Maddalena Fedele

Maddalena Fedele is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Library Science, Documentation and Audiovisual Communication at the University of Barcelona's Faculty of Information and Audiovisual Media. With a PhD in Communication Contents in the Digital Era from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (2011), she has established herself as a prominent researcher in youth media consumption, gender representation, and television fiction studies.

Her research focuses on youth and media consumption patterns, television fiction series (particularly teen series), gender representation in media, social media dynamics, and affective-sexual education through media. Fedele's work consistently examines how media shapes youth identities, gender perceptions, and sexual education, with particular attention to Netflix content and transmedia storytelling. Her research methodology often combines qualitative analysis with audience reception studies.

Fedele is a member of the Digilab research group and collaborates with the Narratives de la Resistència research group at Tecnocampus, which she previously coordinated. She also participates in the Media Education Platform created by CAC. Her international experience includes research and teaching stays at Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand), Università di Salerno (Italy), Glyndwr University (UK), and University San Jose-Recoletos (Philippines).

Her recent publications (2023-2024) demonstrate a strong focus on gender representation in teen series, particularly examining the 'dead-but-not-gone girl' archetype in Netflix content. She has also been actively involved in the TRANSGELIT project (Transmedia Gender and LGBTI+ Literacy) and GEMPIMS (Gender Perspective Mentoring Program in Information and Media Studies), reflecting her commitment to integrating gender perspectives into media education.

• Extraordinary Doctoral Award from UBA
• 24th CAC Award for her thesis on adolescent consumption of television fiction

Fedele has been instrumental in developing educational resources for affective-sexual education through audiovisual materials and has contributed to innovative projects like Ràdio FIMA, which develops students' professional skills through podcast creation. Her work bridges academic research with practical educational applications, particularly in the areas of gender literacy and media education for youth.