In a session entitled “Gender, Culture, Media,” five scholars presented papers that addressed the intersection of media and culture. Organizer and presider, Andrea Press (University of Virginia) identified the question that unites the various studies: “Where is the influence?” In other words, which groups have the power to affect cultural shifts? Highlighting the role of consumers, producers, and gatekeepers the panel addressed the degree to which each of these actors is able to maintain or challenge gender difference and inequality in media. Continue reading Conference Report: Gender, Culture, Media

The Culture Section Professionalization Workshop is an annual ASA session that provides graduate students and junior faculty with professional development resources relating to academic writing, publishing, and career opportunities. For ASA 2017, we organized “From Dissertation to First Book,” featuring two recent first book authors (Michaela DeSoucey and Terry McDonnell), a university press series editor (Jenn Lena), and a university press editor (Eric Schwartz). Panelists were asked to share their advice on writing and publishing first academic books. Continue reading Conference Report: From Dissertation to First Book