Susan Douglas

Susan Douglas is the Catharine Neafie Kellogg Professor and Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Communication and Media at the University of Michigan. She holds dual appointments in the Department of Communication and Media. Her work bridges historical analysis of media technologies with gender studies, focusing on how media shapes cultural narratives around gender, aging, and power.

Education: B.A. (Phi Beta Kappa) from Elmira College, M.A. and Ph.D. in American Civilization from Brown University. She has authored influential books including In Our Prime (2020), Celebrity: A History of Fame (2019), and Listening In: Radio and the American Imagination (1999). Her research has been recognized with major awards like the Leonardo Da Vinci Prize (2009) and the Hacker Prize (2000).

Teaching focuses on media history and critical media studies. Current courses include The Media, Past and Present and The Mass Media and Celebrity Culture. Active in public intellectual work, she has been a media critic for The Progressive, contributed to major publications, and served on the George Foster Peabody Awards Board.

• Key Contributions: Pioneered feminist media criticism, analyzed media's role in shaping gender norms, documented technological histories of broadcasting.
• Awards: Leonardo Da Vinci Prize (2009), Hacker Prize (2000), Arthur F. Thurnau Professorship (University of Michigan).
• Public Engagement: Regular media commentator on NPR, CNN, and national talk shows; columnist for In These Times (2002-2017).