Jenifer Whitten-Woodring, Ph.D.

jenifer_whittenwoodring@uml.edu

University of Massachusetts at Lowell

Phone: 978-934-4242

Address: 883 Broadway Street, Dugan Hall, Suite 203A

City: Lowell, Massachusetts - 01854

Country: United States

About Me:

I am Director of the Global Studies Doctoral Program and an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. My research focuses on the causes and effects of media free­dom and the role of media in repression and dissent. My upcoming book, The Fabled Fourth Estate: Challenging Assumptions About Media Freedom, Democracy and Human Rights, is under contract with Columbia University Press.  My previous book, Historical Guide to World Media Freedom: A Country-by-Country Analysis (CQ Press/SAGE 2014, with Douglas Van Belle), a Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 2015, analyzes the evolution and devolution of media freedom in 196 countries from 1948 to 2013. My articles have been published in The Journal of Conflict Resolution, International Studies Quarterly, International Journal of Press/Politics, Political Communication, Political Science Research and Methods, Social Science Quarterly and The Journal of Human Rights. I am the Program Chair for the International Studies Association's 2019 Convention and a past Chair of the International Communication Section of ISAand will be Program Chair for the International Studies Associations 2019 Convention.  Prior to becoming a political scientist, I worked as a journalist in print and broadcast media and received five first place awards from the New York State Associated Press Broadcasters Association. I became particularly interested in media freedom and the relationship between media and politics while working as a journalism instructor and stu­dent newspaper adviser, first at Cedar Crest College in Allentown and then at California State University at San Marcos. To pursue these research inter­ests, I went back to school and completed my PhD in Politics and International Relations at the University of Southern California in 2010. I also have a master’s degree in Radio, Television, and Film from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School. I love to teach the courses students are most afraid to take, especially quantitative research methods. I also enjoy teaching courses in comparative media and politics and repression and dissent.  I am part of the leadership team for the UMass Lowell Emerging Scholars Program, which facilitates research partnerships between promising undergraduate students and faculty mentors. I am also an associate with the UMass Lowell Center for Women and Work.  

Research Interests

Human Rights

Political Communication

Comparative Democratization

Comparative Political Institutions

Non-Democratic Regimes

Political Violence

Media Freedom

Press Freedom

My Research:

My research focuses on the causes and effects of media free­dom and the role of media in repression and dissent. My upcoming book, The Fabled Fourth Estate: Challenging Assumptions About Media Freedom, Democracy and Human Rights, is under contract with Columbia University Press.  My previous book, Historical Guide to World Media Freedom: A Country-by-Country Analysis (CQ Press/SAGE 2014, with Douglas Van Belle), a Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 2015, analyzes the evolution and devolution of media freedom in 196 countries from 1948 to 2013. My articles have been published in The Journal of Conflict Resolution, International Studies Quarterly, International Journal of Press/Politics, Political Communication, Political Science Research and Methods, Social Science Quarterly and The Journal of Human Rights.