Email: wd12@illinois.edu Research Interests Weiting Du is a first-year Ph.D. student at the Institute of Communications Research. Weiting’s research interests encompass media effects and risk communication under the context of climate change, with a particular interest in climate inactions. In parallel, Weiting explores how contemporary visual imagery represents the complex interplay between human-environment relationships, collective memories, […]
Email: vp21@illinois.edu Research Interests Veranika’s master’s thesis focused on the topic of time perception during media use. Her current research focuses on time perception, message fatigue, and computational approaches to communications research. Veranika completed her bachelor’s degree in neuroscience and art history at Emory University, and her master’s in advertising at UIUC. Recent Publications/Presentations Paltaratskaya, V., Wise, K. […]
Email: zixuan26@illinois.edu Research Interests Melodie is a doctoral student at the Institute of Communications Research, primarily researching the social and psychological effects of media messages and digital media use. Her specific interests revolve around the interactions between interactive media technologies and individuals’ identity, perceptions of “otherness,” and social relationships, as well as their role in driving […]
Email: jz150@illinois.edu Research Interests Junwei’s research interests are centered around the relations between subjectivity, governmentality, global media network and the network’s interpretive power, which eradicate the boundary between public/private space, human/posthuman and self-governing/self-enslaving. Besides his academic research on communication and media, he is also a cross-disciplinary artist. Junwei received his master’s degree in fine arts from […]
Email: yewonh2@illinois.edu Research Interests Cuteness, aesthetics, affect, game, critical theory, cultural studies, cultural analysis Recent Publications/Presentations Puzar, Aljosa and Yewon Hong. “Korean Cuties: Understanding the Performed Winsomeness (Aegyo) of South Korean Women.” Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology, vol.19, no. 4, 2018: pp. 333 – 349. Hong, Yewon and Dustin Hellberg. “Transient Labor: Past and Present of […]
Email: weixiao8@Illinois.edu Research Interests Wei Xiao is a Ph.D student in ICR. She is broadly interested in exploring alternative approaches to the reasoning behind sharing dis/misinformation to debunk dis/misinformation or inoculate people against misinformation. Her research also involves technology policy topics, such as data privacy, free expression, and AI governance. While fighting traditional disinformation, Wei is equally […]
Email: nisapr2@illinois.edu Research Interests Nisa Rahman is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Communications Research. Nisa’s research interest lies in emerging technologies and their effect on social behavior in the context of health communication. This exploration takes shape through studies utilizing anthropomorphic conversational agents, i.e., “chatbots” to debunk health misinformation and persuade behavior change, as […]
Email: niniz2@illinois.edu Research Interests Courses Taught MACS 100: Intro to Popular TV & Movies Academic Roles Teaching Assistant for MACS 100
Get to know some of our College of Media students! Francesca Dumitrescu is a Class of 2025 media and cinema studies major. What made you want to major in media and cinema studies? What’s your favorite thing about the major?Coming from a STEM high school, I realized STEM was not particularly my career interest. I […]
Get to know some of our College of Media students! William Hohe, Class of 2025, is pursuing a dual degree in advertising and photography. What made you want to major in advertising? What’s your favorite thing about the major? I chose to major in advertising as a way to complement my studies in photography (BFA). As […]