Alison L. McKee

Alison L. McKee is a Professor in the Department of Film, Theatre & Dance at San José State University, affiliated with the Radio-Television-Film Program. She participates in the Faculty Early Retirement Program (FERP). Previously, she served as Chair of the SJSU Academic Senate (2021-2023). Her teaching spans undergraduate and graduate courses in film history, alternative cinema, and performance studies, including advising the award-winning KSJS-FM radio station.

Education:

• Ph.D., Film & Media Studies, UCLA
• M.A. and B.A., English, University of California, Santa Barbara

Research Interests: Dr. McKee specializes in American film history (with a focus on 1940s-1950s women’s cinema), gender studies in classical Hollywood, melodrama, and queer narratives. Her current book project, Of an (Un)Certain Age: Women without Men in 1950s American Cinema, examines contradictions in postwar gender norms. She also explores performance in musical theatre and digital spaces like Second Life.

Key Contributions: Her work appears in Journal of Film and Video, Studies in Musical Theatre, and edited volumes on Highsmith adaptations and New Zealand cinema. She has delivered keynote lectures globally, including at the University of Arizona and Meiji Gakuin University (Tokyo).

Awards:

• SJSU Salzburg Fellow (2009-2010)
• Grants for interdisciplinary work in film, theatre, and literary studies

Advising & Leadership: Supervises master’s theses and independent studies.曾 served as Associate Director of the School of Music & Dance/RTVF-Theatre Arts/Animation & Illustration (2011-2012). Actively mentors graduate students in Theatre Arts and supports KSJS-FM operational management.