Assistant Professor of Media Studies

Deborah James Assistant Professor of Media Studies Division of Communication, Visual, and Performing Arts Governors State University 1 University Parkway, University Park, IL 60484-0975 [email protected] | 708.534.3140

Current Position

Assistant Professor, Media Studies, GSU 2011– Affiliated Faculty: Media Communication, Gender & Sexuality Studies

Education

Ph.D. Communication August 2011 Wayne State University (WSU), Detroit Specialization: Media Studies (documentary, new media). Cognate: Political Science (human rights) Dissertation: The Creative Content Programme and Audiovisual E-Platform: An institutional analysis of UNESCO’s influence on the development of independent documentary content and production practice Masters of Arts, Media Studies 2003 Dept. of Communication, New School for Social Research, New York Production Thesis: Private Lives, Public Consumption and Interstitial Stories. debbiejames.ca Area of Study: Digitally mediated personal narratives and social media convergence Bachelor of Arts, Specialized Honors, Fine Art and Art History 1991 University of Guelph, Canada. Concentration: 20th Century art and architecture University of Guelph Center for International Programs, London Semester 1990 Completed courses in British fine and performing art, music, and politics

Honors and Awards

Faculty Excellence Award, GSU $6000 2014 – 2015 GSU Research Grant. Albert Kahn: Family Album of the Planet Co-PI $6000 2014 – 2015 Provost’s High Impact Practices Course Development Grant, GSU $3000 2013 – 2014 GSU Research Grant. Fieldwork in Serbia $7000 2013 – 2014 GSU Division Research Release. In support of research program 2012, 2013, 2014 GSU Faculty Summer Institute Tech Grant 2013 GSU Intellectual Life Grant. Media Studies and Social Work connect through experience: A cross discipline transmedia collaboration 2013 GSU Intellectual Life Grant. Women make media: Collaboration as public memory 2013 GSU Research Grant. Fieldwork in Montenegro $3500 2012 – 2013 Top Paper award. ICA, Global Communication and Social Change 2011 Humanities Center Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship, WSU $15000 2010 – 2011 Emmy Award, Awarded to: The MATRIX: Commemorating Walter Reuther, Union Activist 2010 Credit: Archival photo/video researcher Graduate School Summer Dissertation Fellowship, WSU $5000 2010 Communication Dept. Research Award, WSU 2009 Graduate School and Communication Dept. Dissertation Research Award, WSU $3000 2009 In support of dissertation fieldwork in Jamaica Graduate-Professional Scholarship, WSU 2009 – 2010 Graduate Assistantship, WSU 2006 – 2009

Deborah James | Page 1 of 6 Scholarly Publications (* writing as D. James Smith)

Journal Articles James, D. (2015). Drawn out of the gutters: Nina Bunjevac's Fatherland, a collaborative memory. Feminist Media Studies. (15)X. (In Press). James, D. (2013). Social networking Sarajevo Roses: Digital representations of post-conflict civil life in the (former) Yugoslavia. Journal of Communication. (63)5. 975–992. DOI: 10.1111/jcom.12057 Ali, S., James, D., and Vultee, F. (2013). Strike a pose: Comparing Associated Press and UNICEF visual representations of the children of Darfur. African Conflict and Peacebuilding Review. (3)1. 1-26. DOI: 10.2979/africonfpeacrevi.3.1.1 *Smith, D. J. (2009), Big-eyed, wide-eyed, sad-eyed children: Constructing the humanitarian space in social justice documentaries. Studies in Documentary Film. (3)2. 159–175. Book Chapters James, D. (2012). What it takes to screen her film: A feminist study of UNESCO’s audiovisual E-Platform. In Gajjala, R. (Ed.). Where Have All the Cyberfeminists Gone? New York: Peter Lang. Other Publications *Smith, D. J. (2008), Film review: Shake hands with the devil. Scope: An Online Journal of Film & TV Studies. 11. *Smith, D. J. (2007), Catfight in My Name is Earl as a site of feminist resistance. Flow: A Critical Forum on Television and Media Culture. 5:9. Available at http://flowtv.org/?p=99

Multimedia Exhibitions/Screenings

James, D. and D. Erich. (2015). Video installation. Sitting on two stools | ne možeš sediti na dve stolice, BiH Diasporic Youth Conference, Chicago, IL. Archive: http://www.derichdjames.com/installations/sitting-on-two-stools/ James, D. and D. Erich. (2013). Photovoice. Dragana, Kristijian. Art Gathering: Us/Plus. Juried Show. Visual Art Gallery, University Park, IL. James, D. and D. Erich. (2013). Video installation. Sitting on two stools | ne možeš sediti na dve stolice, Visual Art Gallery, University Park, IL. Interviews: http://www.derichdjames.com/sitting-on-two-stools-interviews/ James, D. and D. Erich. (2013). Interview. Women make media: Collaboration as public memory, Shot at the Governors State University TV studios, GSU's ART Out and About series.

