University of South Dakota

I grew up in Sioux Falls, SD, earned my undergraduate degree at Augustana College (Sioux Falls, SD), my M.A. at the University of South Dakota, and my Ph.D. at the University of Oklahoma.

I enjoy teaching media criticism, media effects, and research methods.

My theoretical research program uses humanistic and behavioral methods to explain mediated persuasion. More specifically, I investigate the involvement and influence potential of audiovisual content, like political advertising, television programming, and movies. My most recent study articulated a genre of narrative presidential advertising and tested that genre’s influence on narrative absorption and resistance to persuasion. Even more recently, my research team is investigating the influence of audio-only narration in programs like the Showtime television series "Dexter" and the classic ABC series "The Wonder Years."

• Ph D, Communication, University of Oklahoma, 2010
• MA, Communication Studies, University of South Dakota , 2004
• BA, Government, Augustana College, 1994

• Faculty Development Grant, College of Arts & Sciences
• Teaching Improvement Grant, Center for Teaching and Learning

• Semmler, S., Consumer materialism: An ideological critique and a dialogic response, Western States Journal of Communication.
• Semmler, S., McKay-Semmler, K., Robertson, T., (2013), Gendered issue depictions in Commander in Chief vs West Wing, Atlantic Journal of Communication, vol. 21, iss. 4.
• Pfau, M., Banas, J., Semmler, S., Deatrick, L., Mason, A., Nisbett, G., Lane, L., (2010), Role and impact of involvement and enhanced threat in resistance, Communication Quarterly, vol. 58, iss. 1, pp. 1-18.
• Pfau, M., Semmler, S., Deatrick, L., Mason, A., Nisbett, G., Lane, L., Craig, E., (2009), Nuances about the Role and Impact of Affect in Inoculation, Communication Monographs, vol. 76, iss. 1, pp. 73-98.
• Pfau, M., Houston, B., Semmler, S., (2007), Mediating the Vote: The Changing Media Landscape in US Presidential Elections, Rowman & Littlefield.
• Pfau, M., Houston, B., Semmler, S., (2005), Presidential Election Campaigns and American Democracy : The Relationship Between Communication Use and Normative Outcomes, American Behavioral Science, vol. 49, iss. 1, pp. 48-62.
• Semmler, S., (2003), Fetching Good Out of Evil: George W. Bush's Post 9/11 Rhetoric, Speaker and Gavel, vol. 40, pp. 67-90.

• Belbas-Larson Outstanding Teaching Award Nominee, University of South Dakota, 2012
• Outstanding Dissertation Award Nominee, Political Communication Division of the National Communication Association, 2010
• Top Graduate Student Paper, Sooner Communication Conference, 2007
• Top Paper Award, Environmental Communication Division of the National Communication Association, 2006
• Outstanding Graduate Student, Department of Communication: University of Oklahoma, 2005
• Vera Way Marghab Writing Competition, South Dakota State University, 2004
• Top Graduate Student Paper, Political Communication Division of the Central States Communication Association, 2003

• Semmler, S. (2013, June). Influence of narrative-trailer political advertising on transportation and resistance to persuasion. Presented at the International Communication Association , London, UK.
• McKay-Semmler, K., Semmler, S. (2013, June). Local television news coverage of immigration and the cultivation of host community attitudes. Presented at the International Communication Association Conference, London, England.
• Semmler, S. (2012, November). Television involvement versus television exposure in the online model of second-order cultivation. Presented at the National Communication Association, Orlando, FL.
• Prodanovich, R., McKay-Semmler, K., Semmler, S. (2012, November). "Plainstown" content analysis. Presented at the Student/Faculty "Brown Bag" Presentations of Projects and Research, Vermillion, SD.
• McKay-Semmler, K., Semmler, S., Kim, Y. Y. (2012, November). Cultivating host receptivity and host conformity pressure: Exploring the relationship between media use and host community members' attitudes toward immigrants. Presented at the National Communication Association Conference, Orlando, FL.
• Semmler, S., Bobby, J., (2012, June). Validation of a content analytic instrument for evaluating the parasocial interaction potential of political talk radio. Presented at the International Communication Association, Phoenix, AZ.
• Semmler, S. (2011, November). Sponsor credibility’s role in the process of . Presented at the National Communication Association, New Orleans, LA.
• Semmler, S., Bobby, J., Michels, C., Loof, T. (2011, May). Parasocial Interaction in the Online Model of Value Cultivation . Presented at the International Communication Association, Boston, MA.
• Semmler, S., White, D., Siebert, H., Grosvenor, D. (2010, November). A Content Analysis and Experimental Evaluation of 2009 Health Care Reform Policy-Campaign Advertising . Presented at the National Communication Association, San Francisco, CA.
• Semmler, S., Whitehill, T., Matt, H., Erin, H., Seurer, L., Jamie, S. (2009, November). Weighted and Unweighted Descriptions of 2008 Presidential-Candidate-Sponsored Political Advertisements. Presented at the National Communication Association, Chicago, IL.
• Semmler, S., McKay-Semmler, K., Robertson, T. (2009, April). Consequential Depictions of Female Leadership in Commander in Chief. Presented at the Central States Communication Association, Saint Louis, MO.
• Semmler, S., Pfau, M., Deatrick, L., Mason, A., Lane, L., Craig, E. (2008, November). Role and Impact of Involvement and Enhanced Threat in Resistance. Presented at the National Communication Association, San Diego, CA.
• Semmler, S. (2007, November). Antecedents and Consequences of Presidential Parasocial Interaction. Presented at the National Communication Association, Chicago, IL.
• Semmler, S., Houston, B. (2006, March). Revelations of Citizenship: A Content Analysis of the Depicted Citizenship Behaviors in Major Newspapers. Presented at the Sooner Communication Conference, Norman, OK.
• Miller, C., Ivanov, B., Massad, D., Semmler, S., White, J. (2005, November). Gender Differences in Sexual Jealousy: A Terror Management Theory Perspective. Presented at the National Communication Association, Boston, MA.
• Semmler, S. (2005, November). Phantasy, Ideology, and Ideological Reproduction. Presented at the National Communication Association, Boston, MA.
• Semmler, S. (2004, November). Sowing the Seeds of Revolution in the American Colonies: A Straussian-Burkean Criticism of John Locke's State of Nature. Presented at the National Communication Association, Chicago, IL.
• Semmler, S. (2003, April). Fetching Good Out of Evil: President George W. Bush's Post-9/11 Rhetoric. Presented at the National Communication Association, Omaha, NE.