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Kembrew McLeod


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Education:

1. Higher Education
Ph.D. in Communication, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, May 2000. Dissertation: Owning Culture in the Era of Intellectual Property Law. Dissertation Advisor: Sut Jhally.
M.A. in Sociology, May 1995 - University of Virginia. Thesis: Third Party Responses to Social Movement Organization Activity: A Typology.
B.S. in Sociology, May 1993 - James Madison University. Honors Thesis: Time Magazine's Coverage of the Gulf Crisis: A Critical Analysis.

2. Professional and Academic Positions
Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Studies, University of
Iowa. Fall 2000-
Visiting Professor in the Department of Communication, University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Spring 2000.
Oral Skills Program Consultant for Honors College, University of Massachusetts, Fall 1999 – Spring 2000.

3. Honors and Awards
Rosa Luxemburg Award for Social Consciousness. Awarded at the 2002 New England Film and Video Festival for my documentary, Money for Nothing: Behind the Business of Pop Music.
Top Competitive Paper. National Communication Association’s Commission on Freedom of Expression, for “The Private Ownership of Culture: Cultural Production and Intellectual Property Law” presented at the National Communication Association’s 84th annual conference in New York, November 20-24, 1998.
Top Student Paper. National Communication Association’s Commission on Freedom of Expression, for “The Private Ownership of Culture: Cultural Production and Intellectual Property Law” presented at the National Communication Association’s 84th annual conference in New York, November 20-24, 1998.
Bierstedt Prize (Graduate Student Paper of the Year), “Third Party Responses to Social Movement Activity: A Typology,” Sociology Department, University of Virginia, 1994.

4. Memberships
International Communication Association, March 1997 to present.
National Communication Association, October 1997 to present.
Eastern Communication Association, April 1998 to March 2000.
International Association for the Study of Popular Music-Canada, March 1998 to present.
International Association for the Study of Popular Music-United States, March 1998 to present.


Teaching at the University of Iowa

1. Teaching Assignments
Intellectual Property Law and Cultural Production, Spring 2001.
Intro to Media Production, Spring 2001-present.
Culture, Communication and Intellectual Property Law, Fall 2000.
Politics of Popular Culture, Fall 2001.
Critical Cultural Studies, Spring 2002.

Scholarship

1. Publications

a. Refereed
Books:
Owning Culture: Authorship, Ownership and Intellectual Property Law in “Popular Culture and Everyday Life,” Toby Miller, series editor for Peter Lang Publishers, 2001.
Do You Wanna Dance?: Punk and Disco in 1977, contract with University of Massachusetts Press, to be included in their American Popular Music series.
Book Chapters:
“Gendered Patterns of Discourse in North American Rock Criticism,” Pop & The Press, edited by Steve Jones (Temple University Press, 2002), in-press.
“Copyright Law and Musical Production,” Critical Cultural Policy: A Reader, edited by Justin Lewis and Toby Miller (Blackwell, 2002), in-press.
“Gangstas, Gats and Authenticity: Exploring the Meanings of Hip-Hop Artist Deaths,” Afterlife as Afterimage: The Cultural Life of Dead Celebrities, edited by Steve Jones, accepted for publication.
“The History and Politics of Hip-Hop Journalism,” Pop & The Press, edited by Steve Jones (Temple University Press, 2002), in-press.
Journal Articles:
“Authenticity Within Hip-Hop and Other Cultures Threatened With Assimilation,” Journal of Communication, Autumn 1999, Vol. 49, No. 4.
“One and a Half Stars: A Critique of Rock Criticism in North America,” Popular Music, Spring 2001, Vol. 20/21, pp. 47-60.
“Genres, Sub-Genres, Sub-Sub-Genres, etc.: Sub-Genre Naming In Electronic/Dance Music,” Journal of Popular Music Studies, Spring 2001, Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 59-76.
“Making the Video: Constructing An Effective Counter-Hegemonic Message In Only Forty Nine Minutes,” Journal of Popular Music Studies, Spring 2002.

