Laura Portwood-Stacer Curriculum Vitae
Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism
University of Southern California
3502 Watt Way, ASCJ 333
Los Angeles, CA 90089
Tel: (213) 200-0511
Email: portwood@usc.edu
EDUCATION
PhD, Communication, with Graduate Certificate in Gender Studies (2010)
Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, University of Southern California
Dissertation: The Practice of Everyday Politics: Lifestyle and Identity as Radical Activism
Committee: Sarah Banet-Weiser (chair), Larry Gross, Karen Tongson
MA, Communication (2007)
Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California
Qualifying Examination Areas: Cultural Studies, Feminist Theory, Qualitative Research Methods, Television Studies
BA, Telecommunication, Information Studies, and Media (2004)
Michigan State University, Honors College
CURRENT POSITION
Lecturer (cultural studies and media), 2010-present
Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA
AREAS OF INTEREST
Media and Popular Culture
Gender and Sexuality
Consumer Culture
Research Methods (qualitative, critical, feminist)
Publications
Portwood-Stacer, Laura. ÒConstructing Anarchist Sexuality: Queer Culture, Identity, and Politics in the Anarchist Movement.Ó Sexualities 13, no. 4 (2010): 479-493.
Portwood-Stacer, Laura. ÒMe, Only Better!Ó: Makeover Reality Television and Post-Feminist Gender Ideology. In Race/Gender/Media, ed. Rebecca A. Lind. Boston: Pearson Allyn & Bacon, 2010.
Portwood-Stacer, Laura. Book review of Christine Harold, OurSpace. International Journal of Communication 1 (2007).
Banet-Weiser, Sarah, and Laura Portwood-Stacer. ÒI Just Want to Be Me Again!Ó: Beauty Pageants, Reality Television, and Post-feminism. Feminist Theory 7, no. 2 (2006): 255-72.
PUBLICATIONS IN PREPARATION
Lifestyle Politics and Radical Activism. Book manuscript accepted for publication by Continuum Books.
ÒMedia Refusal: A Case Study of Facebook Abstainers.Ó Paper in preparation.
ÒEthical Anti-consumption: Understanding Politicized Practices of Refusal.Ó Submitted to Journal of Consumer Culture, March 2011.
ÒTransgender Narratives on Television: The Queer Possibilities of Reality TV.Ó Submitted to Critical Studies in Media Communication, December 2010.
Academic Presentations (PEER REVIEWED)
Personal Style and the Performance of Radical Political Dissent. Accepted for presentation on panel, ÒSubcultural Crossings: Intersectionality and the Politics of Cultural Identity,Ó at the American Studies Association Annual Meeting: Baltimore, 2011.
ÒF*** You to Society: Style and the Communication of Radical Political Dissent. Accepted for presentation at the American Sociological Association Annual Meeting: Las Vegas, 2011.
The Politics of Anarchist Identity: A Feminist Cultural Analysis. Accepted for presentation at the American Sociological Association Annual Meeting: Las Vegas, 2011.
Lifestyle Politics: Practices, Motivations, and Potential Effects of Activist Anti-consumption. Accepted for presentation at the American Sociological Association Annual Meeting: Las Vegas, 2011.
T-Shirts are Good for Thinking: Branding, Consumption, and Radical Political Identity. Presented at International Communication Association Convention, Popular Communication Division: Montreal, Quebec, 2008.
Dissident Television: Political Dissent in the Commercial Sphere. Presented at the Society for Cinema and Media Studies Annual Conference: Chicago, Illinois, 2007.
Do-It-Yourself Feminism: Feminine Individualism and the Girlie Backlash in the "Craftivism" Movement. Presented at International Communication Association Convention, Feminist Studies Division: San Francisco, California, 2007.
Consuming 'Trash': Representations of Poor Whites in U.S. Popular Culture. Presented at International Communication Association Convention, Ethnic Studies Division: San Francisco, California, 2007.
Queering the Trans Transformation: Reality Television, TransGeneration, and Liberal Narratives of the Self. Presented at the Console-ing Passions International Conference, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 2006.
Radical Transformation: Cosmetic Surgery, Reality TV, and the Post-feminist Body. Presented at the Society for Cinema and Media Studies Annual Conference, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 2006.
NON-PEER REVIEWED PRESENTATIONS
Anarchist Identity Politics. Presented at the Futures of American Studies Institute: Dartmouth University, Hanover, New Hampshire, 2010.
Teaching: Liberal Arts & Critical Capacity. Invited participant in panel discussion at Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism Graduate Student Professionalism Day: Los Angeles, California, 2010.
The Everyday Anarchist. Discussion facilitated at the Renewing the Anarchist Tradition Conference: Montpelier, Vermont, 2008.
The Commodification of Rebellion. Guest lecture given to Prof. Chris ChavezÕs Advertising and Society course. University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 2007.
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
Annenberg Innovation Lab, University of Southern California (2010)
Reviewed literature on social media and brand affiliation; presented findings to research group and employees from the LeviÕs corporation.
Research assistant, Prof. Sarah Banet-Weiser, University of Southern California (2005-2010)
Copy-edited academic articles and book manuscripts; prepared audio-visual presentations for academic talks; handled course management software.
Communication Technology Lab, Michigan State University (2001-2004)
Reviewed literature on electronic games, learning, and gendered uses of technology; assisted with qualitative, social scientific study of gender and childrensÕ learning from video games; production assistant on labÕs interactive website for children.
COURSES TAUGHT (Syllabi and teaching evaluations available upon request)
Communication and Culture, USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism
Interpreting Popular Culture, USC Annenberg
Advertising and Society, USC Annenberg
Media Consumption, USC Annenberg
Advertising and Communication, USC Annenberg
Public Speaking, USC Annenberg
ADDITIONAL COURSES DEVELOPED (Syllabi available upon request)
Gender, Sexuality, and Media (Undergraduate Course)
Communication and Consumer Society (Undergraduate/Graduate Seminar)
Qualitative Methods in Communication Research (Graduate Seminar)
Feminist Theory and Research (Graduate Seminar)
TEACHING ASSISTANTSHIPS HELD
Gender, Media, and Communication, Prof. Sarah Banet-Weiser, USC
Sound Clash: Popular Music and American Culture, Prof. Josh Kun, USC
Communication and Mass Media, Prof. Stacy Smith, USC
Topics in American Consumer Culture, Prof. Christopher Holmes Smith, USC
Media and Society, Prof. Robert Scheer, USC
Academic Fellowships
Popular Culture and Media Research Fellowship, Stark Foundation, 2008 & 2009
ProvostÕs Graduate Fellowship, University of Southern California, 2004-2006
University Distinguished Scholarship, Michigan State University, 2000-2004
Academic service
Reviewer, Critical Studies in Media Communication, 2011.
Reviewer, International Journal of Communication, 2010-11.
Reviewer, Continuum Books (media studies), 2010.
Reviewer, Feminist Media Studies, 2008.
Reviewer, International Communication Association, Popular Communication Division, Feminist Studies Division, and Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Division, 2010.
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
International Communication Association
American Sociological Association
American Studies Association
REFERENCES
Sarah Banet-Weiser
Associate Professor of Communication and American Studies & Ethnicity, USC
University of Southern California
Email: sbanet@usc.edu
Phone: 213-740-4088
Larry Gross
Professor of Communication; Director, Annenberg School of Communication, USC
Email: lpgross@usc.edu
Phone: 213-740-3770
Karen Tongson
Associate Professor of English and Gender Studies, USC
Email: tongson@usc.edu
Phone: 213-740-2817