Second Year Cohort
Third Year Cohort
Fourth Year Cohort
All But Dissertation
Inna Arzumanova
Inna Arzumanova received her BA from the University of California San Diego, with a major in Communication and a minor in Literature Writing. As an undergrad Inna carried-out a multi-modal project, which examined the effects of new media on literary distribution. After graduation, she spent a year working at Mediasmith Inc., a San Francisco advertising media agency, where she was a Media Planner. She is currently involved with KQED EdNet’s Digital Storytelling Initiative, assisting the project supervisor with community workshops. In graduate school, Inna is interested in researching the effects of new media on art and artistic communities, with a special focus on evolving literary traditions, aesthetics and communities as well as digital storytelling.
Amanda Beacom
Amanda Beacom graduated from Stanford University with a bachelor's degree in human biology, and will complete a master's degree in public policy from Johns Hopkins University in May 2007, with a concentration in health policy. Her master's thesis examined news media framing of the international AIDS pandemic prior to U.S. policy changes addressing the issue. Amanda's work experience includes three years coordinating health education programs at the National Kidney Foundation, six years in editorial positions at medical journals, and a recent internship at the USAID Bureau for Global Health. At Annenberg she is interested in studying the relationships between media, public opinion, and the health policy process.
Patrick Belanger
Patrick comes to USC Annenberg from Simon Fraser University, Canada. After reading a swath of poetry, he earned a BA in English. Interested in the role of language in knowledge formation, he shifted his studies to the discipline of Communication; his MA thesis was an analysis of public discourse surrounding climate science. It examined the rhetorical strategies by which prominent North-American think-tanks have attempted to discredit a broad consensus in research, and thereby encourage public apathy and reluctance in government to implement regulatory policy. Based on the belief that informed civic deliberation depends upon the quality and accuracy of commonly available information, his work examines how, in a society that esteems scientific advancement, compelling evidence may be successfully portrayed as inconsequential. Why, from amongst many, do certain interpretations emerge? His research engages with persuasion, argumentation and propaganda, and strives to illustrate the impact of strategic discourse on contemporary cultural and political institutions. Patrick joins USC as a Canada-US Fulbright student, and aims to explore the discursive creation and configuration of civil society and the interface between technical and public spheres.
Melissa BroughMelissa Brough received her B.A. from Brown University in Development Studies and Modern Culture & Media. She subsequently worked in film production and for the organization FilmAid International, a non-profit that uses film and video to promote health, strengthen communities, and enrich the lives of the forcibly displaced. At FilmAid she supported video-based, psychosocial and educational programs as well as participatory video projects in eight refugee camps in East Africa, and youth media projects in the Gulf Coast of the U. S. She has volunteered with several local and international community media and media literacy projects including the Chiapas Media Project in Mexico, whose work she helped bring to the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. Her current research interests center around the visibility of the "Global South," including: how the "developed" world represents the "developing" world in the current era, and to what effect; media portrayals of crisis and aid "beneficiaries"; and participatory media practices.
Nien Tsu (Nancy) ChenNancy Chen graduated from the University of Melbourne with an honours degree in Media and Communications. She wrote her honours thesis on the cinematic representation and construction of national identity. Nancy has worked as a news editor for radio and television companies, and is currently a member of the PR team at the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control. At Taiwan CDC, she has been involved in a range of promotional campaigns to raise public awareness on infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and avian influenza. Nancy has also completed projects for governmental and non-profit organizations as a licensed translator and interpreter between the English and Chinese languages. At Annenberg, Nancy hopes to explore ways to more effectively utilize communication as a tool of disease prevention and to investigate an approach to risk communication that seeks to inform without causing public panic.
Fan DongFan Dong is a current graduate student of Global Communication at the University of Southern California. She will graduate in May 2007. As a joint Master’s program, she has finished her first year MSc of Global Media and Communication at London School of Economics and Political Science (Dissertation on self identity, diasporas’ changing use of media as their everyday life and memories). She has been studying in the Master’s program of English Journalism at Tsinghua University and had her undergraduate degree in Journalism for Finance and Economics at the Central University of Finance and Economics. She has been a presenter of education, pop culture programs and events planner for NGOs and production corporations in China for three years. She is interested in the relationship between media, globalization and society, cross-cultural communication and the interplay between economy, politics, culture and the media system. Her current focus is how symbolic power embedded in cultural products could penetrate cultural barriers. At Annenberg, she hopes to study the interaction between media, culture, economics, politics and globalization.