b. Non-refereed:
Contributed 35 entries to the five volume St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture (St. James, 2000), ranging from 3,000 to 500 words each. Entries included: “Rap/Hip-Hop,” “Funk,” “Afrika Bambaataa” and “Spice Girls.”
Contributed to the All Music Guide to Rock: The Experts’ Guide to the Best Recordings in Rock, Pop, Soul, R&B, and Rap (Miller Freeman Books). Michael Erlewine, Vladimir Bogdanov, Chris Woodstra, Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Richie Unterberger (eds.). 2nd edition. Entries included: “Howie B” and “Dr. Octagon.”

2. Grants
Old Gold Summer Fellowship, 2001.

3. Invited Lectures and Conference Presentations
“Genres, Sub-Genres, Sub-Sub-Genres, etc.: Sub-Genre Naming In Electronic/Dance Music,” presented at the International Association for the Study of Popular Music’s annual conference in Toronto, Canada, November 1-5, 2000.
“From Zines to Websites: The Impact of Intellectual Property Law on Alternative Forms of Communication,” presented at the International Communication Association’s 50th annual conference in Acapulco, Mexico, June 1-5, 2000.
“Gendered Patterns of Discourse in Rock Criticism,” presented at the International Communication Association’s 50th annual conference in Acapulco, Mexico, June 1-5, 2000.
“‘Happy Birthday, Screw You’: The Collision of Copyright Law, the Folk Song Tradition, and the World’s Most Popular Birthday Song,” presented at the International Communication Association’s 48th annual conference in Jerusalem, Israel, July 20-24, 1998.
“Liz Phair, ‘Do Me’ Feminism and Rock Criticism,” presented at the 1998 conference International Association for the Study of Popular Music, Canadian Chapter, in Montreal, Canada, March 14-15, 1998.
“The Sound of (Rap) Music: Sampling, Copyright Law and the Production of Cultural Change,” presented at the International Communication Association’s 47th Annual Conference in Montreal, Canada, May 22-26, 1997.

b. National
The Impact of the Digital Economy on Music Cultures,” panel chair and respondent at the International Communication Association’s 51st annual conference in Washington DC, May 24-28, 2001.
“Music and Copyright,” presented at the International Communication Association’s 51st annual conference in Washington DC, May 24-28, 2001.
“Collage, Creativity and Copyright Law,” invited lecture at The School of Art and Art History, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, February 23, 2001.
“Writing Popular Music Criticism,” invited lecture at The School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, October, 3, 2000.
“Copyright, World Music and Indigenous Rights,” presented at the 2nd annual Crossing Borders Convocation in Iowa City, IA, March 2-4, 2001.
“Cultural Production, Articulation Theory and Intellectual Property Law,” presented at the Rethinking Marxism Conference in Amherst, Massachusetts, September 21-24, 2000.
“Media Pranks and Making Media: Non-Traditional Forms of Activism,” invited lecture at Marymount Manhattan College, New York City, NY, April 13, 2000.
“Rock Criticism and Gender,” invited lecture at Fordham University, New York City, February 22, 2000.
“One and a Half Stars: A Critique of Rock Criticism,” presented at the International Association for the Study of Popular Music, United States conference in Murfreesboro, TN, September 30-October 3, 1999.
“Keepin’ It Real: Invocations of Authenticity Within Hip-Hop and African-American Culture,” presented at the International Communication Association’s 49th annual conference in San Francisco, CA, May 27-81, 1999.
“Exile in Criticville: Liz Phair, Rock Criticism and the Construction of a ‘Do Me’ Feminist Icon,” presented at the International Communication Association’s 49th annual conference in San Francisco, CA, May 27-81, 1999.
“The Private Ownership of Culture: Cultural Production and Intellectual Property Law,” presented at the National Communication Association’s 84th annual conference in New York, NY, November 20-24, 1997.
“A Video Camera, a Television, an Audience, and Some Imagination: Four Ingredients for a Successful Interactive Classroom Exercise in Critical Pedagogy,” presented at the Eastern Communication Association’s 89th annual conference in Saratoga, NY, April 23-26, 1998.

