Faculty Member, Journalism & Mass Communication
Associate Professor
About
Janice Peck conducts research and teaches in the areas of Critical Theory, communication history, television studies, the social meanings and political implications of popular culture, the sociology of news, media representations of class, race and gender, and U.S. political and cultural history. Peck is the author of “The Age of Oprah: Cultural Icon for the Neoliberal Era” (Paradigm, 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 University Press, 2011), and a co-editor of “Handbook of Communication History” (Routledge, forthcoming). She has published articles and chapters on media theory, television and the family, cultural studies, TV talk shows, Oprah’s Book Club, mediated religion, representations of race in media, and global celebrity icons. Her current research focuses on the cultural and political significance of celebrity philanthropy, including social entrepreneurship, cause marketing, and “charity TV,” with a special interest in the politics of education reform. Peck has worked as a journalist, editor and free-lance writer for newspapers, magazines and radio and has also published short fiction. She holds a BA in communication from the University of Utah, an MA in communications from the University of Washington, and a PhD in communications from Simon Fraser University in Canada.
