Meredith Bak

Meredith Bak is an Associate Professor in the Department of Childhood Studies at Rutgers University-Camden. Her research focuses on children’s media, toys, visual, and material cultures, with a particular emphasis on historical and contemporary intersections between children and media technologies. She earned a Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara, an M.A. from New York University, and a B.A. from Brigham Young University.

Her work has been supported by grants from the Penn Humanities Forum, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Rutgers-Camden Digital Studies Center. She serves as a book reviews editor for H-Childhood. Her research projects include studies of pre-cinematic optical toys, talking dolls, and augmented reality apps, as well as analyses of toys like the Give-a-Show Projector and the DC Super Hero Girls franchise.

• Education:
  • Ph.D., Film and Media, University of California, Santa Barbara (2012)
  • M.A., Cinema Studies, New York University (2006)
  • B.A., Media Arts, Brigham Young University (2004)

Her research interests span media archaeology, toy design, and archival methodologies. She has published extensively on topics like optical toys, STEAM learning, and the material legacies of anti-trafficking NGOs. Current projects include a book manuscript on pre-cinematic visual media’s role in shaping children’s media spectatorship and a study on animate toys.

Dr. Bak teaches courses such as Kids’ Media Culture, Toy Design, and Children and Cinema at Rutgers-Camden, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches to childhood studies.