Contact Information
3001 Lincoln Hall, MC-456
702 S Wright Street
Urbana IL 61801
Office Hours
Fridays 2-3 4106 Lincoln Hall
& by appointment
Research Areas
Biography
Grace A. Giorgio holds a B.A. in the Humanities from the University of California, Berkeley (1986), a Masters in Cinema Studies from San Francisco State University (1995) and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (2001). Her research, writing and teaching examine communication practices in interpersonal and public domains with the intention of bridging the personal and the political. She studies the experimental use of qualitative research methods to investigate the intersection of self, culture and the public sphere. Dr. Giorgio’s research interests branch into two directions: using writing as a method of inquiry to creatively and critically explore the cultural expectations and tensions in interpersonal and family communication contexts as well as writing, public speaking and debate as modes of civic engagement.
Research Interests
Autoethnography and qualitative research methods; journaling as a qualitative research tool; writing studies and critical pedagogy; cultural studies and critical theory and popular media; cultural studies and critical geography; geographical knowledges and feminist theory; interpersonal and family communication; rural sociology and social theory; cultural geography and cultural change; environmental philosophies; environment and social change; ecological movements; social justice; geographies of difference
Research Description
Dr. Giorgio studies the experimental use of qualitative research methods to investigate the intersection of self, culture and the public sphere. Her research interests branch into two directions: using writing as a method of inquiry to creatively and critically explore the cultural expectations and tensions in interpersonal and family communication contexts. Dr. Giorgio is particularly interested in the healing powers of writing in all of its creative and experimental formations. Living in rural Illinois has brought Dr. Giorgio to also study questions of sustainability in public policy discourse. Her work also explores what James Howard Kunstler (2005) calls the Long Emergency, a time of contraction in resources and capital and of climate change. Dr. Giorgio's writings and public policy course attend to how we will manages these exigencies and the demands they place upon our culture; she hopes her work will help us imagine and manifest a more sustainable way of life.
Education
Ph.D. UIUC 2001
M.A. SFSU 1995
B.A. UC Berkeley 1986
Grants
Speaking Fundamentals, Innovative Programs to Support Student Learning Grant,
Summer 2021
KEEN: The Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network Grant, 2021
Strategic Instructional Innovations Program, College of Engineering, 2016-2019
Provost’s Initiative on Teaching Advancement Grant, Summer, 2015
Provost’s Faculty Retreat Grant, Summer 2015
Area Research Illinois Seed Grant, Fall 2012
Awards and Honors
King Broadrick-Allen Teaching Award, Campus Honors Program, Summer 2021
LAS Impact Award, Spring 2021
Chancellor’s Undergraduate Teaching Award, Spring 2013
Incomplete List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1996 to present
Mortar Board Society, Favorite Faculty Award, University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign, 2004 and 2005
Courses Taught
CMN 111/112: Introduction to Oral and Written Communication
CMN 375: Popular Media and Culture
CMN CHP 220: Communicating Public Policy: Our Cities/ Ourselves
CMN CHP 395/396: Gender Communication
CMN 320: Communication and Controversies in Public Policy
CMN/LING/GWS 432: Gender and Language
Honors & Awards
Chancellor’s Undergraduate Teaching Award, Spring 2013
Highlighted Publications
Giorgio, G. (2010). Gigi's tipis. Qualitative Inquiry, 16(8), 616-620. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800410374033
Giorgio, G. (2010). The hermit and the old goat. Qualitative Inquiry, 16(8), 612-615. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800410374032
Recent Publications
Giorgio, G. (2022). Mother’s Eyes. Cultural Studies - Critical Methodologies, 22(3), 302-304. https://doi.org/10.1177/15327086221079403
Giorgio, G. A. (2021). Celebration of Life. Qualitative Inquiry, 27(1), 94-96. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800420911687
Petre, E. A., Giorgio, G. A., Petre, J. T., & Harshbarger, J. M. (2021). One class can make a difference: The intersecting paths of mentoring friendship. In Mentoring and Communication: Theories and Practices (pp. 73-90). Peter Lang Publishing.
Giorgio, G. (2018). A Love Letter to Our Past and Future. Qualitative Inquiry, 24(5), 355-356. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800417741974
Giorgio, G. A. (2017). Family Feuds Are Forever: A Writing Story. Qualitative Inquiry, 23(2), 130-133. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800416639331