Searle HuhSearle Huh received his B.A. and M.A. in Mass Communication at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea. He also graduated Michigan State University with M.A. in Communication. His two theses were about ritualized uses of mobile phone and the relationship between cognitive skills and video game play. For the last four years, he participated in several academic and industrial projects like Video game and flow, a Network management consulting, and socio-cultural impact of the future. He has several national certificates related to computer/network technologies and social research; electronic commerce administrator, social survey analyst, convention planner, information processing manager. Before starting his graduate study, he acted and directed several plays and musicals. His current academic interests include 'activity' of media use, impact of mobility on media use, media interfaces, and various independent variables in video game play (i.e. gender, cognitive skills, and reality of the game graphic). He wants to focus on the elaboration of video game plays and uses, the influences of media interface on its use, and socio-cultural aspects of new media at USC Annenberg School.
Zhan LiZhan Li holds a B.A. in Social & Political Sciences and a M.Phil. in Social Anthropology from Cambridge University (Trinity) as well as a S.M. in Comparative Media Studies from MIT. He is particularly interested in how notions of radical social, organizational and personal transformation through new media technologies are useful for corporate and political rhetoric and strategy. Previous thesis topics have included the World Bank's promotion of Knowledge Economics in the 1990s, and the U.S. Army videogame America's Army during the run-up to the 2003 Iraq War. Most recently working as a global media investment banking analyst for HSBC in New York (with a special focus on India and China), Zhan has also been employed as a researcher at Sony, the London Business School and UBS Warburg. At Annenberg, areas Zhan hopes to study include the rhetoric's of Web 2.0 and the New Economy, videogames for public diplomacy, and the relationship between Silicon Valley and Hollywood.
Yujung Nam
Yujung Nam received her M.A. from Indiana University, Bloomington in Communication and Culture (research focus on media, ethnography and performance studies). Her general research interests are ethnicity studies, ethnographic theory and media, particularly film and new media studies with emphasis on issues of identity negotiation. Yujung has presented work on this and related topics at the National Communication Association. She has taught undergraduate courses in public speaking and interpersonal communication at Indiana University. She also worked as a knowledge management software system engineer at Samsung SDS Co. Her current research focus is the intersection of Asian American media culture, with interest in how Asian American ethnicity manifests itself in the films and new media. Yujung's research on gender and ethnicity performance as well as media, popular culture, cultural studies will add important dimensions to the department's ongoing scholarly commitments to exploring ethnicity, race and gender in the broad scope of communication.
Nina O'Brien
Nina O’Brien graduated from Syracuse University with a Bachelors in Communications and Textual Studies, and received her Masters Degree in Media Ecology from New York University’s Department of Culture and Communication. She is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa and Golden Key National honor societies. Nina’s current research focuses on the impact of new entertainment and information technologies in the Caribbean and Latin America, and their implications for local development, sustainability, political engagement and international diplomacy. Before beginning graduate work at USC’s Annenberg School, Nina worked in independent film production, as a full-time substitute instructor in the Department of Media Culture at the CUNY College of Staten Island, and as an adjunct professor in the Department of Communication Arts at Marymount Manhattan College, both in New York.
Katherine OgnyanovaKatherine Ognyanova received her B.Sc. in Computer Science from the University of Sofia. Her M.A. degree from the same university is in Virtual Culture. Katherine has worked for more than six years in the media. She was a writer and editor for Economedia publishing group (part of the German media group Verlagsgruppe Handelsblatt). Her responsibilities as a journalist at Capital Weekly included observing trends in emerging technologies, online business and society. She was also in charge of covering telecommunication regulation and Internet governance. Katherine has a year of experience as a reporter at BNT (Bulgarian National Television). She enjoys working as a teaching assistant. Her current areas of research include new media and social aspects of Internet technology. She is also interested in the use of digital tools for enhancement of public participation.
Michael ParkMichael Park graduated from the University of Southern California's Annenberg School of Communication and the School of Cinema-Television, double-majoring in Communication and Cinema-Television. During his time at USC, Michael was a member of the Lamda Pi Eta Communication Honor Society, and served as a White House Intern under President Bill Clinton. Michael received his J.D. from the University of California, Hastings School of Law. After law school, Michael worked as a trainee in motion pictures at the William Morris Agency, the world's oldest and largest entertainment agency. Michael is interested in the study of media as a form of pedagogy: how images educate the viewer on wide ranging issues such as race, sexuality, culture and politics. His particular research focus include an analysis of the political economy of culture and the formulas and conventions of production. At Annenberg, Michael hopes to focus on the Media, Culture, and Communication track.
