Taisik Hwang, PhD

Education

• PhD, University of Georgia
• MA, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
• ThM, Harvard University

Research/Creative Interests

My research examines how media systems represent, circulate, and shape public understanding of institutions and ideas. I work across two streams: media and religion, and the strategic and political use of social media by organizations and publics, with attention to platform transformation, public opinion perception, and cross-cultural contexts. Methodologically, I utilize quantitative and computational methods, including content analysis, social network analysis, and survey research.

Teaching Philosophy

I believe that enthusiasm is contagious, so I bring passion to every class to help my students engage more deeply with the material and take pride in their work. Drawing on experiential learning principles, I help students connect major concepts to real-world practice, whether they are conducting ad concept testing in Digital Advertising, extracting insights from big data on social media conversations in Social Media Analytics, or designing research projects in Marketing Communication Research. Above all, I aim to create a student-centered classroom built on mutual respect, where students feel comfortable asking questions, learning from one another, and knowing that their teacher supports them both inside and outside of class.

Recent Scholarly or Creative Contributions

Peer-reviewed Journal

• Hwang, T. (2026). From corruption to compassion? A comparative study of Christianity in South Korea’s newspapers between 2011 and 2022. Journalism and Media, 7(2), 100.
• Hwang, T. & Shin, S. (2026). Digital discourse and polarization: A social network analysis of the Sewol ferry disaster on Twitter/X. Social Sciences, 15(4), 241.
• Hwang, T. (2025). Religiosity as a variable in communication research. Journal of Media and Religion, 1-20.

Conferences

• Hwang, T. (2026, March). Content analysis of social media posts related to heritage organizations: A hybrid approach. Paper presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Midwinter Conference, Norman, OK.
• Hwang, T., Buman, M., & Kultavewut, T. (2025, March). The state of social media research in journalism and political communication,1997-2022. Paper presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Midwinter Conference, Norman, OK.

Publications & Presentations

• Hwang, T. (2019, August). Religiosity as a concept in communication research. (Top Paper, Religion and Media Interest Group) Paper presented at the annual conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Toronto, Canada.
• Hwang, T. (2019, June). Nature education organizations’ use of Twitter for public engagement. Paper presented at the annual colloquium of the Korean Association of Advertising and Public Relations, Seoul, South Korea.
• Hwang, T. (2019, May). Determinants of false consensus on public and political issues. Paper presented at the 69th annual International Communication Association Conference, Washington DC, USA.
• Hwang, T. (2019, March). Media skepticism: Explication and scale development. Paper presented at the 44th annual AEJMC Southeast Colloquium, Columbia, SC.
• McDevitt, M., Parks, P., Stalker, J., Lerner, K., Benn, J., & Hwang, T. (2018). Anti-intellectualism among US students in journalism and mass communication: A cultural perspective. Journalism, 19(6), 782-799.
• Hwang, T. (2016). Newspaper coverage of Christianity in South Korea, 1996–2005. Journal of Media and Religion, 15(4), 196-209.
• Hwang, T., Espina, C., & Wojdynski, B.W. (2015, August). The influence of Twitter sources on credibility in online news. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, San Francisco, CA.
• Hwang, T., Himelboim, I., & Shin, S. (2015, August). A social networks approach to understanding political discourse on the Sewol Ferry tragedy. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, San Francisco, CA.
• Hwang, T. (2015, May). The relationship between religiosity, media use, and perceived credibility. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, San Juan, Puerto Rico.