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Debra Merskin
- Associate Professor
1275 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403
Education:
- Ph.D., Syracuse University, 1993
- MLA, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, 1989
- BA, University of South Florida, Tampa, 1983
Biography:
Background
Merskin was the recipient of the School of Journalism’s Marshall Award for Innovative Teaching in 1997. Her professional advertising experience includes positions as media director at Ellis, Diaz/Bozell, Jacobs, Kenyon & Eckhardt, at Cedar Hames & Associates and at W.B. Doner & Co.
Research
Merskin’s interests focus on the representation of women and minorities in media, historical studies as well as the social influences of the media. Her theoretical focus is media dependency theory. Merskin’s research appears in several journals, including Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, American Behavioral Science, Sex Roles, Journal of Communication Inquiry, Feminist Media Studies, and the Howard Journal of Communication. She has written chapters for several books including Dressing in Feathers: The Construction of the Indian in American Popular Culture; Growing Up Girls: Popular Culture and the Construction of Identity; Sexual Rhetoric;The Girl Wide Web; and Bring ’em on: Media and Politics in the U.S. war in Iraq.
Publications
"The Show for Those Who Owe: Normalization of Credit on Lifetime’s Debt"
(pdf, 70k)
"Winnebagos, Cherokees, Apaches, and Dakotas: The Persistence of Stereotyping of American Indians in American Advertising Brands"(pdf, 190k)
"Sending up Signals: A Survey of Native American Media use and Representation in the Mass Media" (pdf, 218k)