Laura Roselle, one of Elon University’s most prolific scholars, will discuss the effects of a new media environment in the 21st century on Monday night during the annual Distinguished Scholar Award Lecture, which each year showcases the work of a faculty researcher whose work has made a lasting impact to her field of study.
Roselle, a professor of political science and international studies, will deliver her lecture, “Constructing a New World Order: Strategic Narratives and International Communication in the Post-Cold War Era,” at 7:30 p.m. in McKinnon Hall.
Roselle received the 2009 Distinguished Scholar Award for her contributions in the academic world. The award was established in 2000 to recognize a faculty member whose research has earned peer commendation and respect and who has made significant contribution to his or her field of study.
“I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak on this issue, and I hope the event will be an enjoyable and enlightening experience for all who attend,” Roselle said.
International relations theory has much to say about the importance of how states are structured in the international order, Roselle said. In a time of transition, the bi-polar order of the past with the Soviet Union and United States locked in a confrontational balance is gone.
What will the future bring? Roselle’s lecture will address this question and discuss how strategic narratives and the new media landscape of today will shape the international system of the future.
Having studied the role of the media in politics for more than two decades, Roselle specializes in international political communication. She earned undergraduate degrees in math, computer science and Russian from Emory University where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
She worked as an intern at the Carter Center during her undergraduate studies, and later continued her work with the Carter Center as assistant director of the program on Soviet Media and International Communication. Roselle holds a master’s degree and doctorate in political science from Stanford University, where she served as a teaching assistant to Condoleezza Rice, former U.S. Secretary of State.
Roselle is a major figure among international scholars of political communication, having recently completed a term as president of the International Communication Section of the International Studies Association. She is currently the program chair for the Political Communication Section of the American Political Science Association’s annual Political Communication Conference to be held in Washington, D.C., in September.
Roselle has published articles and book reviews in leading journals, including the Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics, and in the American Behavioral Scientist. Her edited volumes include books on media and democracy and media and elections.
In 2006, she published Media and the Politics of Failure: Great Powers, Communication Strategies, and Military Defeats. In 2007, she collaborated with fellow Elon professor Sharon Spray to publish Research and Writing in International Relations, a supplementary text for students studying international relations and comparative politics.
– Information compiled by Elon University student Veronica Bate (vbate@elon.edu)