Glenn G. Sparks

Professor of Communication, Purdue University
Associate Department Head, Department of Communication

U.S. Mail: Department of Communication
1366 Stephen C. Beering Hall-College of Liberal Arts
West Lafayette, IN 47907-1366

Office Phone: (765) 494-3316

Office FAX: (765) 496-1394

E-Mail: gsparks@purdue.edu

Click HERE for pictures of the May 2006 ETHIOPIA CLASS AT ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY

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Educational Background

B.A. – Wheaton College, 1975; Department of Communication

M.A. – Northern Illinois University, 1976; Department of Communication

Ph.D. – University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1983; Department of Communication Arts


The 2nd Edition of my text on media effects (Wadsworth, 2006) is now available and is shown here. Click on the book for more information. Click here for the listing at Amazon.com.

A 3^rd Edition of this text is in preparation and should be available in January, 2009.


Check out “Refrigerator Rights: Our Crucial Need for Close Relationships” by clicking on the book. This book was originally released in 2002 but has just been re-released with new material

by Willow Creek Publishing. You can hear an interview that aired on an NPR affiliate station by clicking right here on Sound Medicine—a program provided by the Indiana School of Medicine

on WFYI Public Radio. When you get to the website, click on the “archive” and then type my name in the search box and you can listen to the show.

Click HERE for my most recent publication on predictors of long-term friendship (Personal Relationships, June 2007 issue).

Why do people like scary movies? Click HERE for a WebMD piece that includes my comments.



FOX TV NEWS (Indianapolis, 11-15-05) INTERVIEW ON HARRY POTTER

2008 BoilerMaker Football Watch

9-6-08: WIN over Northern Colorado in West Lafayette, 42-10 (1-0)

9-13-08 Lost to Oregon in double-overtime in West Lafayette, 32-26 (1-1)

9-20-08: WIN over Central Michigan in West Lafayette, 32-25 (2-1)

9-27-08: Lost to Notre Dame in South Bend, 38-21 (2-2)

10-4-08: Lost to Penn State in West Lafayette, 20-6 (2-3)

10-11-08: Lost to Ohio State in Columbus, 16-3 (2-4)

10-18-08: Lost to Northwestern in Evanston, 48-26 (2-5)

10-25-08: vs. Minnesota

11-01-08: vs. Michigan

11-08-08: AT Michigan State

11-15-08: AT Iowa

11-22-08: vs. Indiana

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A Personal Greeting

Hi. My name is Glenn Sparks. I am a Professor in the Department of Communication at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. I came to Purdue in 1986 after a 3-year appointment in what is now the School of Communication at Cleveland State University. My area of expertise is the cognitive and emotional effects of the media. A number of my articles report the results of research on the effects of frightening films and TV programs as well as media violence. I was part of a WebMD debate on this topic with David Horowitz. Over the last 5 years or so, I have investigated the effects of programs that depict paranormal themes. This research has recently been cited again in Science & Engineering Indicators 2002 (Chapter 7), as it was in Science & Engineering Indicators 2000 (Chapter 8)--massive reports on the health of U.S. science published by the National Science Foundation. My most recent book project is in collaboration with "America's Pop Culture Analyst", Dr. Will Miller. The book is titled, Refrigerator Rights: Our Crucial Need for Close Relationships. The book was published by Penguin Putnam Inc. In July, 2007, the book was re-released in paperback with an updated preface by White River Press. In September, 2008, it will be released again with new material by Willow Creek Publishing. You can also read a report of our recent award-winning research on the relationship between media depictions of the paranormal and paranormal beliefs. Just click here. A list of some of my other recent publications is available below. Abstracts will be added over the coming weeks. Highlights from my academic vitae and a page of personal information are also available below. Course descriptions of several of my courses are available in the "courses" section below.

I have had plenty of opportunities to explore the effects of the media outside of my research laboratory. After marrying in 1975, my wife, Cheri, and I had three children. David, our oldest graduated from Indiana University in the summer of 2000. After teaching English as a second language in South Korea and living in Salamanca, Spain, David returned to Indiana and enrolled in a master's degree program at IUPUI in the teaching of Spanish . David is now studying for the PhD in Spanish literature at CUA in Washington, DC. However, David is still a die-hard Purdue fan. While Indiana and Purdue are about even on the basketball court over the last 20 games, Purdue fans are happy about the fact that we have demolished Indiana for nine of the last eleven years on the football field (97-98-99-00-02-03-04-05-06). Six of those nine wins were by scores of 52-7, 56-7, 41-13, 34-10, 63-24, and the 2005 game in Bloomington, 41-14. Over the nine wins, we have outscored Indiana by 230 points--377-147 (average game score: 42-16). During that same time period, we have gone to NINE bowl games while Indiana has gone to none. If you want to find out more about Purdue sports, you can visit the official Purdue Sports site.

Our oldest daughter (Erin) graduated in June, 2003 from the University of Chicago while our youngest daughter (Jordan) graduated from West Lafayette High School. Erin worked for over two years at Purdue University as a Transportation Safety Associate at the Center for the Advancement of Transportation Safety. In August, 2006 she began doctoral studies in social psychology at Florida State University. Jordan graduated from Wheaton College after spending her fall semester studying at Oxford in England. She began a job at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC in August, 2007. As if raising three kids isn't enough to keep one busy, Cheri has also managed to complete a Master's degree in Child Development and Family Studies here at Purdue--followed by a Ph.D. in Social Psychology. Cheri has a practice as a Developmental Specialist. Our beloved dog, Mackey, ended her long life of nearly 17-years on February 1st of 2006. We now have a new dog, Skyler (a black lab—click on link below for a video) who joins our cat, Panda.

Watch a video performance of me playing the theremin--one of my favorite hobbies.

Click HERE to see my dog, Skyler, meeting a new friend.

Recent Publications | Press Coverage | Vitae Highlights | Courses Taught |

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This page was last updated on September 29, 2008