The Obama Effect: Multidisciplinary Renderings of the 2008 Campaign

List of Contributors

270 List of Contributors Bertram D. Ashe, Ph.D. (College of William and Mary), is Associate Professor of English and American Studies at the University of Richmond. Dr. Ashe’s work focuses on African-American culture and politics. He is the author of From within the Frame: Storytelling in African-American Fiction (Routledge 2002) and is a regular contributor to African American Review. Michael Cheney is a senior fellow at the Institute of Government and Public Affairs, and a Professor of Communication and an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Illinois at Springfield. Prior to his affiliation with IGPA and the University of Illinois at Springfield, Cheney taught at Rutgers College from 1977 to 1981 and at Drake University. In 1988, he became the Dean of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Drake University. Cheney currently focuses his research on political campaigning through the Internet. Desiree Cooper is an award-winning author and journalist. A graduate of the University of Maryland, Cooper has worked as a columnist for the Detroit Free Press, has appeared as a frequent commentator on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered, and was co-host of American Public Media’s Weekend America. She is the author of many short stories and memoirs , which have been included in collections such as Detroit Noir (Akashic Books 2007), Children of the Dream (Atria 2000) and Other People’s Skin (Atria 2007). Ms. Cooper lives in Detroit, Michigan, with her husband and two children. Frank Rudy Cooper, J.D. (Duke University), is Professor of Law at Suffolk University. During law school, he was a staff editor of the Duke Journal of Gender Law and Policy. Professor Cooper writes in the areas of critical race theory, law and cultural studies, and constitutional criminal procedure. Recent book chapters include “The Seesaw Effect: From Racial Profiling to Depolicing: Toward a Critical Cultural Theory,” in New Civil Rights Research: A Constitutive Approach (Benjamin Fleury-Steiner and Laura Beth Nielsen, List of Contributors eds., 2006) and “Where the Rubber Meets the Road: The CRA’s Impact on Distressed Communities,” in Public Policies For Distressed Communities (F. Stevens Redburn and Terry Buss, eds., 2002). Kenneth D. Day, Ph.D., is Professor of Communication at the University of the Pacific, where he teaches courses in media theory, new communication technology, and intercultural communication. His current research and consulting practice involve the use of new communication technology in education, marketing, and cultural preservation. He is also a developer in virtual worlds and the use of mobile communication. Raman Deol is an independent researcher. She received her master’s degree in communication with an emphasis on rhetorical analysis at the University of the Pacific. Qingwen Dong, Ph.D. (Washington State University), is Associate Professor of Communication at the University of the Pacific.Dr.Dong’s research interests include media representations of race and ethnicity, Internet use, and media effects. Dr. Dong’s work has appeared in Critical Studies: Communication and Culture—ChinaandtheWorldEnteringthe21stCentury,HumanCommunication, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, and The Journal of Family & Economic Issues. Dina Gavrilos, Ph.D. (University of Iowa), is Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication and Journalism at the University of St.Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Professor Gavrilos conducts research that addresses how media construct racial, ethnic, national, and other identity categories in particular communities. She has recently published articles in the Journal of Communication Inquiry, including “Arab Americans in a Nation’s Imagined Community: How News Constructed Arab American Reactions to the Gulf War” (2002). She regularly presents work at the annual meetings of the International Communication Association, the Cultural Studies Association, and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. Heather E. Harris, Ph.D. (Howard University), is Associate Professor of Business Communication at Stevenson University. Dr. Harris’s research focuses on cultural studies, representations of Africana women in media, and women in romantic relationships. Her work has appeared in edited volumes and journals. She has presented numerous papers at regional, national, and international conferences. M. Cooper Harriss is a Marty Martin Dissertation Fellow at the University of Chicago’s Divinity School. His dissertation concerns the viability of religious thought in understanding Ralph Ellison’s writings and worldview. He has 271 List of Contributors served as managing editor of the journal ETHICS (University of Chicago Press) and holds an M.A.R. from Yale Divinity School...