SearchDr. Jay Leighter
Mailing Address | Dr. Jay Leighter |
Phone | Main:(402)280-2196 |
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Jay Leighter, Ph.D. (University of Washington, 2007).
I joined the Department of Communication Studies in the Fall of 2006 and have recently begun teaching in both Environmental Science and the Energy Technology Programs. In Communication Studies, I have recently taught courses in cultural communication, communication practices, group communication and public speaking. In EVS, I taught a course I called Deliberation on Sustainability and for ERG I have been teaching the design courses Sustainable Design and User-Oriented Collaborative Design.
Three questions serve as the impetus for my research, teaching and participation in community life: 1) How are moments for speaking culturally influenced? 2) How do people make decisions about the community in which they live? And 3) How can communities improve decision making quality?
Trying to answer these questions has mostly meant I study local public and political discourse and try to understand how culture and communication intersect in and influence the settings and scenes in which such communication takes place. Recently, I joined the newly formed University of Washington Center for Local Strategies Research. My current project from this perspective is a collaboration with UNMC public health researchers. The goal of the study is to describe and elucidate Native Winnebago residents'¹ perceptions of constructs that are influences on health (potentially including both perpetuators of and barriers to health) in a socio-cultural context.
My research has appeared in the Western Journal of Communication, International Journal of Participation and Human Communication Research.
To review my scholarship, teaching, and service, please see my vita.