In research, LL&C's mission is to develop and assess new understandings of how people communicate. Among the major areas of research in the department are the following:

Communication and Computers 

• Computer-mediated communication
• Design of human-computer interactions
• Information technologies in community development and networking
• Technical and professional communication practices

Media Design and Theory

• Visual communication / design and integration of text and image
• Hypermedia design
• Writing and design for print and digital media

Rhetoric, Culture, and Communication Technology

• Cultural studies of film, photography, advertising, the internet, and other media
• Cultural rhetoric and ethnographic studies
• History and theory of traditional and digital rhetoric
• Language in collaborative design work
• Rhetorical studies of public memory