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Ryan, Kathleen Marie

Associate Professor

Positions

Research Areas research areas

Research

research overview

  • Dr. Ryan balances traditional academic research with professional/creative work. She considers herself first & foremost an oral historian/documentary filmmaker. These 2 areas are linked by an exploration of individual lives/experiences & a sensitivity to the needs of the narrator. Documentary film allows for the public dissemination of research considered crucial by oral history, inserting untold stories into the public record. She is exploring using emerging augmented reality & location-based storytelling in these projects. Another key area of research, visual communication, links to her documentary storytelling (how to tell a story in a visually compelling way). But she is also interested in understanding how we are drawn to & create meaning from visual representations, specifically photography. Increasingly, her work looks at the ethics and practice of image creation in online and other artificial spaces through artificial intelligence, deepfakes, etc. Her final research area is in television/multimedia news, exploring the news agenda, talent representation, & the shifting notion of a newscast of record in a news-on-demand world.

keywords

  • Visual studies, oral history, television news labor & practice, documentary film

Publications

selected publications

Teaching

courses taught

  • APRD 7001 - ProSeminar in Mass Communication Theory 1
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2020 / Fall 2021
    Discusses prominent theoretical and methodological points of view in journalism studies and strategic communication that range from social science to critical studies to the humanities. The premise is that methods are driven by research questions, so there is no best way to conduct research. You should leave this course with an understanding of how to address various mass communication phenomena. Same as JRNL 7001.
  • APRD 7004 - Doctoral Professionalization Seminar
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2019
    Introduces you to the university and gives you a chance to think out loud about what your academic future might look like. The course is designed to be responsive to your needs regarding your career, getting a job, getting tenure and teaching. In short, the course prepares you for a career in academia. Same as JRNL 7004.
  • APRD 7021 - Environmental Journalism and Science Communication
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2020
    Focuses on mass communication of issues related to science and follows two lines of inquiry. The seminar takes a cultural perspective, and explores the concept of scientific uncertainty in media. It will use these as a springboard for examining how we use media to conceptualize science, environment, health, etc., and how that impacts the way we live on this planet. Same as JRNL 7021.
  • CMCI 6861 - Visual Communication
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2022
    Visual communication involves understanding both perception of messages and construction of them. Students analyze their visual thinking abilities and develop habits of visual analysis and criticism, as well as visual communication skills.
  • JRNL 3112 - Concepts in Visual Culture
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2019 / Fall 2021 / Fall 2023 / Fall 2024
    Studies the principles, theories and language of visual communication, emphasizing the evaluation and use of images in mass media. Designed to help students build theories and practices learned in previous classes and perfect their skills integrating words and pictures in communication to gain a greater appreciation of the visual world.
  • ... more

Background

International Activities

geographic focus

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