Faculty/Staff Directory
First Name
Robert
Last Name
Swieringa
Email
swierinr@gvsu.edu
Title
Assistant Professor
Website
Office
164 LSH
Phone
616-331-8069
Field of Study
Communication Studies
About
Dr. Bob’s interests span two broad areas. As an undergraduate, he threw himself into Cinema Studies and the history, theory and criticism of film, especially of animation. As a graduate student, his primary training fell within Language and Social Interaction and in Rhetoric. His primary interests involve social interaction, situated practice, community, and membership.
Originally, he examined these concerns within the setting of science, undertaking discourse and ethnographic research to examine routine situated interaction and its relation to developing practice, membership, identity, and community within a laboratory. More recently, he has moved into Game Studies, shifting these concerns and methods to his lifelong interest in tabletop games – board, card and role play. His current line of work examines the constitution of communities among gamers via online sites and discussion, the playing of games, and game conventions. Dr. Bob’s teaching involvement centers around his broader interests of situated interaction, communication practice, and film history and theory.
Office Hours
M/W 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. and by appointment
TH 9:00 a.m. -
10:00 a.m. and by appointment
Teaches
Concepts of Communication, Argument and Analysis, Film Culture, Critical Interpretation, Communication Theory, and Issues in Communication (Capstone).
Degrees
B.A., M.A., and Ph.D., University of Illinois
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