My research is highly interdisciplinary and centers on the value and meanings created by the intersections of cultural, historical, political, institutional, and textual practices. I am particularly interested in human culture and change as it pertains to southern Africa and the role of communication in development, media and cultural formations, popular culture and social identities with an emphasis on race, genders and sexualities, popular music, social media and politics, global media, qualitative methods, and African American women’s biographies in the West.
keywords
popular culture and social identities, southern Africa, music and popular culture, critical theory, social media and politics, globalization, communication and development, race, genders and sexualities, media studies, African American women in the West
ETHN 4102 - Special Topics in Africana Studies
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2019
Variable topic that allows intensive coverage of a subject, theme, or issue in African American studies. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours on different topics. Same as ETHN 5102.
ETHN 5102 - Special Topics in Africana Studies
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2019
Variable topic that allows intensive coverage of a subject, theme, or issue in African American studies. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours on different topics. Same as ETHN 4102.
MDST 1001 - Foundations of Media Studies
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2019 / Fall 2019
Introduces students to key issues and debates and contemporary applications of critical media studies focusing on economic, social, political and cultural implications. Provides an understanding of the relationship between theory and practice and equips students with the tools to critically analyze various forms of textual transmission.
MDST 2002 - Media and Communication History
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2020 / Spring 2021 / Spring 2023 / Fall 2023
Examines the historical development of communication forms, tools, technologies and institutions (orality, writing, printing, photography, film, radio, television, computers, internet); their influence on culture (forms of expression and social relationships); and their impact on social and individual experience. Applies knowledge of communication history to contemporary social issues and problems in media and society, domestically and internationally.
MDST 3201 - Media, Culture and Globalization
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2018 / Spring 2019 / Spring 2023
Surveys the political and economic structures of media system in developed and developing countries and discusses the impact of privatization, ownership consolidation, and globalization on the flow of information across national borders. Also looks at how global media flows and counter-flows affect conceptions of nationhood and cultural identity.
MDST 4331 - Gender, Race, Class, and Sexuality in Popular Culture
Primary Instructor
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Summer 2018 / Fall 2018 / Summer 2019 / Spring 2020 / Summer 2020 / Fall 2020 / Spring 2021 / Fall 2021
Studies the construction, interconnections, and replications of gender, race, class, and sexuality in popular culture and how these constructs become cultural norms and mores. Uses critical methods with a focus on producing responsible viewers and readers.
MDST 4931 - Internship
Primary Instructor
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Summer 2018 / Spring 2019 / Summer 2019 / Fall 2019 / Summer 2020 / Spring 2021
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MDST 6201 - Global Media and Culture
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2019 / Spring 2020 / Fall 2021 / Spring 2024
Explores the historical, cultural, social, political and economic dimensions of media systems in various parts of the world and their relationship with technological and cultural processes. Aims to provide a critical overview of the profound changes in media and culture in today's digitally connected/disconnected world. Formerly MDST 6201.