Scott SandersScott Sanders graduated cum laude from the University of Arkansas in Communication, and this May he will receive his M.A. in Interpersonal Communication from Purdue University. He taught English at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China during the summer of 2006 and plans to return this summer to teach and conduct research. His master’s thesis, based upon research conducted in Beijing, explores how young, urban Chinese use mobile phones for self-expression both as a communication medium and as a physical possession. While at USC Annenberg, Scott plans to study communication technologies in developing nations and their role in interpersonal relationships.
Courtney SchultzCourtney Schultz graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in Human Biology. During her undergraduate career, she focused on environmental and health policy and was also a four-year varsity letter winner for women's volleyball, winning a National Championship in 2004. In March 2007, Courtney earned her M.A. from Stanford's Department of Communication in Media Studies. As a research assistant in the Communication between Human and Interactive Media Lab, she worked on a number of studies dealing with communication technology. The topics included mobile phones, Human Robot Interaction, Human Computer Interaction, and ownership of digital media. At Annenberg, she hopes to continue her work with communication technology in Media, Culture, and Community and Interpersonal and Health Communication
Susana Smith BautistaSusana received her Bachelors degree from Pomona College in Government and her Masters degree from USC in Art History/Museum Studies. She is a member of the Phi Kappa Phi national honorary society. Her previous work experience has included Editorial Director of www.LatinArt.com, art critic, associate for the Daniel Saxon Gallery, curatorial work for MOCA, USC Fisher Gallery and Cal State LA Luckman Fine Arts Complex, and Executive Director/Curator for the Mexican Cultural Institute of Los Angeles. Susana has also served on the City of Pasadena Arts Commission for the last five years. Her interests center on the current and future assessment of museums and art institutions internationally (focus on Latin America), and the issues they need to deal with in regards to the public, their collections, the global art community and technology. Susana is currently working on a lecture series/publication with USC’s International Museum Institute entitled “Who Owns the Past in the Future?”
Laurance StraitL. Paul Strait graduated from Catholic University with a BA in Philosophy. He is a member of the Phi Sigma Tau honor society and the Triple Nine Society. After graduating, Paul worked for a year at Market and Communications Research, Inc., conducting content analyses and survey research for the biotech firm Monsanto. Paul received an MA in Communication from George Mason University in May 2006 (Thesis: "Intercollegiate Policy Debate As Communicative Action: Can Modernity Be Salvaged?"). He is interested in the works of Jurgen Habermas and, in particular, the relationship between public discourse and the functioning of democracy. At Annenberg, he hopes to study rhetoric in the public sphere as well as the rhetoric of religious ecumenical movements.
Diana WinkelmanDiana graduated from Baylor University with a double major in Political Science and Speech Communication. While remaining at Baylor for graduate school, she served as the editorial assistant for the scholarly journal Rhetoric & Public Affairs. Her thesis explores the rhetoric of the radical abolitionist Henry Highland Garnet and his employment of agitation, religious appeals, and masculinity. In May 2007, she will graduate from Baylor with a M.A. in Communication Studies with an emphasis in Rhetorical Studies. She is currently interested in both contemporary and historical American public address, mediated socio-political communication and its influence on the decision-making process, and morality and science in current stem cell research debates.
Li (Leo) XiongLi "Leo" Xiong graduated with a B.A. in English from Beijing Foreign Studies University, China. He received an MS in Cultural Studies from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland on a scholarship awarded by the British Council. Currently he is pursuing a PhD in Communications at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and will be on leave to join Annenberg in Fall 2007. Leo's professional experience includes working as a manager of international non-profit arts exchange programs between China and Europe, freelance writing on video games and popular music for major Chinese entertainment media, and producing TV documentaries for Chinese national television. He has also co-authored several articles on video games. Leo is interested in the social consequence of new communication technologies, specifically in their application to creating new forms and platforms of entertainment and social interaction. Focusing on mobile phones and video games, Leo hopes to both study the social effects of these platforms and venture some entrepreneurial work at Annenberg.