Amy Franzini 260x300

Amy R. Franzini, PhD

  • Associate Professor
Media Expertise:
  • Communications & Marketing

Affiliated Programs

Education

  • PhD, Mass Media & Communication (2003)
    Temple University (PA)

About Me

I have been a member of the Widener faculty since 2001. I teach a wide variety of courses that are in the core curriculum for Communication Studies and Digital Media Informatics students, such as Communication Theory, Interpersonal Communication and Senior Capstone; as well as other fun and interesting courses such as Film Analysis and Media & Children. 

I strongly believe that learning is a lifelong endeavor, and I'm consistently learning from my students. I have a passion for communications and teaching, and more than anything I want to help my students to find their own personal passions. I find the Senior Capstone experience especially rewarding, being able to work one-on-one with students on passion projects that will help them take the next step into their careers. 

  • Pop culture
  • Mass media and children
  • TV and parents/parenting
  • TV and teens
  • TV history
  • Communication theories

Research Interests

I research the intersections between children, parents, and the media. This research varies from studying children's television content to helping parents use media as teachable moments with their children.

Publications

  • Franzini, A.R. (2012). Children and media in parenting. In V.B. Cvetkovic & D.C. Olson (Eds.), Portrayals of children in popular culture: Fleeting images (15–26). Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
  • Franzini, A.R. (2008). Is school cool? Academics and intelligence on teen television. In L. Holderman (Ed.), Common sense: Intelligence as presented on popular television. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
  • Franzini, A.R. (2007). The world of teenage television: A longitudinal content analysis of prime-time programming most popular among adolescents. The National Social Science Journal, 27(2).

Professional Affiliations & Memberships

National Communication Association (NCA), Popular Culture/American Culture Association (PCA/ACA)

News

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