Barbara Burke

Ph.D. Purdue University, 1995

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My mass media courses introduce you to the theories and practices of Media Literacy and aid you in creating the knowledge you need to understand the reciprocal relationships between mass media and society.

My research looks at the ways the mass media create and disseminate stories that inform our relationships between people. I am particularly interested in the ways people who are maginalized by mainstream society are understood by a media-saturated society. Sometimes I study media content, to create detailed descriptions about the nature or tone of media stories. At other times I study audiences, to see how they interpret images, phrases, or stories about specific groups of people.