Caroline E. Sawyer, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Communication Studies
Department of Social Sciences
Library 252
Bluffton campus
843-208-8223
CESawyer@uscb.edu

Caroline E. Sawyer is an Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at University of South Carolina Beaufort. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Memphis, her Master of Arts from Austin Peay State University, and her Bachelor of Business Administration from Baylor University. Dr. Sawyer's research interests include transmedia storytelling, corporate communication, broadcast media, gender and sports communication, sports and new media, popular culture, American culture and critical discourse studies.

Her teaching experience includes working as several universities in Tennesse and California. Her professional experience includes working as a corporate communication consultant for several large public and private corporations advising on website design, social media campaigns, and public & investor relations, as well as training employees to improve their presentation skills.

In 2017, Dr. Sawyer was awarded the Carolinas Communication Association Monica Pombo Early Career Teaching Award. She embraces experiential learning in the classroom and works hard to expand experiential learning at USCB in her role as the Co-Director of Students Connected. Students Connected is a University-wide program that will inspire students to contribute to the needs of their community through focus on three central goals: (1) enhance and expand experiential research and service-learning opportunities for students across all disciplines, (2) collaborate with local organizations to engage students in research that affects community-based project outcomes, and (3) integrate knowledge learned from these experiences into curricula and facilitate classroom and community-wide discussions. Dr. Sawyer is also the director of the Sand Shark Center for Innovative Media.

She is the producer of a By The River, a collaborative TV show between USCB & SCETV, which airs Thursdays at 8 pm in the fall on ETVHD. Dr. Sawyer serves as the USCB Faculty Senate Secretary, the Southern States Communication Association Gender Studies Division Secretary, and the Carolinas Communication Association 1st Vice President. Dr. Sawyer enjoys working with students on research and video productions. When not teaching, Dr. Sawyer enjoys quilting, spending time with her dogs, and walking on the beach.

Creative Scholarship

Sawyer, C.E. (Producer). (2018). By The River [Television Series]. Columbia, SC: South Carolina Educational Television.

Presentations

Sawyer, C.E. (2018, September). Accelerating Student Success in Broadcasting: A Panel Discussion with SCETV Regional Station Directors and University/College Faculty. Panel presentation at Carolinas Communication Association annual conference in Charlotte, NC. (Presenter).

Sawyer, C.E. (2018, April). You Don't Own My Words: Domestic Violence Survivors' Twitter Responses to Media Discourse following the Ray Rice Incident. Paper presentation at Southern States Communication Association annual conference in Nashville, TN. (Presenter).

Sawyer, C.E. (2017, October). No Girls Allowed: A Discussion of the Exclusion of Women in American Football Fandom. Paper presentation at Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association of the South annual conference in Savannah, GA. (Presenter).

Sawyer, C.E. (2017, October). Power, privilege and representation in comic-based media. Panel presentation at Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association of the South annual conference in Savannah, GA. (Presenter).

Sawyer, C.E. (2017, September). Collaborating for Success and Engagement: A Panel Discussion of the partnership between the First Year Reading Experience(FYRE), the Library, and Public Communication Courses. Panel presentation at Carolinas Communication Association annual conference in Clemson, SC. (Presenter).

Sawyer, C.E. (2017, May). Girls Can't Play Football: A Discussion of the Exclusiveness of American Football and the Inclusiveness of Fantasy Football. Paper presentation at International Communication Association in San Diego, California. (Presenter).

Sawyer, C.E. (2017, April). Feminist Perspectives, Purposes, and Practices in the Archives: An Interactive Roundtable Discussion. Panel presentation at Southern States Communication Association in Greenville, South Carolina. (Presenter).

Sawyer, C.E. (2016, October). Working Together: Partnering with University Initiatives for Experiential Learning. Panel presentation at Carolinas Communication Association in Wilmington, North Carolina. (Presenter).

Publications

Sawyer, C.E. & Rivera, K.D. (2016). Three Strategies for Implementing Authentic Altruism into your CSR Campaign. PR NEWS Corporate Social Responsibility & Green Public Relations Guidebook.

Markman, K.M. & Sawyer, C.E. (2014). Why Pod?: Further explorations of the motivations for independent podcasting. Journal of Radio and Audio Media, 21(1):20-35.
DOI: 10.1080/19376529.2014.891211

Gray, P. & Downes, C.E.S.* (2009). Meeting the needs of Native American radio: A preliminary exploration of the Native America Calling. Intercultural Communication Studies, XVIII:I.  Rhode Island.

Kanervo, E. W, Zhang, W., & Sawyer, C.E. (2005). Communication and democratic participation: A critical review and synthesis. The Review of Communication, 5(4):193-236.

Teaching & Research Specialties

media production, media 2.0, transmedia storytelling, new media, sport communication, gender communication, discourse analysis, qualitative research, corporate communication, public speaking