Conference Papers and Presentations (*paper was refereed)

James, D. (2014). Old current: The social construction of ex-Yugoslavia on YouTube. MWWHA Conference. University Park, IL. James, D. (2014). *All aboard the Ladies Special: A critical analysis of a documentary about a women-only commuter train in India. ICA Conference. Seattle, WA. James, D. (2013). *sitting on two stools | ne možeš sjediti na dvije stolice: (trans. You cannot sit on two stools): Networked between home and the homeland. ICA Conference. London, England. James, D. (2013). *PROVOKE Panel: Disruption and subversion in the digital: Women perform public memory. ICA Conference. London, England. Deborah James | Page 2 of 6 James D., Erich, D. (2013). sitting on two stools | ne možeš sediti na dve stolice: Digital tactics for negotiating between home and homeland. Documentary Now! Conference. London, England. James, D. (2012). *The Container Project: Defining locally relevant community media production practice. International Communication Association (ICA) Conference, Phoenix. James, D. (2012). Control and access embedded in the code: Screening communities of social justice media content and practice. Society of Cinema and Media Studies Conference. Boston. James, D. (2011).*Social networking Sarajevo Roses: Digital representations of post-conflict civil life in the (former) Yugoslavia. Top Paper: Global & Com Social Change Division. ICA Conf. Boston. James, D. (2011).*International development documentaries: Institutional representations of women, work, and community. Feminist Scholarship Division. ICA Conference. Boston. James, D. (2011). Producing Media, producing citizenship: The practice of digitizing the experience of everyday life in Jamaica. Society of Cinema and Media Studies Annual Conference. New Orleans. James, D. (2010). Developing citizenship from the margins: Digitizing the experience of the everyday as political action in Jamaica. DIY Citizenship: Critical Making and Social Media. U of Toronto. James, D. (2010). The biggest WATT in St. James Town: Marrying co-op radio with co-op housing. Making Media Public Conference. York U and Ryerson U. Co-presented with Vernon Smith.

James, D. (2008). Big-eyed, wide-eyed, sad-eyed children: Western consumption of images of distant places. Media, Communication and Humanity Conference. London School of Economics. James, D. (2008). The politics of global warming: Media, morality, and the culture of green in news documentaries. Society of Cinema and Media Studies Conference. Philadelphia. James, D. (2007). Peeling back the duct tape: Documentary filmmakers respond to the making of the ‘War on Terror’. 3rd International Conference on Media Coverage of the ‘War on Terror.’ London, England.

Academic Service

Academic Coordinator: Media Studies Program 2013 – Committee Member: Motion Picture/Television Program, College of DuPage 2014 Committee Member: Gender Matters Conference 2014, 2015 2013 – Committee Member B.A. GNSX, New Unit of Study Committee, GSU 2012 – 13 Ad hoc peer-reviewer. Journal of Communication 2013 Ad hoc peer-reviewer. Special Issue of Crossings: Journal of Migration & Culture 2013 Ad hoc peer-reviewer. PLATFORM: Journal of Media and Communication 2013 Faculty Advisor, Phoenix Student Newspaper, GSU 2013 – Carnegie Classification Committee, GSU 2013 – 14 Team Member, AC&U Institute on High-Impact Practices, U of Oregon 2012 Co-Chair: B.A. Media Studies, New Unit of Study Committee, GSU 2011 – 13

Professional Memberships

International Communication Association (ICA) 2011 –

Deborah James | Page 3 of 6 Deborah James Resume 1 University Parkway, University Park, IL 60484-0975 [email protected] | 708.534.3140

