Christopher Westgate
Professor, College of Arts & Sciences
My years of work as a communication scholar and radio professional have convinced me that no questions are more interesting than who exercises power, by what means, and to what ends.”
Bio
My research program includes communication history, digital culture, journalism studies, Latinx media, and popular music. Most of my scholarship brings critical, cultural, and historical research methods to bear on the interpretation of everyday acts and artifacts. My years of work as a communication scholar and radio professional have convinced me that no questions are more interesting than who exercises power, by what means, and to what ends; the answers to these questions have important implications for media organizations and their workers.
My teaching interests are diverse. I enjoy teaching seminars on social media and research methods as well as classes that explore the intersection of media, culture, and society. Many of my courses involve opportunities to engage with local media organizations and institutions. I have been teaching for more than a decade.
Alongside research and teaching, I am engaged in an active program of service. For example, I co-created and currently co-direct Johnson & Wales University’s Media & Communication Studies major.
The program’s required and elective classes — some 20 in total — ask students to analyze, interpret, and evaluate the relationships among media industries, texts, and audiences in political-economic and social-cultural contexts. While it is grounded in the liberal arts, the major also includes internships and experiential learning. Students will be well prepared for careers in a variety of industries and for graduate school.
The experience of co-creating a curriculum has offered me a unique perspective on the field of media studies and its intersections with culture, history, and society. I work on several tasks related to the major, including advising, outcomes, and curriculum.
Professional Memberships
- Association for Cultural Studies, 2011-present
- International Communication Association, 2011-present
Awards
- 2016: Inholland University of Applied Sciences
Faculty Exchange Recipient
Hoofddorp, Netherlands
Publications
- “Popular Music Fans and the Value of Concert Tickets,” Popular Music and Society, 2019. Editors: Gary Burns and Thomas Kitts. Author: Christopher Westgate.
- “Community and Communication,” International Encyclopedia of Communication Theory and Philosophy, 2016. Editor: K.B. Jensen. Authors: Christopher Westgate and Eric Rothenbuhler.
- “One Language, One Nation, and One Vision: NBC Latino, Fusion, and Fox News Latino,” Contemporary Latina/o Media: Production, Circulation, Politics, 2014. Editors: A. Davila and Y. Rivero. Author: Christopher Westgate.
- “Mexican Mobil Music: Una Convergencia con Sabor,” The Oxford Handbook of Mobile Music Studies, 2014. Editors: S. Sumanth and J. Stanyek. Authors: Christopher Westgate and Patrick Burkart.
- “Notes on the Wire: Ballads, Biases, and Borders of Performance Journalism,” Media, Culture & Society, 2013. Editor: Paddy Scannell. Author: Christopher Westgate.
- “When Sexual Becomes Spiritual: Lila Downs and the Body of Voice,” Latina/o Discourse in Vernacular Spaces: Somos de Una Voz?, 2011. Editors: M. Holling and B.M. Calafell. Author: Christopher Westgate.