History Division Members Are In A League of Our Own

Name: David Davies
Where you work: University of Southern Mississippi
Where you got/are getting your Ph.D.: University of Alabama, 1997
Current favorite class: Introduction to Social Media
Current research project: Anti-Communism Crusaders in Mississippi in the 1940s
Fun fact about yourself: I was a French major as an undergraduate and have enjoyed refreshing my knowledge of the language over the last few years. Who’s up for Paris?

Name: Flora Khoo
Where you work: School of Communication and the Arts, Regent University
Where you got/are getting your Ph.D.: Regent University (where she’s the current vice chair of BEA’s History Division).
Current favorite class: Theories and Effects of Mediated Terrorism
Current research project: Colin Kapernick Nike Ad: Strategic Use of Twitter in the Role of Public Debate of Sensitive Social Justice Issues
Fun fact about yourself: I love canoeing!

Name: Wendy Melillo
Where you work: School of Communication at American University in Washington, D.C.
Where you got your degrees: I am AU born and bred. I hold the following degrees:

  • A. in International Relations and Print Journalism from American University
  • A. in International Communication from American University
  • A. in the History of Ideas from Johns Hopkins University

Thinking about getting a Ph.D in American History to improve my historical research methods. Anyone out there willing to discuss the wisdom or folly of earning a Ph.D post tenure?
Current favorite class: Ethics in Strategic Communication, which is a course I developed and teach online in our Master’s in Strategic Communication program. Students are taught how to use classical theories of ethics and professional codes of ethics to make justifiable decisions in response to thorny ethical scenarios. Since no course is ever complete without some history, we trace the rise of the Protestant work ethic and the role it played in the birth of modern capitalism. We also explore the roots of propaganda.
Current research project: I am juggling two book projects. One involves women in political communication. The second focuses on the chief lobbying organization for liquor manufacturers and the legacy of prohibition.
Fun fact about yourself: I hold a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. The training gave me great confidence when I covered night cops for the Washington Post.

Name: Andrew Stoner
Where you work: California State University, Sacramento
Where you got/are getting your Ph.D.: Colorado State University
Current favorite class: Writing Public Information
Current research project: I’m completing final edits on a new book, The Journalist of Castro Street: The Life of Randy Shilts, the first-ever biography on America’s AIDS chronicler. It will be released in 2019 by University of Illinois Press.  I’m also completing a manuscript examining the Presidential campaigns of Alabama Governor George C. Wallace between 1964-1976 in states outside of the Deep South.
Fun fact about yourself: I occasionally appear on true-crime TV programs such as “Snapped: Killer Couples” and “Crime Watch Daily” based on my writing about infamous crime cases across America. I also sold the rights to my book Cobra Killer for a 2016 feature film, “King Cobra.”