Elizabeth Wilhoit Larson

Education

PhD, Purdue University

MA, Purdue University

BA, Wheaton College

About Me

Elizabeth Wilhoit Larson is an associate professor of communication in the School of Communication and Journalism. Larson teaches and researches in the area of organizational communication. In her classes, she uses communication theory as the foundation for learning practical skills in areas like creativity, leadership, and small group communication. Larson is trained in dialogue education and uses active learning techniques in all her classes. This means that students constantly apply and use the information that they are learning through in-class activities, projects, and reflection papers.

Larson’s research focuses on three areas within organizational communication. First, she studies the role of non-humans and materiality in organizations, asking questions about how aspects of organizations like space, technology, and transportation make a difference in the ontology of organizations. Some of her favorite research to conduct was about bike commuters in the Midwest and Copenhagen, Denmark. Second, she explores issues of organizing and the question of what is an organization. Third, her research considers gendered careers and organizations, seeking to understand how women gain agency at work. Larson’s research has been published in outlets including Organization Studies, Organization, Communication Theory, Management Communication Quarterly, The Annals of the International Communication Association, Gender, Work & Organization, Western Journal of Communication, Field Methods, Culture & Organization, Journal of Organizational Change Management, Journal of Communication and Religion, Language Under Discussion, and The International Encyclopedia of Organizational Communication. She has also presented her work at regional, national, and international conferences.

A native of the Midwest, Larson loves living in Auburn. She enjoys early morning runs, tending her large vegetable garden, cooking the vegetables she grows, and playing strategy board games. Some of her favorite local things to do include attending Sundilla concerts with her husband, breakfast from Big Blue Bagel, and feeding the turtles at Town Creek Park. 

Research Interests

how materiality affects organizations and communication, particularly organizational space

Publications

• Wilhoit, E.D. & Kisselburgh, L.G. (in press). Bike commuters’ unintended resistance: Hybridity, ventriloquism, and materiality in the production of bike commuting as resistance. Organization.
• Wilhoit, E.D. (2017). Photo and video methods in organizational and managerial communication research. Management Communication Quarterly, 31, 447-466. doi:10.1177/0893318917704511
• Wilhoit, E.D. (2015). Organizational space and place beyond container or construction: Exploring workspace in the communicative constitution of organizations. Annals of the International Communication Association, 40, 247-275. doi:10.1080/23808985.2015.11735262
• Wilhoit, E.D. & Kisselburgh, L.G. (2015). Collective action without organization: The material constitution of bike commuters as collective. Organization Studies, 36, 573-592. doi:10.1177/0170840614556916
• Wilhoit, E.D. (2014). Opting out (without kids): Understanding non-mothers’ workplace exit in popular autobiographies. Gender, Work & Organization, 21, 260-272. doi:10.1111/gwao.12034

Courses Taught

• COMM 2403: Workplace Communication
• COMM 2410: Small Group Communication
• COMM 4410: Theories of Leadership
• COMM 4420: Communication and Creativity
• COMM 7000: Communication Theory