Ph.D., University of Washington, 1996
E-Mail: coutu@uw.edu
Lisa Coutu, Principal Lecturer, specializes in the study of communication and culture, the ethnography of communication, and discourse analysis. In particular, her research interests involve the study of how groups’ ways of speaking are created and maintained within the context of coexisting and competing ways of speaking. She teaches undergraduate courses in language, culture, and communication, intercultural communication, and communication approaches to the study of war. She is the Associate Director of the UW Center for Local Strategies Research, and an Associate Director of the Communication Leadership program. She is a 2003 recipient of the University of Washington’s Distinguished Teaching Award, and a 2008 recipient of the UW Educational Outreach award for Teaching Excellence in Distance Learning.
Selected publications
- Coutu, L. M. (2008). Contested social identity and communication in text and talk about the Vietnam War. Research on Language and Social Interaction, 41, 387-407.
- Friesem, K. & Coutu, L. M. (2005). Aligning in large class instruction. In D. H. Wulff, W. H. Jacobson, K. Freisem, D. H. Hatch, M. Lawrence, & L. R. Lenz (Eds.), Aligning for learning: Strategies for teaching effectiveness. Bolton, MA: Anker.
- Philipsen, G., Coutu, L., & Covarrubias, P. (2005). Speech Codes Theory: Restatement, revisions, and a response to criticisms. In W. Gudykunst, Ed., Theorizing about communication and culture (55-68). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. (Invited book chapter).
- Philipsen, G. & Coutu, L. M. (2005). The ethnography of speaking. In Sanders, R. & Fitch, K. L. (Eds.), Handbook of research on language and social interaction (355-379). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
- Coutu, L. M. (2004). [Review of the book Discourse and silencing: Representation and the language of displacement (Discourse approaches to politics, society, and culture)]. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 8, 601-609.
- Coutu, L. M., Alway, M, & Lowell, N. (2002). Technology and student attitudes in large lecture classes. In C. Rust (Ed), Improving student learning: Improving student learning using learning technology (324-334). Oxford: Oxonian Rewley Press.
- Coutu, L. M. (2000). Communication codes of rationality and spirituality in the discourse of and about Robert S. McNamara’s In Retrospect. Research on Language and Social Interaction, 33, 169-211
- Philipsen, G., Aoki, E., Castor, T. R., Coutu, L. M., Covarrubias, P., Jabs, L., Kane, M., & Winchatz, M. R. (1997). Reading Ella Cara Deloria’s Waterlily for cultured speech. Iowa Journal of Communication, 29, 31-49.
Conference presentations
- Coutu, L. M. (2005, February). Negotiating the ‘third space’ of online instruction. Preconference presenter at the meeting of the Western States Communication Association, San Francisco, CA.
- Coutu, L. M. (2004, November). Designing and implementing the professional development seminar series. Presentation at the meeting of the National Communication Association, Chicago, IL. (Competitively selected panel)
- Coutu, L. M. (2004, February). To speak or not to speak: Multiple codes of silence in discourse about the Vietnam War. Paper presented at the meeting of the Western States Communication Association, Albuquerque, NM. (Top Two Paper in Language and Social Interaction Division)
- Coutu, L. M. (2004, February). Widening the online circle: Pedagogy and practice. Presentation/discussion at the meeting of the Western States Communication Association, Albuquerque, NM.
- Coutu, L. M. (2002, November). The influence of course changes on the communication in a large introductory course. Paper presented at the meeting of the National Communication Association, New Orleans, LA. (Competitively selected paper).