Two scholars affiliated with Pitt’s Department of Communications–Dr. Caitlin Bruce, Professor of Communication at Pitt, and Dr. Charles Athanasopoulos, an alumnus of the MA and PhD programs– have been recognized with major awards for respective recent publications from the National Communications Association (NCA).
Presented annually at the NCA Annual Convention, this year held in Denver, Colorado, the awards honor outstanding scholarship within the field of communications.
Dr. Cailtin Bruce wins James A. Winans–Hilbert A. Wichelns Memorial Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Rhetoric and Public Address
Dr. Caitlin Bruce has won the James A. Winans – Hilbert A. Wichelns Memorial Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Rhetoric and Public Address for her book Voices in Aerosol: Youth Culture, Institutional Attunement, and Graffiti in Urban Mexico (University of Texas Press, 2024).
Established by the students and colleagues of two Cornell University professors, the award is presented annually to scholarship published within the past year by nominated NCA members.
According to the NCA National Awards announcement, Bruce’s “work is recognized for its nuanced and ethical engagement with marginalized voices, highlighting the complex interplay between public art and institutional dynamics.”
Voices in Aerosol explores how youth in Mexico use graffiti as a form of public expression and resistance. Bruce combines discussions of urban studies, rhetorical theory, and visual culture to challenge traditional expectations of public address and influence, pushing the boundaries of the field of communications to include non-verbal forms of expression.
Dr. Charles Athanasopoulos wins Critical Cultural Studies Division book award
Dr. Charles Athanasopoulos has won the Critical Cultural Studies Division Book Award from the National Communication Association (NCA) for his book, Black Iconoclasm: Public Symbols, Racial Progress, and Post/Ferguson America (Springer/Palgrave Macmillan, 2024).
Athanasopoulos, now an Assistant Professor of Black Rhetoric & Popular Culture at The Ohio State University, examines the decade since the 2014 Ferguson Uprisings and the rise of The Black Lives Matter Movement. His book explores how movements for racial justice challenge old symbols of progress, while simultaneously creating or becoming new symbols themselves. He argues that the ongoing fight for Black freedom should not look for perfect solutions but instead rely on “critical orientation toward ritual transgression and Black radical discernment,” or continuously questioning systems of power and reimagining what liberation means.
In addition to receiving the NCA Critical Cultural Studies Division Book of the Year Award, Black Iconoclasm was awarded the 2025 Cultural Studies Association First Book Prize in May 2025.