Janet Wasko, professor of communication research at the University of Oregon, will present "Dazzled by Disney?" at the Crosman Memorial Lecture on Thursday, March 6, at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
The presentation at 5 p.m. in Eaton Humanities Building room 150 is sponsored by the School of Journalism and Mass Communication and is free and open to the public. A reception will be held in the lobby following the lecture.
Wasko holds the Knight Chair in communication research at the University of Oregon. Her work focuses broadly on the political economy of communication, with special emphasis on the film industry. Her books have included "Understanding Disney: The Manufacture of Fantasy," "Dazzled by Disney? The Global Disney Audience Project" and "Hollywood in the Information Age."
Wasko's presentation will briefly outline the Disney empire and identify some of the main themes that have been the focus of academic researchers in recent years. The overview will focus especially on work that analyzes the global distribution and reception of Disney products. Special attention will be given to the Global Disney Audience Project, a research project that attempted to assess the global reception of Disney products in 18 countries.
The Crosman Lecture Series honors Ralph L. Crosman, who served from 1921 to 1948 as a distinguished faculty member in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication and was the school's first director. In 1952, a group of his former students, friends and colleagues organized the Crosman Memorial Fund, which enabled the school to establish the lecture series.