Center for Democracy, Art, and Popular Culture
About
Where Pop Culture Meets Political Engagement
The CDAPC is an interdisciplinary research and engagement center that promotes healthy democracy through examination of and engagement with visual and performing arts, popular culture, and digital media.
Co-Director
Karrin Vasby Anderson
Karrin Vasby Anderson is Professor of Communication Studies at Colorado State University. She is a political communication scholar whose research examines the culture of politics and the politics of culture, assessing the ways in which political identity is rhetorically constructed and contested in popular media. Recent work considers how a more equitable and capacious approach to gender is a necessary component of healthy democracy. Professor Anderson writes for The Conversation and her research has appeared in national and international news outlets. She is the recipient of numerous research awards, including the book award from two scholarly associations and the Carrie Chapman Catt Prize for Research on Women in Politics. She is a National Communication Association Distinguished Scholar.
contact: karrin.anderson@colostate.edu
Co-Director
Nick Marx
Nick Marx is Professor of Communication Studies at Colorado State University. He is a film & media studies scholar whose research examines the relationship between entertainment media and political ideology in the United States. His most recent co-authored book, That’s Not Funny: How the Right Makes Comedy Work for Them, considers the rise and reign of popular right-wing comedians like Joe Rogan, Shane Gillis, and Fox News’ Greg Gutfeld. The book received coverage in, among others, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Politico, while New York Magazine named it the 3rd best comedy book of 2022. His expertise on media economics, political satire, and broadcast history has been featured in dozens of national and international news, media industry, and popular press outlets
contact: nick.marx@colostate.edu
Faculty Affiliates
Natalie Pennington
Lead Researcher
Political Identity and Popular Culture Survey
Natalie Pennington is Assistant Professor of Communication Studies and a co-leader of the American Friendship Project. Her research focuses primarily on meeting social connection needs and friendship. Currently she is part of an international team of experts who are helping to develop public health guidelines for social connection. Her work has been published in journals such as Communication Monographs, the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Communication Research, and Computers in Human Behavior. Dr. Pennington teaches classes in interpersonal communication, nonverbal communication, professional communication, research methods, and persuasion. Her media appearances include NPR, The Atlantic, the Washington Post, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal.
Gregory Luft
Professor
Journalism and Media Communication
Greg Luft is Professor and former Chair of Journalism and Media Communication at Colorado State University and past president of the Broadcast Education Association. A former television journalist, his work bridges journalism practice and documentary storytelling to explore how media shape public understanding of social issues. Luft produces documentary and educational films examining media, culture, and science communication, and his teaching emphasizes ethical reporting and visual storytelling. He has served as CSU’s Interim Vice President for Marketing and Communications and as Academic Dean for Semester at Sea and has taught and lectured internationally in Europe and China.
Eleanor Moseman
Professor
Art History
As a specialist in modern European art history, Dr. Eleanor Moseman focuses on Central European avant-garde movements. Her research examines the intersections of modernism, cultural dynamics, and the socio-political functions of art. She has published on 20th-century art and literature from German-speaking regions, including studies of Czech Cubism, German Expressionism, and Surrealism in Germany. Her work has appeared in edited collections and scholarly journals such as the Art Bulletin, Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte, ARS (Bratislava), Umění (Prague), and Feminist German Studies.
David Wolfgang
Professor
Journalism and Media Communication
David Wolfgang studies journalism, media sociology, and public discourse. He teaches Communication Law, Media in Society, Qualitative Research Methods, Social and Cultural Communication Theory, and a graduate seminar in media sociology. His work examines the relationship between journalists and their audiences, journalist role conceptions, representations of minority groups in media, political communication, and new media. He uses textual analysis, ethnography, interviews, and survey methods, and his research has appeared in Journalism, Journalism Studies, Journalism Practice, Digital Journalism, and the Journal of Communication Inquiry.