FEATURED EVENTS
Honors Colloquium
Over the course of this year, 5 Seniors researched and completed their theses for the Department’s Honors Program. They each presented their projects at The Honor’s Colloquium, on May 3
L-R : Michael Buozis, Assistant Professor, Media & Communication, Shobha Pai, Piper Ackerman, Emma Ash, Sarah Wedeking, and Eliza Block
Piper Ackerman presents her thesis, “All the Young Dudes: A TikTok Potlatch”
Emma Ash presents her thesis, “In My Artist Connection Era: An Exploration of Fan Parasociality with Artists through Mediatized Liveness”
Eliza Block presents her thesis, “The Cost Of $elf-Care: An Analysis of Self-Care Haul Videos on YouTube”
Shobha Pai presents her thesis, “Breaking the Mold: Analysing Gendered Perceptions of Chefs in Reality Cooking Competitions through the Stereotype Content Model”
Sarah Wedeking presents her thesis, “’There’s Only One Bed!’: Examining the Romcom Narrative used in Supernatural’s Case of Queerbaiting”
Every year, our department honors one of our graduating seniors with the James D. Schneider Award for Social Justice. This award is given in honor of our late colleague, Dr. Jim Schneider, who worked tirelessly to advance the cause of social justice both within the department and in his community volunteer efforts in the Lehigh Valley. Each year we bestow this award upon a Media and Communication graduating senior who has pursued these values in their work at the College, both in and out of the classroom. This year’s recipient is Madison Fearon ’24, a Media and Communication Major with Minors in Film Studies, Anthropology, and Documentary Storymaking. Madison is involved in many community-positive activities on and off campus, including involvement with Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity, Tri Alpha, a First Generation Honor Society, and the National Park Trust College Ambassador program. She also volunteers for Tunnels to Towers Foundation, a non profit that builds smart homes for veterans and first responders. Madison also mentors high school aged students who are involved in the Girls Scouts’ Media Girls program. Madison is currently working on her own documentary – a film that examines the impact of 9/11 on the generations of firefighters born after the event. Congratulations, Maddie!
Welcome to the Second Edition of the First Peak Film Festival
L-R: Madison Fearon ’24, Rosy Vinod ’25, David Romberg, Assistant Professor of Media & Communication and Film Studies, Kayla Rivera ’23, Joe Romano ’23
The First Peak Film Festival was first launched in 2022 by Muhlenberg students and faculty with the focus of making a festival by students for students. The mission of First Peak is to create & maintain a platform for student filmmakers in the Lehigh Valley to showcase their films while striving to provide student filmmakers with an experience in festival culture and networking as they start their careers. The festival focuses on highlighting films with diverse stories and voices. The festival, held April 26-28, grew this year to include a magic camera workshop, two Lehigh Valley screenings, one international student screening, and a filmmaker networking event. A list of the winning films and awards can be found on the First Peak Film Festival Instagram Page. Click Here
FACULTY NEWS
Amy Corbin, Professor of Media & Communication and Film Studies & Director of Film Studies, gave an invited talk at the The Bryn Mawr Film Institute Cinema Classics Seminar on February 28. Dr. Corbin’s talk was entitled “Why Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Still Resonates.” Click here
Elizabeth Nathanson, Professor of Media & Communication, gave a public lecture and talk about Lady Bird (dir Greta Gerwig 2017) at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute. Click here
Elizabeth Nathanson, was recently promoted to full Professor of Media & Communication. Click here
Sue Curry Jansen, Emeritus Professor of Media & Communication, published a review essay in the latest IJOC on Lorraine Daston, entitled “Rules and Rivals: A Review Essay.” Click here
Jeff Pooley, Affiliated Professor of Media & Communication, published a thought piece on Upstream entitled “Large Language Publishing.” Click here
Jeff Pooley, has been visiting and recording key figures in the field of Communication for the past eight years. He has helped to create oral histories of many senior Annenberg scholars. To read more about this project, Click here
Jeff Pooley, recently published an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education entitled “Academic Life Is About Humiliation and Envy. This Novel Gets It” about C.P. Snow’s forgotten classic The Masters. Click here
Jeff Pooley, published a journal article “The History of Communication Studies across the Americas: A View from the United States” in MATRIZes (also in Portuguese) with Peter Simonson and David W. Park. Click here
Kiah Bennett, Visiting Assistant Professor of Media & Communication,with Mitch Combs (PhD, University of South Carolina-Aiken), co-presented “Commodifying Primal Masculinity: A Critical Analysis of Liver King and Alpha Male Influencers” at the Society of Media and Cinema Studies annual conference in March. Their presentation examined the discourses of “Alpha Male Influencers,” specifically looking at Liver King, and his use of pop-Darwinism to spread misinformation, promote toxic positivity, and sell supplements to followers.
Kiah Bennett, participated in a reproductive rights listening circle on March 19, where 70 students showed up and shared how they were feeling about reproductive freedom and sexual healthcare. Many students remarked how helpful it was for them and how much they appreciated having a space to talk about this topic.
