Dr. Tanya D. Zuk is a Lecturer in the Department of Media Arts specializing in queer indie media and its audiences utilizing a cultural studies approach. Her recent work has focused on authorship, ownership, and legal/economic/power structures in indie media fandom. Her research examines niche LGBTQ+ media and larger conglomerate "geek" transmedia content. Her future research looks to incorporate fan tourism and transcultural exchange, consent game mechanics, and queer radio archiving.
Dr. Zuk's first edited collection, Our Blessed Rebel Queen, is an anthology around Carrie Fisher/Princess Leia. However, her work has also appeared in Transformative Works & Cultures, Journal of Popular Culture & Religion, The Journal of Sound & Culture, In Media Res blog, and various other anthologies.
She is currently an Assistant Editor for Transformative Works & Culture, the Chair of the Gender & Sexuality Caucus of the Radio Preservation Task Force out of the Library of Congress, and the former curator for Virtual Lesbian Looks. Her work with these organizations allows her to elevate historically excluded voices in academia, providing a platform for marginalized voices.
However, her primary reason for returning to academia (from the marketing & photography world) is to teach. She hopes to one day be that crazy professor on campus that any student can turn to for advice, assistance, and compassion. A believer in "small teaching" practices making major shifts in student experiences, experiential learning, and generative learning (revisions!). She's currently creating and teaching the Foundations of Media Studies course for the department. At previous institutions, she's taught courses on Gothic Media, Fans & Transformative Works, Star Wars, Film & Media Theory, Media Literacy, Television Analysis, Media Industries, Film History, and Anime/Animation.
Originally from New England, Dr. Zuk earned her B.A. in Communications from Simmons University, her M.A. in Media Arts at the University of Arizona, and her Ph.D. in Moving Image Studies from Georgia State University. She has been fortunate enough to have lived an hour from Canada and an hour to Mexico in her life. She is an avid traveler (and con attendee) despite her mobility issues.
Social Media: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tdzuk/
X (formerly Twitter): @acafangrrrl