Luther College seniors selected to present research at the 2017 Iowa Communication Association Conference

Luther College seniors Annalise Johnson and Kristen Carlson were selected to present research at the 2017 Iowa Communication Association Conference held Sept. 29-30 at Central College in Pella, Iowa.

Each year, Kim Powell, Luther professor of communication studies, selects the best final papers from her Research Methods course to submit for presentation at the Iowa Communication Association Conference. Then a committee of communication professors looks at all the papers submitted from Iowa colleges and chooses the top eight to present at the conference. Johnson’s and Carlson’s papers were selected through this process.

Johnson, a communication studies major and English writing minor of Decorah, Iowa, presented a paper titled “The Effects of Self-Disclosure in Interpersonal Relationships Post-Assault: Giving Survivors a Voice.” For her research, Johnson interviewed 10 female student sexual assault survivors at Luther regarding who they have told about their assault(s), how they reacted to the disclosure and how the survivor felt about the interactions.

Johnson won the Best Student Paper award at the conference and will have the final version of her paper published in the September 2018 issue of the Iowa Communication Journal.

Carlson, a triple major in communication studies, music and philosophy of Austin, Minnesota, presented a qualitative social science research paper titled “Relational Maintenance in Siblings Attending the Same College.” For her research, Carlson interviewed students who attended Luther at the same time as their sibling in order to draw findings on relational maintenance strategies employed in these relationships.

A national liberal arts college with an enrollment of 2,050, Luther offers an academic curriculum that leads to the Bachelor of Arts degree in more than 60 majors and pre-professional programs. For more information about Luther visit the college’s website: http://luther.edu.