Dr. William "Chip" Eveland
Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director
Contact Information
School of Communication
The Ohio State University
3139 Derby Hall
154 North Oval Mall
Columbus, OH 43210-1339
Tel: (614) 247-6004
Fax: (614) 292-2055
eveland.6@osu.edu
Qualifications
B.A., University of Delaware
M.A., University of Delaware
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin
Profile
My teaching specialties are
political communication, public opinion, uses and effects of mass communication, and
research methods. I attempt to incorporate theories and research
addressing both “old” and “new” communication technologies in my
classes. I am particularly interested in the role of communication in
learning in various domains, and so I have the opportunity to apply
what I discover about learning in my research to the classes that I
teach. For instance, one factor that facilitates learning from the news
and political conversations is the extent to which individuals make
connections between the new information to which they’re exposed and
their own past experiences and prior knowledge (a process called
“elaboration”). I apply this in my teaching by encouraging students —
through assignments and classroom discussion — to apply the (sometimes)
abstract ideas presented in readings and lecture to real world
situations and personal experience.
My research attempts to understand the effects of communication
as the result of the goals individuals bring to the communication
experience and the cognitive processes in which they engage during
communication. I am particularly interested in the differential
influence of various modalities of communication on producing informed and participatory citizens,
including effects of traditional media like television news and
newspapers as well as the World Wide Web. I am also interested in how
media use and discussion of politics work together to influence
knowledge of political facts as well as the structure of cognition
about politics. My research has also explored topics such as the role
of communication in shaping political participation, perceptions of
public opinion or social reality more generally, and beliefs about news
media bias.
For more information about ths sort of research I do, you might want to view a list of
some of my recent publications and presentations.
Or, you may want to check out the
Communication, Opinion, and Political Studies [COPS] blog, which
details the work of many of the political communication and public
opinion scholars in our School, including our graduate students. Or, read the
All Things Media blog, which details the work in our School on mass communication processes and effects.
When I’m not in the office, I’m probably either playing with my two children or watching television -- current
favorites are serialized dramas like
Heroes, Jericho, and
Lost. I also really enjoy the great outdoors and have had the good
fortune hike in some very spectacular locations, including the
Appalachian Trail in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia; the Rocky
Mountains in Colorado; Arches, Zion, and Bryce Canyon National Parks in
Utah; Lake Tahoe in Nevada; the Sierra Nevada, Santa Ynez, and San
Raphael Mountains plus the Mojave Desert in California; and even
Volcanoes National Park, Waimea Canyon, and the Na Pali Coastline in
the Islands of Hawaii. When I finish hiking, I like to find a good
microbrewery and sample a few hefeweizen beers.