Patricia G. Lange

Patricia G. Lange is Professor and Chair of the Critical Studies undergraduate program at California College of the Arts (CCA), where she researches digital media, technical identities, and video-based sociality. Her work bridges anthropology and new media studies, with emphases on YouTube culture, digital literacies, and Latinas in technology. She holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Michigan and an A.B. in History and A.M. in International Policy Studies from Stanford University.

Lange's research explores how people use digital platforms for self-expression and civic engagement. Key interests include:

• Technical identity formation in online spaces
• Ethnographic analysis of YouTube communities
• Digital literacy development through video production
• Latinas' experiences in tech entrepreneurship
• Media migration across platforms

Her publications focus on video-sharing cultures, with recurring themes of platform evolution, mediated authenticity, and community governance. The ethnographic film Hey Watch This! (2020) complements her book Thanks for Watching (2019), which received the Franklyn S. Haiman Award for its analysis of freedom of expression on YouTube.

Awards:

• Franklyn S. Haiman Award (2020) for distinguished scholarship in freedom of expression