Research
I research race/ethnicity, gender, and sexuality in pop culture, focusing on masculinity and Jewish identity. For example, think of Drake, Zac Efron, or Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer's "masculine" comedy in Broad City.
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First Book Project
Queer Glamor: Masculinity, Racial Minstrelsy, & Millennial Jewish Stardom
Under contract with New York University Press.
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Upcoming Book Projects
Jews & News Satire: Embodying Candor in the Age of Fake News
Passing Fancies: Chimeric Liberation in U.S. Passing Films
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Academic Articles & Conference Panels
Please see CV.
Teaching
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Gender Studies
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Intro to Gender Studies
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Masculinity, Race & Nation
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Race, Gender & Sexuality in Popular Media
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Racial & Gender "Passing" Onscreen
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TV's New Jews: Race, Gender & Sexuality
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Jewish Studies​
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Brazil to Brooklyn: Jewish Cultures of the Americas
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TV's New Jews: Race, Gender & Sexuality​
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Racial & Gender "Passing" Onscreen
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Film & Media Studies
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Intro to Film & Media Studies​
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TV News Satire
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TV's New Jews: Race, Gender & Sexuality​
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Racial & Gender "Passing" Onscreen
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Student Films: My students create "oppositional media" to apply class concepts, challenge inequality, and join today's web media conversation. Their films are clever, fun, and certified click-worthy:
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Imitation of White: Departing from "passing" films like Imitation of Life and White Chicks, this group created a racial passing tale that never villainizes its passing protagonist, nor credits any white saviors with her success.
Fistful of Dining Dollars: This group researched the Western genre, then flipped its conventions with a more racially diverse ensemble, an agentic woman, and a resolution that defuses macho violence.
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In 2013, I co-founded a holistic sex-ed and rape-prevention program at the Ohio State University with my colleague MacRorie Dean. The program now serves 2,000 students per year in Greek chapters, first-year orientations, and classrooms. This program destigmatizes sex and makes sex-ed a great time (yes, really!) by using the feminist pedagogy of laughter. See my TEDx Talk for more.
You Be You! The Kid's Guide to Gender, Sexuality & Family
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School Library Journal: "This inclusive and respectful guide should be part of all curricula about family, gender and sexuality."
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25 translated editions include Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, and Russian.
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I wrote "You Be You!" to make feminist education more accessible beyond the classroom. This illustrated children's book makes gender identity, sexual orientation and family diversity easy to explain for ages 7 and up. It also covers privilege, discrimination, intersectionality, and allyship.