Assistant Professor of Communication Adria Goldman

Last Friday, November 15, Adria Goldman, Assistant Professor of Communication, presented at the National Communication Association’s 105th Annual Convention in Baltimore, MD as part of the session “Beyond the Journal: Discussions of Media Narratives about Youth and Race and a Call for Media Literacy.” Her presentation, titled “From Cartoons to Reality Television: Examining Images of Young Black Females in Reality Programming,” was a review of her analysis of two competition reality shows with child/adolescent casts–Bravo’s Top Chef Jr. and Lifetime’s The Rap Game. In her dissertation research, she found that representations of Black women in reality television were more flattering when the cast was predominately Black. The goal of the current study was to (1) identify how young Black females are presented in reality television programming and the implications of such, (2) identify similarities and differences between the two competition shows, noting the different racial background of each show, and (3) use the findings to recommend media literacy practices and activities or young audiences. It was a great session, and she reports that it was also exciting presenting alongside fellow UMW Assistant Professor of Communication Emily Deering Crosby and with Elizabeth Johnson-Young, also a UMW Assistant Professor of Communication, as their chair.

Assistant Professor of Communication Adria Goldman

Adria Goldman, Assistant Professor of Communication, is one of three guest editors of a special issue of The Journal of Hip Hop Studies devoted to Kanye West. According to the abstract, “The goal of this project, ‘I Gotta Testify: Kanye West, Hip Hop, and the Church,’ is to add a new perspective to the scholarly discourse on Hip Hop and Christianity within classrooms, religious institutions, and popular culture by focusing on Kanye. We chose to focus on Kanye because he has been one of Hip Hop’s most influential artists in the past decade. Furthermore, Kanye is one of the most polarizing celebrities in America and across the globe. His music, fashion, political views, and family (which includes the Kardashians) dominate discourse on social media, blogs, television, and other forms of mass media. With the exception of Julius Bailey’s 2014 edited book, The Cultural Impact of Kanye West, there has been little scholarly work published on Kanye. Bailey’s book contained just one essay, written by Monica R. Miller, dedicated to the theme of Kanye and religion. We intended to produce a nontraditional journal issue, partly because Kanye has never adhered to traditional boundaries. We also chose this method because we wanted to provide a document suitable for both academic and popular audiences. Kanye West identifies as a Christian and primarily uses Christian themes in his music, videos, concerts, and messaging.” For more information, please see: https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/jhhs/vol6/iss1/1/.