Anne-Bennett Smithson
Anne-Bennett Smithson
Affiliate Faculty MemberProfessional Track Faculty
Dr. Smithson’s research focuses upon social network analysis, political communication, new media and elections, and media literacy. Before entering academia, Dr. Smithson worked as an attorney in Texas, and she constantly looks for ways in which to incorporate her legal background into her teaching and research. Specifically, she launched a course at UMD in the fall of 2018 that explores the First Amendment from a communication perspective. Her teaching experience also includes courses in interpersonal communication, political communication, organizational communication, communication research methods, and oral communication.
Dr. Smithson is a 2004 graduate of the University of Kentucky College of Communication and Information Studies and a 2008 graduate of Salmon P. Chase College of Law. She practiced law for two years in Texas before moving to Washington, D.C. In 2012, she earned her Master of Arts at Georgetown University, and in 2017 she completed her Ph.D. at George Mason University. Dr. Smithson lives in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, D.C. with her husband and three sons.