Feminist Approaches to Media Theory and Research

Feminist Approaches to Media Theory and Research tackles the breadth and depth of feminist perspectives in the field of media studies through essays and research that reflect on the present and future of feminist research and theory at the intersections of women, gender, media, activism, and academia. The volume includes original chapters on diverse topics illustrating where theorization and research currently stand with regard to the politics of gender and media, what work is being done in feminist theory, and how feminist scholarship can contribute to our understanding of gender as a mediated experience with implications for our contemporary global society. It opens for discussion how the research, theory, and interventions challenge concepts of gender in mediated discourses and practices and how these fit into the evolving state of contemporary feminisms. Contributors engage with discussions about contemporary feminisms as they are understood in media theory and research,particularly in a field that has changed rapidly in the last decades with digital communication tools and through cross-disciplinary work. Overall, the book illustrates how the politics of gender operate within the current media landscapes and how feminist theorizing shapes academic inquiry of these landscapes.

Dustin Harp is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication and an affiliated faculty member of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program at the University of Texas at Arlington, USA. Her research explores power at the intersections of women and marginalized communities, journalism, and mass media.

Jaime Loke is Assistant Professor in the Bob Schieffer School of Communication at Texas Christian University, USA. Her research interests rest on the intersection of women and minorities, mass media, and the new online public spheres from a critical and cultural theoretical perspective.

Ingrid Bachmann is Associate Professor in the School of Communications at La Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, where she chairs the Journalism Department. She primarily focuses on the role of the news media in the definition of identities and meanings within the public sphere.