Karen Redrobe

Karen Redrobe is the Elliot and Roslyn Jaffe Professor and Undergraduate Chair in the Department of Cinema and Media Studies at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Arts & Sciences. She has held leadership roles as Department Chair of History of Art, Director of the Wolf Humanities Center, and Director of the Program in Cinema and Media Studies.

Research Focus

Her scholarship explores intersections of film theory, war and academia, violence in media, animation theory, feminist critique, death penalty photography, and the relationship between cinema and contemporary art. She emphasizes intermediality, experimental cinema, and critical pedagogy.

Awards

• Society of Cinema and Media Studies’ 2025 Distinguished Pedagogy Award

Collaborations and Service

She co-chairs the Scribe Video Center Board of Directors and serves on the editorial board of MIT's Grey Room. She is actively involved in graduate groups across Comparative Literature, English, FIGS, and History of Art.