Professional Experience

Multimedia copywriting, script writing, and web design, freelance 2010 – Geist Creative, Toronto, Canada Media Development Digital Storytelling Workshop Project Manager 2010 – 2011 The Container Project, Windsor Heights, Jamaica An award-winning non-profit community media center and social enterprise providing creative production and new media training. Online Media Literacy Project Producer 2001 MediaChannel.org, New York An international media commentator. Under the supervision of Executive Producer, Aliza Dichter (Co-Founder Center for International Media Action).  Design and conduct study: surveys and interviews with international media literacy experts  Analyze survey results, prepare report, launch site live at mediachannel.org  Co-author Topic Guides and Why Teach Media Literacy? Co-Founder and Publisher / Creative Director 1996 – 2000 Rush Hour Revisions Publishing, Toronto An independent publisher of urban fiction  Manage books of fiction through development, publishing, to national distribution including Fresh Meat, 1978: A novel by Daniel Jones, Glue for Breakfast.  Edit a collective of micro-fiction, Burning Ambitions. 50 stories under 400 words, by 50 writers.  Promote books to national media and garner critical attention in national print media. Media Production Associate Producer / Script Writer / Editor 2007 –2009 University Television (UTV), WSU  Write professional program outlines, scripts, speaking points.  Conduct research for news-based articles for national, regional and local TV, and web broadcast Research Assistant to Paul Ryan, Digital Design 2001 – 2002 New School, New York Paul Ryan is a video artist. His design for an environmental channel has been presented at the United Nations and his Earthscore Notational System published by NASA  Design and produce an online research resource for video artist, scholar and environmentalist Paul Ryan author of Cybernetics of the Sacred and Video Mind, Earth Mind

Deborah James | Page 4 of 6 Non-Traditional Instructional Experience

Curriculum design – documentary/photojournalism, Container Project 2010 – 2011 Windsor Heights – Spanish Town, Jamaica Teaching residency – video/audio production, Container Project SU 2009 Palmers Cross and Windsor Heights – Spanish Town, Jamaica Coach and Co-Producer – video production, Youth Media League, Toronto 2002 Select Professional Media Credits

Radio Interview with Boris Vlastelica of CJAM 99.1 FM Segment producer, research, pre- alternative rock band Repetitor, Windsor/Detroit interview. 15 min. Belgrade, Serbia on their North http://cjamlog3.cjam.ca/repetitor- American debut on FM radio. interview-today/ HOTEL INTERNATIONAL (Aired 08/16/13)

Interview with Nina Bunjevac, This CJAM 99.1 FM Windsor/Detroit Segment producer. 15 min. is Radio Clash - HOTEL INTERNATIONALE Joe Strummer Special (Aired 12/22/12)

Television ART: OUT & ABOUT. A regional GSU Television Guest artist/On air guest. 30 min. series on the arts in Chicago. Aired Chicago Sitting on two Stools | You cannot sit Fall 2013, on Comcast channel 16. on two stools – video installation.

WATRUFIGHTN4: UAW and Wayne State Archival photo/video researcher. 30 COMMEMORATING WALTER P. min. youth-focused doc posted to REUTHER, UNION ACTIVIST – companion website for interactive Aired December 2009, Detroit video sharing: Channel 20. 2010 Emmy winner. http://www.watrufightn4.org/view_vi deo.aspx

WebBroadcast

SMOKING INTERVENTION Health Pregnancy Project Assoc. Producers, Editor, Writer STUDY WSU School of Medicine

Multimedia Works

James, D. and D. Erich (in production). Beograd, City Redux. www.belgrade.derichdjames.com/ James, D. and D. Erich (2013). Sitting on two stools | ne možeš sediti na dve stolice. Archive: www.derichdjames.com/installations/sitting-on-two-stools/ James, D. (2003). M.A. Production Thesis: Private Lives, Public Consumption and Interstitial Stories. Archive: www.debbiejames.ca

Additional Relevant Multimedia Works - Urban Interventions

Assoc. Producer, Editor, Writer. Smoking Intervention Study. Tasked to write scripts, hire talent, and produce videos to be used in neonatal education for expectant mothers with drug, alcohol and tobacco dependencies in inner-city Detroit. Clip: http://www.flickr.com/photos/debbie_james/5349654544/ Archival photo/video researcher. Watrufightn4: Commemorating Walter P. Reuther. Tasked to research the video and photography archives for the work of W. Reuther. Clip: http://www.watrufightn4.org/view_video.aspx Deborah James | Page 5 of 6 Selected Non-Academic Publications

James, Debbie, ed. (1998). Burning Ambitions: The Anthology of Short-Shorts. Toronto: Rush Hour Revisions.

Publisher Firth, Matthew. (1997). Fresh Meat by Matthew Firth, Illustrations by Joey DAMMIT! Toronto: Rush Hour Revisions. Jones, Daniel. (1998). 1978: A novel by Daniel Jones. Published posthumously. Toronto: Rush Hour Revisions. Smith, Vernon. (1996). Glue for Breakfast. Toronto: Rush Hour Revisions. - end -

Deborah James | Page 6 of 6