Ariel Rogers

Ariel Rogers serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of Radio/Television/Film at Northwestern University's School of Communication, where her research investigates the historical and theoretical dimensions of cinema and emerging media technologies with critical attention to spectatorship and technological change.

Her academic credentials include a PhD in Cinema and Media Studies from the University of Chicago and a BA in Film Studies and Philosophy from Columbia University.

Rogers' scholarship interrogates how historical contexts shape technological adoption and cinematic experience, challenging assumptions about media evolution through case studies spanning 1950s widescreen systems, digital cinema transitions, and contemporary virtual reality. Her work bridges film history, media archaeology, and screen theory to analyze dynamic relationships between technology, form, and audience engagement across diverse media landscapes.

Publication trends reveal a sustained trajectory from historical analyses of screen technologies (2013-2019) toward immersive media frameworks, with recent scholarship (2022-2024) focusing on VR's reconfiguration of cinematic framing and spatial mediation—demonstrating continuity in examining how technological shifts redefine perceptual and narrative paradigms.

Her research excellence has earned significant recognition:

• NEH Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities (2022-2023)
• Clarence Simon Award for Outstanding Teaching and Mentoring (2019)
• ACLS Fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies (2016-2017)

Professor Rogers teaches foundational courses including RTVF 220 (Analyzing Media Texts), RTVF 312 (History of Film I), and RTVF 413 (Cultural History of New Media), integrating her research into undergraduate and graduate curricula. Her Clarence Simon Award highlights exceptional mentorship, while NEH/ACLS fellowships provided critical support for her monograph research. Current projects include a third book examining cinematic framing in virtual reality contexts.

Affiliated with Northwestern's School of Communication, Rogers contributes to the Radio/Television/Film department's academic mission. The available documentation indicates no specific laboratory affiliations or team-based research initiatives beyond departmental collaborations.