Media and Public Relations
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George Mason University
Media Sources Guide
CATEGORY: Pop Culture
Pop Culture: Sub-Categories:
Amy Best
Associate Professor of Sociology
Expertise: Youth culture, proms, car culture, teens, social identity
Best is interested in the study of youth, culture and social inequalities.
She earned her PhD in Sociology in 1998 from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. She is author of "Prom Night: Youth, Schools and Popular Culture" (2000 Routledge), which was selected for the 2002 American Educational Studies Association Critics' Choice Award and "Fast Cars: Cool Rides: The Accelerating World of Youth and Their Cars" (NYU Press 2005) in addition to several articles and book chapters.
Media Contact: Tara Laskowski, 703-993-8815, tlaskows@gmu.edu
Mark Hopson
Assistant Professor of Communication
Expertise: Race and mass media, rhetoric of race, culture and gender
Hopson holds a PhD in Intercultural Communication from Ohio University, and MA and BA degrees in Organizational Communication from Western Michigan University.
His research involves communication informed by race, culture, power, marginalization, gender, identity and difference. In his research, he examines the way mass media informs perceptions about race and culture.
In addition, he has training and experience in violence prevention-education, diversity workshops, and academic and life skill building programs.
He is currently working on a book titled, “The Talking Drum: Exploring the Role of Critical Memory in Intercultural Communication.”
He can also discuss the way race and racial issues are used in media and communication in regards to presidential campaigns.
Media Contact: Tara Laskowski, 703-993-8815, tlaskows@gmu.edu