Faculty: Janet MacLennan

Brief introduction:
Academic Degree:	PhD, Ohio University (2000)
Areas of Expertise:	Interpersonal Communication, Relational Communication, Communication about sex in relationships, Communication Education, Intercultural Communication

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Contact Information  Brief biography  Course Syllabi	Curriculum vitae  Recommended links!  English Department Newsletter

Contact Information

Brief biography

Janet MacLennan was born in Canada. Her native home of Cape Breton is yet another island in the Atlantic, but quite far north of Puerto Rico. In 1996 she received her B. A. in Community Studies from the University College of Cape Breton (now Cape Breton University) where she was first introduced to the field of “human communication.” She then pursued graduate work in communication studies at Ohio University in Athens, where she received her M. A. in 1998 and her Ph. D. and a Graduate Certificate in Women's Studies in 2000, teaching all the while. She was thrilled to accept her first tenure-track teaching position in the Department of English at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras campus. At UPR, she has taught the courses in Group Communication (4006), Interpersonal Communication (3256), Intercultural Communication (3065), Organizational Communication (3190), Nonverbal Communication (3266), Theories of Human Communication (3275), Communication Research Methods (4230), Public Speaking (3257), ESL, and recently, at the graduate level, the Seminar in Critical Writing (5005). She developed and introduced courses in Family Communication (4145), the Dark Side of Human Relationships (4336), and Health Communication (3016). Previously, she also taught university courses in interviewing, leadership, and writing and rhetoric. In her non-teaching work life she has held jobs in government, education, non-profit, and training and consulting in areas such as public relations, student services, leadership, and counseling. Currently, she is editing a book with a colleague from Northeastern University in Boston looking at communication within and about sexual relationships. She is also launching a new line of research exploring capoeira as intercultural communication, since this Afro-Brazilian martial art is a personal passion of hers. For department activities, as part of her new role as Academic Adviser for the Department of English she is a member of the Curriculum Committee and publisher of the Department of English Newsletter. She has been published in a variety of areas: interpersonal communication, intercultural communication, group communication, gender and pedagogy, communication education, and TESL. Among her outside interests are snorkeling, SCUBA diving, hiking, capoeira, and–above all–traveling. She would love to talk to any students interested in studying communication, taking a communication course (including learning which one might be appropriate for your interests and area of study), or needing advising as either an English major (Literature or LICO) or a student taking courses in the Department of English.

Course Syllabi

Syllabi:	Links to Course Catalog descriptions:
ENGLISH 3016  ENGLISH 3065  ENGLISH 3256  ENGLISH 3257  ENGLISH 3275  ENGLISH 4145  ENGLISH 4230  ENGLISH 4336  ENGLISH 5005	ENGLISH 3016  ENGLISH 3065  ENGLISH 3256  ENGLISH 3257  ENGLISH 3275  ENGLISH 4145  ENGLISH 4230  ENGLISH 4336  ENGLISH 5005