Dr. Peck conducts research and teaches in the areas of communication history, critical theory, television studies, class, race and gender in/and media, and political and cultural history. Peck is the author of 'The Age of Oprah: Cultural Icon for the Neoliberal Era' (Routledge, 2008) and “The Gods of Televangelism: The Crisis of Meaning and the Appeal of Religious Television” (Hampton, 1993), co-editor of 'A Moment of Danger: Critical Studies in the History of U.S. Communication Since World War II' (Marquette UP, 2011), and co-editor of 'Handbook of Communication History (Routledge, 2012). She has published work on education reform and media, media theory, television and the family, cultural studies, critical theory, TV talk shows, mediated religion, celebrity philanthropy, and race in/and media. Her current research focuses on the role of media in the politics of public K-12 and higher education, and on the intellectual and institutional history of critical media studies.
keywords
television studies, history of communication and media, communication, media and social theory, US culture, media history and politics
MDST 4361 - TV and the Family in American Culture and Society
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2019 / Fall 2021 / Fall 2022
Examines the history and character of two central institutions in American society--the family and television--to gain deeper understanding of their formative and enduring roles. Topics include: intersecting histories of the family and television; economic logic of the TV industry and programming; representations of the family in television programming; how families use and interact with television.
MDST 6071 - Critical Theories of Media and Culture
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2018
Introduces students to critical theories and analysis of media and popular culture. Examines major theoretical traditions and/or theorists that significantly inform media studies (e.g., culturalism, structuralism, Marxism, critical theory, feminism, psychoanalysis, post-structuralism) and applies these to media analysis and criticism.
MDST 7021 - Proseminar in Media and Communication Theory 2
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2019
Continues the introduction of principle concepts, literature, and theoretical and paradigmatic perspectives of media studies and mass communication and their ties and contributions to parallel domains in the social sciences and humanities. Formerly MDST 7021.
