Asbury Communication Scholar Publishes Book Chapter

February 23, 2024

Associate Professor of Communication Dr. Elizabeth Jones recently published a book chapter in Dr. Quentin Schultze’s book, Communicating for Life: Christian Stewardship in Community and Media (Updated and Expanded), released on January 30. “Sacraments through Screens? Negotiating Time and Space in Online Church” serves as a response to Schultze’s Chapter 4: “Symbolic Ambiguity: Limitations of Human Communication.”

“Chapter 4 acknowledges that even our most eloquent communication is inherently limited and imperfect,” Jones said. “In my response to Schultze, I focus on the tension between time and space. Specifically, I explore the example of online church during the lockdown phases of the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath to first understand how communication technologies complicate communication by blurring the boundaries between orality and mass media and then how individually and corporately we may engage wisely with these technologies to foster flourishing church communities.”

In her chapter, Jones reflects on online church as a burden and blessing, offers a strategy for wise engagement, and shares discussion questions for readers.

“Jones takes us on a marvelous journey of media and technological choices,” said Schultze, who served for 33 years before retiring as an emeritus professor of communication at Calvin University. “God’s original creation is continuously opening up, churning out new ways and means of communication. Figuring out how best to use both old and new media for various purposes is one of the great communicative needs of our time.”

Jones shares her thoughts about technology.

“I think we should resist the urge to discount or embrace new technology, but to think about its opportunities and constraints,” Jones said. “Technology shapes and forms us, so it is important to recognize its implications.”

Last year, alongside Katherine Sheets ’21, Jones co-authored a paper titled, “Identifying Loss and Grief in Children’s Animated Films,” which won a Top Paper Award from the Mass Communication Division of the National Communication Association.

“We found that all of the films in the sample portrayed instances of loss,” Jones said. “Relationship loss was the loss type most frequently portrayed, followed by losses related to health, security, status, and death. Thus, non-death loss was portrayed much more frequently than bereavement-related loss.”

Jones received her Ph.D. in Communication from The Ohio State University. As the Director of Graduate Studies in Communication at Asbury University, she teaches courses in Cross-Platform Storytelling, Viral Marketing Methods, and Communication Research Methods. Her research surrounds how communication can promote human flourishing and well-being.

The Asbury University School of Communication Arts offers an M.A. in Communication; an M.A. in Digital Storytelling; an M.A. in Instructional Design, Innovation & Leadership; an M.F.A. in Screenwriting; and an M.F.A. in Film and Television Production. These graduate programs overlap with the undergraduate Media Communication and Communication programs, allowing undergraduate students to earn an M.A. in one additional year. Learn more: https://www.asbury.edu/academics/schools/communication-arts/.