Race, Gender, and Toxicity Online Plenary Roundtable

Dr. Zizi Papacharissi (University of Illinois-Chicago), Dr. Lisa Nakamura (University of Michigan), Dr. Catherine Knight Steele (University of Maryland), Dr. Gina Masullo (The University of Texas at Austin) // April 25th, 2019 // 9:30am-11:00am // Belo Center for New Media (BMC) 5.208

Sponsored by: Social Science Research Council, Center for Media Engagement, and Media & Democracy Network

The parallel rise of Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, and the so-called alt-right suggests that in 2018, political realities still vary significantly by race and gender. As ever-greater shares of our time are spent online, it is important to ask whether these realities are mirrored in the digital public sphere or whether— and how—they differ. Join us in a discussion about the intersection of race, gender, and the digital public sphere.

Speakers
Dr. Zizi Papacharissi is Professor and Head of the Communication Department, Professor of Political Science at the University of Illinois-Chicago, and University Scholar at the University of Illinois System. Her work focuses on the social and political consequences of online media. She has published nine books, over 70 journal articles and book chapters, and serves on the editorial boards of 15 journals. Dr. Papacharissi is founding and current Editor of Social Media + Society and is working on her 10th book, After Democracy, with Yale University Press.

Dr. Lisa Nakamura is a Professor at the University of Michigan, where she holds appointments in the university’s American Culture, Screen Arts and Cultures and Women’s Studies departments. Her research interests include Asian American studies, feminist theory, digital game theories and race and gender in new media. Dr. Nakamura has written or co-edited four books about race, identity, and the internet and serves on the editorial board of 10 journals.

Dr. Catherine Knight Steele is an Assistant Professor of Communication at the University of Maryland. She is also the first project director of Maryland’s Andrew W. Mellon Foundation-funded College of Arts and Humanities grant, Synergies Among Digital Humanities and African American History and Culture. Her research targets topics including race, gender, digital cultures, new media, and online social justice.

Moderator
Dr. Gina Masullo Chen is an Assistant Professor in the School of Journalism and the Assistant Director of the Center for Media Engagement, both at The University of Texas at Austin, USA. Her research focuses on the online conversation around the news and how it influences social, civic, and political engagement. She is the author of Online Incivility and Public Debate: Nasty Talk and co-editor of Scandal in a Digital Age. She is writing her third book, The New Town Hall: Why We Engage Personally with Politicians. She spent 20 years as a newspaper journalist before becoming a professor.