4. Pending Decisions Affecting Deliberations –

a. Books Under Review and In Progress
Ill Communication: A Beastie Boys Guide to Popular Culture, completed and negotiating contract with trade publisher.
Writing Rock: A Social History of Popular Music Criticism, in progress.

b. Journal Articles Under Review and In Progress
“From Zines to Web Sites: Alternative Forms of Communication and Intellectual Property Law,” asked to revise and resubmit to New Media and Society.
“Exile in Criticville: Liz Phair, Rock Criticism and the Construction of a ‘Do Me’ Feminist Icon,” under review at Critical Studies in Mass Communication.
“Race, Representation, Technology, Culture and the Beastie Boys,” under review at Popular Music and Society.


Creative Work

Multimedia Production

Pieces
Money for Nothing: Behind the Business of Pop Music, Video Producer. Educational Documentary produced for the Media Education Foundation. August 2001.
--World premier at Sound Unseen Festival, Walker Arts Center, Minneapolis, MN, October 1-4, 2001.
--Presented at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, October 16.
-- Presented at Cornell College, Mount Vernon, IA, January 22, 2002.
-- Will be screened three times at the South By Southwest Film Festival, Austin, TX, March 8-17, 2002.
-- Will be screened at the New England Film and Video Festival, Boston, MA, April 1-6, 2002.
--Winner of the Rosa Luxemburg Award for Social Consciousness.
-- Will be screened in the Other Cinema film series, San Francisco, CA, April 13, 2002.
-- Will be screened at Black Point Film Festival, Geneva, Wisconsin, April 24-28.
-- Will be screened at the 5th REVelation Perth International Film Festival, Australia, June 13-30, 2002.
Would You Be My Neighbor?, Video Producer and Editor. 9-minute experimental video and audio collage.
-- Competitively selected and presented at Sound Unseen, Walker Arts Center, Minneapolis, MN, October 1-4, 2001.
-- Competitively selected and presented at THAW: International Festival of Video, Film and Digital Media in Iowa City, IA, March 29-31.
-- Screened at the Knitting Factory, New York City, NY, February 14, 2001.
-- Will be screened in the Other Cinema film series, San Francisco, CA, April 13, 2002.
Hotdog. Video producer, editor and illustrator. 4-minute experimental video and audio collage.
-- Submitted to THAW: International Festival of Video, Film and Digital Media in Iowa City, IA, April 10-13, 2002

Music Journalism

Pieces
Since July 1996, I have published nearly 400 music articles, cover stories, feature stories and record reviews in places such as Rolling Stone, SPIN, MOJO, The Village Voice, The Boston Phoenix, Raygun, SonicNet, Addicted to Noise, SMUG and Real Groove.
Most recent review essay: Absolutely Prefabulous, The Village Voice, January 30, 2001.

Professional Employment
Video Producer, Media Education Foundation, 1999-2001.
Contributing Editor, SonicNet and MTV Interactive, 1996-present.
Senior Writer, SMUG Magazine, 1997-2000.
Columnist, Iowa City & Cedar Rapids Icon, 2000-2001.
Columnist, Iowa City Little Village, 2001-present.

Service
1. Department
UAC Committee Member – Media Studies representative, Fall 2000 – Spring 2001.
GAC Committee Member – Media Studies representative, Fall 2001 – present.
Global Media Studies Search Committee Member, Fall 2001 – Spring 2002.
2. College
Technical Support Committee for the College of Liberal Arts, 2000 – present.
3. University
KRUI Faculty Advisor, Fall 2001 – present.
Student Broadcasters Incorporated Board Member, Fall 2001 – present.
4. Profession
Reviewer, New Media & Society, Fall 2000 – present.
Reviewer, Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, Fall 2001 – present.
International Association for the Study of Popular Music 2001 Conference Planning Committee.
5. Community
Telecommunications Commission Advisory to Iowa City Council, Spring 2001 – present.



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