Dr. Julianna Kirschner

Biography

Julianna Kirschner teaches a broad range of course subjects including small group communication, argumentation, sports communication, research methods, and strategic communication. Her research focuses on improving communication in multiple contexts. Kirschner’s thesis received the Outstanding Thesis Award from the Organization for the Study of Communication, Language, and Gender. Her PhD dissertation critically assessed posts related to trending topics on Twitter, studying cases that occurred from 2015 to 2017, including the backlash associated with a photo collection called ‘Yolocaust’ and the presence or absence of activists at the DAPL protest in North Dakota. The dissertation has won awards including the Kathy Merlock Jackson Dissertation Award from the Popular Culture Association and the Outstanding Dissertation Award from the National Communication Association. She has published work in performance communication, including a book chapter on memory preservation that won an award from the National Communication Association. In January 2023, she received the Early Career Award from the International Association for Autoethnography and Narrative Inquiry for her publication record and service to the field. Kirschner is also an associate editor for Visual Communication Quarterly, a journal published by Taylor & Francis. Additionally, she created the Visions and Voices programming to highlight marginalized athletes' stories and has developed conference programs at the USC Annenberg Institute of Sports, Media, and Society. Kirschner has actively served on USC Academic Senate committees, including co-chairing the Senate Faculty Affairs Committee and being a member of the Annenberg Faculty Council since 2021, while also serving in various roles within professional communication organizations.

Research Interests

Courses