Professor captures students' interest with play, humor

By Catherine Ferguson SNJM

One Gonzaga University communication studies professor applies the techniques and practices of humor and improvisation to express a commitment to social justice.

Jonathan Rossing (they/them), who is also associate dean of faculty affairs for the College of Arts and Sciences, said people tend to associate a commitment to social justice with passionate, even angry speech-making, the organization of and participation in protests and sit-ins, and an in-your-face-ability to challenge powerful institutions and authorities in the face of injustices.

Jonathan's tools are different. Their research looks at how humor and play can break people out of the boundaries and limitations that make the injustices of the current social system seem impossible to change.

Jonathan began studying communications at Indiana University, Bloomington and focused work on rhetoric, not just as the art of persuasive speech but in a much broader sense as the variety of social, cultural and interpersonal interactions at play in areas like education, politics and media that teach values, beliefs and ways of feeling and acting. In short, the various ways that persuade people.

In their doctoral research, they looked at how people used comedy to advance education on race. Some comedians they researched were Dick Gregory, Richard Pryor and Margaret Cho in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, and Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert contemporaneously.

"When these comedians looked at things in a not serious way, they were able to turn things on their heads," Jonathan explained. "Comedy is an arena where people have the freedom to say a little more than they otherwise might. In this way, it becomes an educational tool to make people think and allows an opening for the possibility of a different way of being."

Jonathan pointed out some examples where sitcoms led to changing social perceptions on something previously viewed as unusual or abnormal.

In the 1970s, The Brady Bunch sitcom helped normalize the situation of blended families. The show dealt with the awkward adjustments, accommodations, gender rivalries and resentments in blended families. For example, the mother, Carol, tells one of the children, Bobby, that the only "steps" in their household lead to the second floor. In other words, that the Bradys were not a "stepfamily," only "a family."

In the 1980s and 1990s, The Bill Cosby Show challenged the stereotypes of the genre and of race. Audiences viewed comic situations in a Black upper middle-class family, the Huxtables, where both the husband and wife were well-educated and successful professionals—one a doctor and the other an attorney—and the children were smart, but the parents were smarter.

Besides looking at humor as a social justice tool, Jonathan examined play as a method of resistance. One question they raised, "What is the purpose and value of play?" led Jonathan to explore key questions in the humanities: "What does it mean to be human? How do we best relate to one another? How do we best prepare ourselves for life and our role in society?

"Play can be a safe way to become aware of, practice and experiment with roles, rules and boundaries," Jonathan said.

An example in Spokane of play that allows participants to explore some rules and boundaries is the annual Spokane Pride Parade and Rainbow Festival. According to organizers, the festival includes music, dancing, festival booths, delicious food and fireworks. Jonathan describes it as a joyous day full of love, laughter and support. It is a party, and it is play that changes perceptions and leads to greater inclusion and justice towards all.

In Jonathan's classes, they use forms of play and encourage humor in the interactive exercises they give the students.

 "My teaching uses techniques of applied improvisation," they said. "I teach interactive, experiential courses and training sessions on identity and equity, communication for social justice and transformation, media messaging, critical message analysis, public speaking and group/team communication."

Although as associate dean of faculty affairs, their work is with faculty education, student ratings of Jonathan's course show their approach is effective.

Ratings typically were high and one student's comments were repeated often in the comments of others: "Rossing is determined to make his class a fun learning environment. There is always a game played at the beginning of each class to get students smiling and ready to participate. I learned so much from him and he inspired me to become a Comm major. He is insightful and knows what he is talking about. One of the best GU professors."

Jonathan's path to professorship in communications at Gonzaga was circuitous and marked by insightful mentors who recognized their talents and interests and suggested different trajectories they might follow.

Jonathan was born in San Angelo, Texas, a state not known for its openness to diversity. As a young person, Jonathan entered the University of Texas at Austin expecting to study medicine and become an orthopedic surgeon.

By the time they graduated with bachelor's degrees in zoology and French, it was clear this was not going to be their path. Jonathan's experiences working at the university as an undergraduate led them to pursue graduate study in administration in higher education. They went to Indiana University at Bloomington and earned a master's degree in higher education administration.

While studying for that degree, one mentor, aware of Jonathan's interests, suggested they explore graduate programs in the communications department. They eventually earned a doctoral degree in rhetoric and public culture there. Then Jonathan taught in the communications department at Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis, until coming to Gonzaga as chair of the communications department in 2016.

Throughout their academic career, Jonathan has participated in activities involving diverse students. While at Austin, they worked on the New Student Orientation Multiculturalism Task Force Career Center and, as a graduate student at Indiana, Jonathan was co-chair of the Commission on Multicultural Understanding and a participant in the LGBT anti-harassment team.

They also received awards for excellence in teaching and for excellence in multicultural teaching. For four years after joining Gonzaga's faculty, they were also the improviser and director of education at the Blue Door Theatre in Spokane.

Jonathan self describes as a spiritual person who does not connect with any organized religion and recently became a certified yoga professor.

They also share elements of their meditation practice with the Gonzaga University community by regularly leading a short prayer/reflection on Monday afternoons.

For that, Jonathan uses a template for the liturgy that highlights practices for staying human, like awareness of breath, mindfulness, listening to the wisdom of elders, celebration and moving to community practice.

For information, call 812-219-4273 or email rossing@gonzaga.edu.