“Activism in the Digital Age,” the first in a series of three seminars exploring how social media is influencing the current political climate in the United States, will be held Tuesday, Sept. 25, at 6 p.m. in the Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium, Newhouse 3. Follow the discussion on Twitter at #SUSocialDemocracy.
Regina Luttrell, assistant professor of public relations in the Newhouse School, will serve as moderator with panelists Dwight DeWerth-Pallmeyer, Biko Mandela Gray and Tia C.M. Tyree.
Dwight DeWerth-Pallmeyer
DeWerth-Pallmeyer is associate professor of communication studies at Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania. His research focuses on three areas: news audiences; media critics and criticism; and utopian versus dystopian views of the exponential growth in digital technologies, a phenomenon sometimes referred to as “The Singularity.” He is also interested in the continuing evolution of communication technologies (video and audio production). He previously worked in radio and marketing research and was the news director of WVIK in the Quad Cities region.
Biko Mandela Gray
Gray is assistant professor of religion in the College of Arts and Sciences. His research is primarily on the connection between race, subjectivity, religion and embodiment, exploring how these four categories play on one another in the concrete space of human experience. He also is interested in the religious implications of social justice movements and is working on a book that explores how contemporary racial justice movements, like Black Lives Matter, demonstrate new ways of theorizing the connection between embodiment, religion and subjectivity.
Tia C.M. Tyree
Tyree is professor of strategic, legal and management communications at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Her research interests include African-American and female representations in the mass media, hip hop, rap, reality television, film and social media. Before joining the academy, she held several positions in public relations. She is an editor and contributor to “Social Media: Culture and Identity.”
The seminar series, Social Media & Democracy, is co-sponsored by the Newhouse School and the School of Information Studies. Additional seminars will be held Oct. 14 and Nov. 16 on campus.
For more information, contact Jon Glass at jnglass@syr.edu.
