Charlton McIlwain was born in Charlotte, North Carolina and grew up mostly in San Antonio, Texas. After high school, he moved to Oklahoma where he graduated from Oklahoma Baptist University with a B.A. in Family Psychology. He went on to attend the University of Oklahoma where he received a masterÕs degree in Human Relations and a doctorate in Communication (in 2001). While in Oklahoma, McIlwain began a short stint in politics by working as Press Secretary for Ed CrockerÕs 1996 campaign against former Congressman J.C. Watts. The following year, he began working as the communications director for Laura Boyd, a former state legislator running for governor against incumbent Frank Keating. His last gig was as communications director for the Oklahoma Democratic Party, during which time he also was a delegate to the 2000 Democratic National Convention.
McIlwain has authored two books: When Death Goes Pop (Peter Lang, 2005) and Death in Black & White (Hampton Press, 2003). His most recent work focuses on the use of racial appeals in political communication, including the semiotic construction of racial appeals in language and visual images; the effects of racial appeals on public opinion and voting behavior; framing and priming effects of race in various media; and media coverage of minority political candidates. His work has also appeared in academic journals such as Semiotica, The Journal of Black Studies, The Harvard International Journal of Press Politics, American Behavioral Scientist and others. McIlwain regularly provides analysis for state, national and international media such as CNN, MSNBC, the New York Times, NPR, Reuters, O Globo (Brazil), Le Monde (France) and many others.
With Stephen Maynard Caliendo, McIlwain co-directs The Project on Race in Political Communication, is co-author of the forthcoming book, Race Appeal (Temple University Press) and is co-editing the forthcoming Routledge Companion to Race & Ethnicity.
Charlton McIlwain was born in Charlotte, North Carolina and grew up mostly in San Antonio, Texas. After high school, he moved to Oklahoma where he graduated from Oklahoma Baptist University with a B.A. in Family Psychology. He went on to attend the University of Oklahoma where he received a masterÕs degree in Human Relations and a doctorate in Communication (in 2001). While in Oklahoma, McIlwain began a short stint in politics by working as Press Secretary for Ed CrockerÕs 1996 campaign against former Congressman J.C. Watts. The following year, he began working as the communications director for Laura Boyd, a former state legislator running for governor against incumbent Frank Keating. His last gig was as communications director for the Oklahoma Democratic Party, during which time he also was a delegate to the 2000 Democratic National Convention.
McIlwain has authored two books: When Death Goes Pop (Peter Lang, 2005) and Death in Black & White (Hampton Press, 2003). His most recent work focuses on the use of racial appeals in political communication, including the semiotic construction of racial appeals in language and visual images; the effects of racial appeals on public opinion and voting behavior; framing and priming effects of race in various media; and media coverage of minority political candidates. His work has also appeared in academic journals such as Semiotica, The Journal of Black Studies, The Harvard International Journal of Press Politics, American Behavioral Scientist and others. McIlwain regularly provides analysis for state, national and international media such as CNN, MSNBC, the New York Times, NPR, Reuters, O Globo (Brazil), Le Monde (France) and many others.
With Stephen Maynard Caliendo, McIlwain co-directs The Project on Race in Political Communication, is co-author of the forthcoming book, Race Appeal (Temple University Press) and is co-editing the forthcoming Routledge Companion to Race & Ethnicity.