Santa Clara University

SunWolf

Associate Professor of Communication

Academic/professional background:

• University of California-Santa Barbara, Ph.D., Communication (1998), Dissertation, "Unlocking the Jury Box: Structure, Leadership, and Storytelling in Jury Deliberations"
• University of California-Santa Barbara, M.A. Group Communication (1997), Thesis, "Jurors' Intuitive rules for Deliberation: A Structurational Approach to Communication in Jury Decision Making"
• University of Denver, College of Law, J.D., Law (1976)
• California State University at Fresno, B.A., Psychology (1971), summa cum laude

Legal Experience:

• 1989 to present, Faculty, National Criminal Defense College, Mercer Law School
• 1998 to present, Faculty, Santa Clara University Law School, Bryan Shechmeister Death Penalty College
• 1978-1993, Attorney/Director of Training, Colorado State Public Defender's Office
• 1977-1978, Faculty, Clinical Education Program, University of Denver College of Law

Teaching Areas/responsibilities: Interpersonal communication, group processes (including teams, cliques, juries, gangs), persuasion (including social psychology of color and the marketing influences in shopping), interpersonal conflict (toxic relationships and emotional blackmail), oral storytelling (folktales, ghost stories, legends), and senior research thesis.

Sample Publications:

• SunWolf (2004). Practical jury dynamics: From individual juror reasoning to group decision-making (How jurors hear, categorize, and re-interpret courtroom communication). (Lexis-Nexis Publishing, as Matthew-Bender/Miche) Click title for more information.
• SunWolf (in press). Empathic attunement facilitation: Stimulating immediate task engagement in zero-history training groups of helping professionals. In L. R. Frey (Ed.), Innovations in group facilitation: Applications in natural settings (2nd ed.). Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.
• Frey, L. R., & SunWolf (in press). A symbolic-interpretive perspective on group dynamics. Small Group Research.
• SunWolf (in press). Telling multicultural tales in applied contexts: Unexpected journeys into healing and interconnectedness in hospitals and courtrooms. In P. J. Cooper, C. Calloway-Thomas, & J. R. Hoel (Eds.), Intercultural communication: Tellers of tales. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
• SunWolf, & Leets, L. (accepted, 2004). Being left out: Rejecting outsiders and communicating group boundaries in childhood and adolescent peer groups. Journal of Applied Communication Research.
• SunWolf, & Leets, L. (2003). Communication paralysis during peer group exclusion: Social dynamics that prevent children and adolescents from expressing disagreement. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 22. 1-30.
• SunWolf (2003). Grief tales: The therapeutic power of folktales to heal bereavement and loss. Diving in the Moon: Honoring Story, Facilitating Healing, 4, 36-42.
• SunWolf (2002). Getting to "GroupAha!": Provoking creative processes in task groups. In L. R. Frey (Ed.), New directions in group communication (pp. 203-217). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• SunWolf, & Frey, L. R. (2001). Storytelling: The power of narrative communication and interpretation. In W. P. Robinson, & H. Giles (Eds.), The new handbook of language and social psychology (pp. 119-135). Sussex: Wiley.
• SunWolf (2001). Toxic words: How courts co-opt defense attorneys into using language that facilitates conviction. The Champion, 25(7), 28-32.
• SunWolf (2000). Talking story in trial: The power of narrative persuasion. The Champion, 24(8), 26-31.
• SunWolf (1999). The pedagogical and persuasive effects of Native American lesson stories, African dilemma tales, and Sufi wisdom tales. Howard Journal of Communications, 10, 47-71.
• SunWolf, & Seibold, D. R. (1999). The impact of formal problem-solving procedures on group processes, members, and task outcomes. In L. R. Frey (Ed.), D. S. Gouran, & M. S. Poole (Assoc. Eds.), The handbook of group communication theory and research (pp. 395-431). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• SunWolf, & Seibold, D. R. (1998). Jurors' intuitive rules for deliberation: A structurational approach to the study of communication in jury decision making. Communication Monographs, 65, 282-307.

Literary Publications

• SunWolf (2003). The truth about red. Santa Clara Review, 90, 54-57.
• SunWolf (2002). The man who dreamed a lawn: An urban love tale. Santa Clara Review, 89, 33-36.
• SunWolf (1997). The boy who would not raise his hand in class. Storytelling Magazine, 9(1), 41.

Academic-Artistic Performances:

• Director/performance coach, producer, participating teller at the annual student storytelling concerts in collaboration with the De Saisset Musseum, Santa Clara University, two-hour evening performance, using oral interpretive performance art to tell multicultural stories that are inspired by current art exhibits (1999-2003).
• November 2003 (scheduled). StoryArt.
• October 31, 2000. It was a dark and story night. Evening public storytelling concert of ghostly tales for Halloween, filmed live-to-tape with student tellers.
• "StoryJazz." Director, co-performer with student museums in various venues, sharing weaving tales and music.
• 1999. Ghosts: The Radio Show. KSCU 103.3. Creator, radio discjockey, storyteller on 30-minute weekly university radio show featuring multicultural ghostly tales.

Address:
Dr. SunWolf 
Arts & Sciences, 214
Santa Clara University
500 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95053
Tel: 408-554-4911
email:sunwolf@scu.edu