Kiah Bennett participated in a faculty panel entitled “Friend or Foe: Feminist Reflections on Beyoncé and Taylor Swift” on March 21st. Images and videos were shared while faculty and students discussed feminist perspectives on all the buzz and hype.
Kiah Bennett, traveled to London, UK in mid-April to present her project “Labouring Across-The-Line: Paying Dues and Precarity in the Streaming Studio System Era” to the Media Industries Conference. Bennett presented on her concept of “Across-the-Line” workers in Hollywood, made up of largely support staffers who aspire toward guild and/or union protected positions in above- and below-the-line Hollywood positions.
Susan Kahlenberg, Professor of Media & Communication, was a panelist in the session, “What is This ‘Media Literacy?’: Definitions, Policies, and Incoherence as We Fall Further Behind,” at Central States Communication Association 2024 Annual Conference, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Francesca Coppa, Professor of English and Film Studies and Chair of the Department of English Literatures & Writing, is a finalist in the Multimodal category for the ACLS Open Access Book Prize and Arcadia Open Access Publishing Award. Click here
Paul McEwan, Professor of Media & Communication and Film Studies, was awarded The Donald B. Hoffman Research Fellowship. Named in honor of Dr. Donald B. Hoffman ‘32, this fellowship supports faculty in scholarship, reserach or creative activity which results in publication, performance, or exhibition while enhancing the reputation of the College. Dr. McEwan will spend the next year working on a book for general audiences called How to be Wrong that examines the ways in which we tend to get hardened into our opinions as we age, and how we can maintain the perspective of life-long learners.
John Sullivan, Professor, Department Chair, Media & Communication, was awarded one of the Daniel J. and Carol Shiner Wilson Grants for the Completion of Scholarly Projects. These awards are presented to faculty to assist with the completion of a significant work of scholarly activity. This award was for Dr. Sullivan’s most recent book, Podcasting in a Platform Age: From an Amateur to a Professional Medium, which was released in February. You can hear Dr. Sullivan talk about his new book, Click here
STUDENT NEWS:
Our students (with Paul McEwan, Professor of Media & Communication and Film Studies) studied abroad in Dublin, Ireland this semester at DCU. They’ve had a packed semester filled with learning new things, eating great food, and traveling to exciting places. We look forward to having them back at Muhlenberg to hear all about their experiences. Please check out more photos and videos from the Dublin trip on instagram. Click here
Back row L-R: Prof McEwan, Jo Pitera, Katie DeMicco, Dylan Schwartz, Grace Hoffman, Emily Ellis, Josh Botel Front row L-R: Daisy Cunningham, Madeline Anders, Brianna Marcelle, Serena Monteforte, Marie Tohill, Harper Hogan, Max Nierenberg
Raymond Ceres ’25, studied abroad in Prague this semester in the CET 16mm Film Production program at The Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU). Raymond said, “My film pitch was selected by the program to be produced, so I had the opportunity to write and direct a narrative short film shot on 16mm film and my film is titled It Drops at Midnight.
Marie Tohill ’25, was awarded the Tyson Research Grant for her summer research project “‘Sex Education’, Queerness, and Christianity: Generation Z Intersectionality on TV,” supervised by Dr. Kiah Bennett. Marie intends to interrogate the intersectional representation of Eric Effiong, a Black, queer character of Nigerian descent, and his coming-of-age evolution. As trade journals and other writers have remarked, Sex Education and the character arcs within it do not follow stereotypical coming-of-age stories, but rather are uniquely reflective of Gen Z’s concerns. The project Marie proposes will explore this appeal. She proposes to illustrate how the predominantly female writers, who draw on their own awkward and vulnerable teenage experiences, create a fresh take on the coming-of-age story.
Our Walson community enjoyed the solar eclipse on April 8 this year. Many students went outside to enjoy this celestial event with solar viewing glasses, and took photos and video.
Muhlenberg Media Com and Fim Studies Students Honored at Honors Convocation
Creative Writing Awards
Poetry:
2nd Place – Ian Graybill ’26
Nonfiction:
2nd Place – Julia Lennon ’26
Espi Guinto Award : Julia Lennon ’26
The Susan E. Halamay Journalism Award : Katherine Conlon ’24
The Wayne Kenneth Hollabaugh P’88 and Linda J. King Hollabaugh P’88 Award: Amira Jackson ’24
The Student Government Achievement Award : Katherine Conlon ’24
The Student Leader of the Year Award : Shobha Pai ’24
The Senior Male Scholar Athlete of the Year : Noel House ’24
HRL Resident Advisor of the Year : Carper Wiggins ’26
ALUMNI NEWS
Alumni Week March 2024
Alumni Week 2024 was a terrific week filled with lots of networking and great insight from our alums. Please check out our Alumni Week website – Click here for a full panel listing and alumni profiles!!
