American University

Studies documentary film, copyright and fair use, and communications policy in the public interest, including public, community and podcast media.

Studies and produces entertainment media for social change, including comedy and documentary storytelling that advance social justice and civic power.

Makes documentary films on science, nature and environmental conservation for public television, and teaches film theory, production and emerging media.

Creates documentary film and photography on Indian American and mixed-race identity and belonging, and more recently on climate change storytelling.

Makes documentary and fiction films about women, from female religious leaders in the Middle East to midwifery, and writes on film theory and new media.

Studies digital culture and platform politics, including Reddit communities, toxic technocultures, gaming, and how Silicon Valley culture fed the far right.

Studies the intersection of culture, law and technology, including intellectual property, remix and music, surveillance and privacy, and platform governance.

Studies how violent extremist groups use persuasion and propaganda to radicalize audiences, and how communication strategies can counter radicalization.

Studies data governance, responsible computing and information infrastructures, including how information orders shape what is known after disasters.

Makes documentary films about personal journeys, reconciliation and resilience, including women entrepreneurs in post-genocide Rwanda and marginalized DC residents.

Studies Black and Indigenous art, media and knowledge systems, including go-go music as a public sphere and cultural network in Washington, DC.

Studies how strategic communication and public service advertising, such as Ad Council campaigns, influence society and the news media.

Writes and directs narrative feature films and documentaries, with recurring attention to military families, wounded veterans and the path to US citizenship.

Builds and studies immersive media, including volumetric filmmaking, virtual reality games and interactive storytelling at the junction of film and computer science.

Studies and designs civic media and place-based games that strengthen neighborhoods and communities, including local storytelling networks and participatory design.

Studies media ownership and its consequences for democracy, especially private equity and hedge fund control of newspapers, using critical political economy.

Studies media law and journalism ethics, including court rulings that shape journalistic practice and the case for professional licensing of journalists.

Studies race, gender and representation in media, including how Black audiences use social media such as Black Twitter to shape television and pursue justice.

Studies advocacy, activism and community building in public relations, often on taboo or stigmatized issues, using qualitative, rhetorical and community-engaged methods.

Studies digital media and identity, including social media self-representation in unsettled times, selfies and gender stereotyping, and online political discourse.

Studies how climate change is discussed and how environmental injustices shape the climate debate, including a history of climate justice struggles in Miami.

Studies how media and technology industries translate public values into products, including the implementation of data privacy law in the privacy tech industry.

Studies the environmental stakes of media and computation, including AI data center development and AI's links to biodiversity loss, through research and media practice.

Teaches and produces educational documentary media with students, directing youth programs in environmental communication, video production and journalism.

Produces independent narrative feature films that champion diverse and emerging filmmakers, with premieres at Sundance, Berlin, Cannes and Toronto.

Teaches and practices public relations and media strategy, with expertise in crisis communication, media issues and women in communications.

Writes and directs narrative and documentary films, including family stories of addiction and the migrant guestworkers who sustain the US carnival industry.

Practices and teaches investigative accountability journalism, leading a nonprofit newsroom whose reporting covers political corruption, government and abuses of power.