Department of Communication

Contact and Overview

Email Address 

patticj@appstate.edu

Office Hours

Monday: 8:00-10:00am
Wednesday: 9:00am-12:00pm

Or by appointment

Schedule an Appointment

Education

Ph. D., Communication, University of South Florida
M.A., Communication Studies, California State University, Long Beach
B.A., Communication Studies, California State University, Long Beach

Curriculum Vitae

Teaching

Currently Teaching (Fall 2024)

COM 1200 Thinking Through Communication
COM 2121 Interpersonal Communication
COM 3500-102 Experiments in Creativity & Communication
COM 3500-103 Critical Ethnography in Communication

Courses Taught

COM 1200 Thinking Through Communication
COM 2101 Public Speaking
COM 2121 Interpersonal Communication
COM 2124 Intercultural Communication
COM 3151 Gender Communication
COM 3341 Communication Ethics
COM/MAT 3543; HON 2515 Communicating Science (with Dr. Eric Marland)
COM 3549 Ethnographic Storytelling & Inquiry

Research Interests

Interpersonal Communication
Holocaust Survivor Experience, Interviewing, and Oral History
Dialogue and Compassionate Communication
Zen, Meditation, Improvisation, and Jamming
Personal, Artistic, Scientific, and Historical Research Methods

Selected Publications

• Patti, C. J. (2021). A rose by another name: Zen and the Art of Carolyn. In T. Adams, R. Boylorn, & L. M. Tillmann (Eds.), Advances in autoethnography and narrative inquiry: Reflections on the legacies of Carolyn Ellis and Arthur Bochner (95-108). New York: Routledge.
• Patti, C. J. & Arnold, A. (2021). Love in a time of chaos: A philosophy of human relations. Journal of Autoethnography (University of California Press), 2 (2), 262-268. 
• Patti, C. J. (2020). Slow reading and recovery: Tales of educational trauma and transformation. Communication Education, 69 (4), 405-413.
• Patti, C. J., & Ellis, C. (2017). Co-constructed interview. In J. P. Matthes, C. S. Davis, & R. F. Potter (Eds.), International Encyclopedia of Communication Research Methods—Qualitative Methods. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
• Patti, C. J. (2016). On suffering and surfing. Episode 300 of the Optimal Living Daily Podcast. Episode re-podcasted as episode 1099, December 14th, 2018.
• Berry, K., & Patti, C. J. (2015). Lost in narration: Applying autoethnography. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 43 (2), 263-268.
• Patti, C. J. (2015). Sharing "a big kettle of soup": Compassionate listening with a Holocaust survivor. In S. High (Ed.), Beyond testimony and trauma: Oral history in the aftermath of mass violence (192-211). Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press.
• Ellis, C. S., & Patti, C. J. (2014). With heart: Compassionate interviewing and storytelling with Holocaust survivors. Storytelling, Self, Society: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Storytelling Studies, 10 (1), 93-118.
• Patti, C. J. (2013). Compassionate storytelling with Holocaust survivors: Cultivating dialogue at the end of an era. University of South Florida Dissertation.
• Patti, C. J. (2012). Split shadows: Myths of a lost father and son. Qualitative Inquiry, 18 (2), 153-161.

Recent Interviews, Articles, and Presentations

• Oct. 2024: "This Appalachian Life: Learning to Surf."   
• Dec. 2023: Interview of child survivor of the Holocaust Bob Horowitz at the North Carolina Governor's Mansion. 
• March 2023: 90.5 WASU: "App 1800! Dr. Chris Patti on Antisemitism in the High Country." 
• March 2023: App State's Center for Judaic, Holocaust, and Peace Studies: "Roundtable Conversation on Antisemitism" (recording available through this link).  
• July 2021: 1) Conversation with Kindertransport and Child Survivor of the Holocaust Margret Lobree for App State's Center for Judaic, Holocaust, and Peace Studies; 2) part two of the interview can be found here, both interviews were part of the 19th Annual Martin & Doris Rosen Summer Symposium.
• Nov. 2020: Love in a Time of Chaos presentation with Abby Arnold
• Feb. 2020: Religion in Life (AppTV) interview (Season 11 Episode 3)
• Feb. 2020: Jackson State Community College talk "Compassionate Communication in Divided Times" 
• Sept. 2018: Student interview on Mindfulness Meditation
• July 2017: Appalachian Today article about Dr. Patti's collaboration with Justin Malik of Optimal Living Daily 

Recent Awards and Honors

• The Appalachian's "Best of Boone 2022: Best Professor"
• April 2019: Faculty Last Lecture Series Speaker: "Mindful Awareness, Really Listening, and Compassionate Communication" 
• 2016-2017: Appalachian State University Student Government Association “Outstanding Professor—College of Fine and Applied Arts”
• The Appalachian's "Best of Boone 2016: Best Professor"
• The Appalachian's "Best of Boone 2015: Best Professor"
• 2014-2015: Appalachian State University Student Government Association "Outstanding Professor—College of Fine and Applied Arts"