Listening and Learning from Alums…
Sara Glassberg ’14: “We are interested in documentary work that is unconventional, pushing the form, more poetic, non-linear, and that shows a level of community care. We emphasize the relationship and positionality of the filmmaker and we want to resist extractive filmmaking…what is the filmmaker’s connection to the story and participants?”
Gabe Plesent ’18: “The day to day things you do here as students have value in your future professions. I was a tour guide, I did sports, Theatre, things where I connected with people with different interests. That’s a beautiful part of Muhlenberg, so many different people. Small classes, group projects, presentations…these things at Muhlenberg prepare you very well.”
Elizabeth Whitney ’04: “Muhlenberg provides that ethical framework more than other undergrad institutions. The work done here asks you to consider the ethics in everything you do. So that you know that the jobs you are taking, and projects you are doing, align with the ethics in your heart.”
Elana Banin ’10: “My main takeaways from Muhlenberg are critical thinking and media literacy …I think all the time about Dr. McEwan’s film classes and how we consider how films are put together and when we critically engage with these elements, we walk away with a completely different understanding of what the filmmaker is trying to convey.”
Matthew Solnick ’19 : “The real world starts now.” (in context, not AFTER you graduate).
Lisa Siciliano ’10 : “It’s okay for your dream job to change!”
More Alumni News
Graham Burrell ’21 and Ryan Murphy ’23 had their respective short films, Grampy and Yesterday in Owl’s Head, shown at the 7th Annual Jim Thorpe Independent Film Festival in Jim Thorpe, PA this April. Their films secured multiple nominations and each won Best Director awards in separate categories. Burrell’s Grampy was shot in the winter of 2023 (with the help of Muhlenberg alum Joe Romano ’23) before screening at the Atlanta Horror Film Festival and the New York City Horror Film Festival, as well as the Allentown Film Festival and Northeast Pennsylvania Film Festival where it won “Best Dark Comedy” and “Best in Fest” respectively. At the Jim Thorpe Independent Film Festival, Grampy was nominated for “Best Horror Short” and won “Best Director – U.S. Short Film.” Yesterday in Owl’s Head, Murphy’s directorial debut and first film festival selection, had its world premiere at the Jim Thorpe Independent Film Festival. The film was made during the Spring 2023 Advanced Video Production course run by David Romberg, and was completed in March of 2024. Murphy’s film was nominated for the PA Student Filmmaker Award and Best Student Film (US). Immediately following Grampy’s win for Best Director – U.S. Short Film, Yesterday in Owl’s Head secured the win for Best Student Director – U.S.
After graduating a semester early, Maria Corradini ’24 began a role at Discover Lehigh Valley, which promotes the dynamic region that includes Allentown. Click here
Ella Bruck ’21 has joined Prosek Partners, a certified women-owned business, among the largest independent, integrated public relations firms globally, specializing in financial and strategic communications.
Hayley Hnatuk ’20 writes “[Former Film Studies Professor] Aggie Bazaz edited the footage that I was working on for Dos Hermanos into her feature film, Como Vivimos. It just got accepted into SXSW and it is premiering in March. I’m credited as an Assistant Editor!!” Click here
Erin Friberg ’19 and Steve Marchewka ’18 live in Denver, where Erin has accepted a director of operations role at the startup brokerage Kaufman Hagan Commercial Real Estate
Jon Flint ’13, completed a masters in Public Administration in May 2024 and published a thesis project, Assumptions, Resources, and Inputs to Case Management: Implications for California’s Regional Center System on SJSU ScholarWorks. His research looked at how members of a state-wide working group believe that differences in knowledge may impact equity in providing community-based services for Californians with intellectual and developmental disabilities. He proposes reimagining long-term services and supports as essential public infrastructure like a bridge providing a tangible public good that maximizes the potential for all people to contribute and belong in their community.
Catherine Schwartz Markowitz ’11 recently won a Tony award for producing Parade, which won Best Revival of a Musical on Broadway. Catherine had previously produced Just for Us this season and is on the producing team for Suffs, which opened in April.
Sarah Rosenthal ’10 was promoted to associate director of experiential learning programs at the New York University Wasserman Center for Career Development.
Whitney Babyak Kern ’09 is currently employed as health sciences librarian at Lehigh Valley Health Network.
Andrew Woodward ’91 recently launched his company, Aero-Gro, thanks to his lifelong love of both plants and technology. Andrew helps people who want to grow food indoors by providing the technology as well as the education and support. Learn more at aero-gro.com.
Jack McCallum ’71, long-time writer for Sports Illustrated, author of 13 plus books, and adjunct Professor in the Media & Communication Dept, has written a new book, The Real Hoosiers, that was recently featured in the Washington Post. Click here
DEPARTMENT NEWS
Read all about it – Muhlenberg’s Media & Communication Department has been ranked:
Congratulations to our colleagues on career milestones with Muhlenberg!
Professor Susan Kahlenberg – 25 years
Professor John Sullivan – 25 years
Professor Jeff Pooley – 20 years
Professor Tony Dalton – 15 years
Professor Elizabeth Nathanson – 15 years
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