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 Larson, E. (2024). Gen Z college students’ preference for affordances over aesthetics in interpreting workplace imagery. Communication Studies, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/10510974.2024.2337952

McFarland, C. S., & Wilhoit Larson, E. (2024). Reproducing violence, racism, and erasure in research. Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, 21(2), 226–242. https://doi.org/10.1080/14791420.2024.2325145

Bacevice, P. A., & Wilhoit Larson, E. (2024). The strategic aestheticization of work: How workers read normative organizational values in workplace imagery. Management Communication Quarterly, 38(3), 446-476. https://doi.org/10.1177/08933189231203232

Wilhoit Larson, E., Linabary, J.R., & Long, Z. (2022). Communicating inclusion: A review and research agenda on inclusion research in organizational communication. Annals of the International Communication Association, 46(2), 63-90. doi: 10.1080/23808985.2022.2069045

Wilhoit Larson, E. (2021). Creating home at work: Humanistic geography and placemaking in organizations. Culture and Organization, 27(6), 437-455. doi:10.1080/14759551.2020.1861453

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