Emily Ryalls

Associate Professor | Biological Sciences Department

Areas of Expertise

Bullying
Adolescence in Media
Reality Television
Celebrity Culture
Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality in Popular Culture

Contact Information

805.756.2909
Email
Website
Instagram | Twitter

Biography

Emily Ryalls is an assistant professor in Interdisciplinary Studies in the Liberal Arts Department. She teaches classes in communication, women's and gender studies, and media. Her research explores images of adolescents in popular culture (i.e., music, film, television, social media, journalism) with an aim toward understanding the normalization of the increasingly punitive treatment of teens. Her book, “The Culture of Mean,” is the first sustained feminist exploration of the contemporary bullying discourse.

Education

• Ph.D., University of South Florida, Communication Studies
• M.A., University of Alabama, Communication Studies
• B.A., James Madison University, Speech Communication

Recent Publications

• The Culture of Mean
• Representing Rape Culture on Teen Television
• “Famous, Beloved, Reviled, Respected, Feared, Celebrated:” Media Construction of Greta Thunberg
• "Some People Think I'm Mean, F-Them": Peter Pan Syndrome, Extended Adolescence, and Comparatives in Toxic Masculinity with Dr. Emily Ryalls