Associate Professor of Communication Studies Jim Schnoebelen has been at Washburn for almost 17 years. He has always taught communications classes, but he will also teach a Gender Studies class next semester that will include situations about gender differences, such as points of view based on masculine and feminine traits, along with political, corporate and business worlds.

“The class will be completely online and be discussion-based to counter the usual face-to-face in person discussions,” said Schnoebelen.

The goal of the class is to get people to see different perspectives of things that they would normally never challenge unless they were actually told to think about it.

There have been many changes since Schnoebelen first started here, not just the classes but the aesthetics. Buildings on campus have changed or been added which you can really see. Schnoebelen came at a time where Washburn was just starting to transition from being a commuting-based school that catered to non-traditional students, such as parents or students with multiple jobs, into what it is now being focused on more traditional, fresh out of high school students. 

Schnoebelen teaches several different communications classes, such as public speaking, graduate communications classes, communications social movements and an upper division persuasive speaking. He specializes in mostly political communications so he doesn’t see himself teaching classes outside of the ones listed. In the summer, he will teach his first stand-alone graduate class, which he is really excited about. Communications classes in the summer have always had good responses, which is weird when you consider how many classes are available at Washburn. One would think that mathematics or English classes would have more consistent enrollment, but people seem to enjoy the classes, which is great for the communication department. The persuasion class he is teaching, which is part of the masters in communication classes, is an eight-week course so the length of the entire summer break is a little less daunting than a four week class that takes pressure off of the students.

As his specialization in communication is political science communication, his focus is more on gender and how it affects those who have had a major voice and presence in politics. He has published several chapters and articles that have to do with his research and things he is interested in.

Schnoebelen is also part of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at Washburn, and he supports the Themester project for this semester. He believes that it is useful and encouraging to let people find and develop their own views of the use of freedom of speech, the First Amendment and how people learn different things and perspectives from others around them to make it more understandable. If you have any questions about Themester, you can find several articles about it at the Washburn.edu website, where the Diversity and Inclusion office has information for everyone to view.

Kristina Sharpton, junior criminal justice major, looks forward to taking a class from Schneobelen. 

“I have never taken a class with him, however I plan on taking his Gender Studies class in the fall since I enjoy Communications,” Sharpton said. “I think it will be very good since he has been recommended to me by multiple people.”