[Air-L] Couch Award winners announced

[Mark D. Johns]

Contact: Dr. Mark D. Johns, Executive Director
Carl Couch Center for Social and Internet Research
c/o Department of Communication Studies
Luther College, Decorah, Iowa USA 52101
Tel: (563) 387-1347
email: mjohns at luther.edu

Brownfield Winner of Couch Award

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The Carl Couch Center for Social and Internet
Research (www.cccsir.com) is pleased to announce the winners of the
2011 Carl J. Couch Internet Research Award. The Couch Award is
presented annually and recognizes excellent student-authored papers.
	Kristi Brownfield, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Sociology
at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, is the First Place winner
for her paper, "Shots to the canon: The emergence of interpretation in
online fanvid discourse." Brownfield, an Illinois native, completed
her undergraduate degree at Eastern Illinois University before moving
SIUC, where she is a student of Associate Professor Jennifer Dunn.
	Ishani Mukherjee, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of
Communication at the University of Illinois at Chicago is the Second
Place winner for her paper, "'Third' space and the intersectionality
of violence: Symbolizing community and performing identities in South
Asian blog interactions against domestic abuse." Mukherjee is a native
of Calcutta, India, and has earned degrees Jadavpur University in
India and from Northern Illinois University, DeKalb. At UIC she is
advised by Professor Steve Jones.
	No Third Place award was selected this year.
	The Couch Center established the Couch Award in 2002 as the
centerpiece of an extensive awards program. Winning papers apply
symbolic interactionist approaches to internet studies as advocated by
the late Dr. Carl J. Couch, long-time professor of sociology at the
University of Iowa.
	Competition is open to graduate or undergraduate students of all
disciplines, and winners are selected by a committee of university
professors in communication studies and sociology from across the U.S.
	This year’s competition was rigorous, with a record number of entries
received from students of all levels, from undergraduates through
Ph.D. candidates, and were submitted by students from Europe, and
Asia, as well as North America.
	Winners receive a cash award as well as the opportunity to present
their papers at a national or international conference. This year’s
awards will be presented at the annual conference of the Association
of Internet Researchers in Seattle , October 10-13.
	  The Carl Couch Center for Social and Internet Research is a
non-profit organization established to promote the scholarship of the
late Carl J. Couch and his academic associates. Couch is recognized as
the founder of The New Iowa School in sociological and communication
inquiry, and was a pioneer in the qualitative research of information
technologies.
	  The Center provides networking opportunities for students and
scholars who conduct social and Internet research, inspired by Couch's
work.
	- 30 -