Janet Walker

Janet Walker is a Professor of Film and Media Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, with affiliations in the Department of Feminist Studies and the Comparative Literature Program. Her research spans documentary film, trauma and memory studies, media and environment, and feminist theory.

• Ph.D., Film and TV Studies, University of California, Los Angeles

Her work explores intersections between documentary media and critical themes such as trauma, gender, and environmental justice. She co-organized UCSB's 'Figuring Sea Level Rise' and 'Climate Justice Futures' initiatives and founded the open-access journal Media+Environment. Her publications include five books and numerous essays, with a current focus on site-specific media and environmental mapping.

Scientific awards include the UC Santa Barbara Distinguished Teaching Award (2001), a Mellon Sawyer Seminar Grant (2017-2019), and a Rachel Carson Center residency. Recent publications analyze climate justice, media activism, and trauma representation in global contexts.

• Perpetrating and Resisting Fortress USA (2020)
• Risk, Law, and Media (2020)
• Media Mapping and Oil Extraction (2018)
• Standing with Standing Rock (2018)
• Projecting Sea Level Rise (2015)

Walker's research integrates feminist theory and trauma studies with environmental media, emphasizing spatial and geopolitical dimensions through documentaries and media technologies.