Campaign Challenge site. Also, follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn for updates.
