معرفی
Erika Polson is an Associate Professor and Director of Internships in the Department of Media, Film & Journalism Studies at the University of Denver’s College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences. She holds a PhD in Mass Communication from Penn State University (2009) and previously taught at Saint Louis University’s Madrid campus. Her research focuses on globalization, digital media, and cultural communication, with a particular emphasis on digital placemaking and the impact of geo-social media on expatriate communities.
Polson’s work explores how digital platforms facilitate the creation of transnational communities and reshape urban spaces. Notable publications include her monograph *Privileged Mobilities: Professional Migration, Geo-social Media, and a New Global Middle Class* (2016) and co-edited volumes such as the *Routledge Companion to Media and Class* (2019). Her research has appeared in journals like *New Media & Society*, *Media, Culture & Society*, and *European Journal of Cultural Studies*.
Her research interests span globalization, expatriate communities, urban studies, and the sociocultural implications of digital media. She has conducted ethnographic studies in Paris, Singapore, and Bangalore, examining how digital tools like meetup.com and Instagram reshape social and spatial practices. Polson has secured grants from the University of Denver and the Walter Rosenberry Fund, supporting her fieldwork and academic projects.
As an educator, she teaches media studies, strategic communication, and intercultural communication. Her advising includes graduate students Levi Lindsey and Danielle Vaughn, whose thesis projects align with her research on digital placemaking. Polson is affiliated with professional organizations like the International Communication Association and the Association of Internet Research.
Her current projects include studies on street art’s role in gentrification (e.g., Denver’s RiNo Art District) and the intersection of social media with urban mobility. She advocates for critical analyses of how digital tools both enable and complicate global connectivity and place-making.
