People
Richard T. Craig
Faculty Founder
(Pop Culture Studies Lab Lead Research Faculty)
Current Position: Professor – Department of Communication, George Mason University
Background:
PhD, Mass Communication/Media Studies, Howard University, 2011
M.A., Telecommunications Management, Michigan State University, 2002
B.A., Journalism, Olivet College, 1999
Research interests:
His research centers on mass media political economy; addressing the production, distribution and consumption of media content. He takes particular interest in exploring the social structure/struggle embedded in media production and interpreted in media consumption. His goal is to use research to influence the development of policy to enhance opportunities for media production and distribution by marginalized cultures.
David Powers Corwin, Interim Co-Director
Current Position: Associate Professor – School of Integrative Studies, George Mason University
Background:
PhD, Writing and Rhetoric with a certificate in Qualitative Research Methods, George Mason University, 2022
Graduate Certificate in Appalachian Studies, Shepherd University (in progress)
M.A., English Literature, George Mason University, 2016
M.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies with a Concentration in Women and Gender Studies, 2016
B.A., English and Humanities, Milligan University, 2013
Research interests:
Their research centers on the intersections of friendships, trauma, sexuality, and television with a particular focus on melodrama. However, Dr. Powers Corwin has published on a variety of popular culture texts and has projects in the making related to The Golden Girls, 13 Reasons Why, Once Upon a Time, Dawson's Creek, Private Practice, The Menendez Brothers, and the Kavanaugh-Ford Hearing.
Em Kohl (they/them)
Co-Founder, and Coordinator for Interdisciplinary Innovation
Current position: Ph.D. student in Communication and Graduate Researcher at George Mason Climate Change Communication Center (4C)
Background:
M.A. Communication and Advocacy (2019), James Madison University
B.A. English (2016), James Madison University
Research interests:
Broadly, I’m interested in the way we use storytelling to build understanding and negotiate meaning, particularly when it comes to issues related to social and climate justice. Right now, I’m specifically interested in how popular stories (across all modes of pop culture) are a way for us to process the rate of cultural and environmental change, think though our futures, and remember our pasts.
Jordan Lear
Outreach and Engagement Coordinator
Current position: Ph.D. candidate in Communication
Background:
M.A., Communication, George Mason University, 2023
B.A., Communication, George Mason University, 2022
Research interests:
My research interests include a little bit of everything. I enjoy exploring anything to do with pop culture and media. I love to explore things from an intersectional point of view and often engage feminist and critical race theories in my work. I also enjoy looking at health communication and seeing ways in which pop culture and social media influence health behaviors. If there’s a way to tie pop culture into one of my class research projects, you can bet I’m going to take that opportunity!
Robert Scott Perdue is a Communications Ph.D. student at George Mason University. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education from Penn State and his Master’s degree in Strategic Communications from George Mason University. Scott has a passion for film, pop culture, and education. His research focus is often around representation of different marginalized communities in the media, how to approach communicating on a variety of sensitive topics, and promoting deradicalization. In his role with the lab, he coordinates a variety of programs including our Pop Culture Power hours.