Klein College of Media and Communication doctoral candidates Margarita Artoglou and Darren Chan were two out of three students in the Historical Methods for Media and Communication Research seminar this past spring taught by Laura H. Carnell Professor of Journalism Carolyn Kitch. The class focused on selecting a historical period that interests the student and finding a topic to develop in-depth research on.
Kitch recommended both students apply for the 2024 American Journalism Historians Association (AJHA) Convention. The organization seeks to help advance education in mass communication history and recognize the importance of media history in the world.
The pair applied in the spring and found out in July that they were selected to display their findings at the 2024 AJHA Convention in Pittsburgh, PA. In early October, Chan was also notified that he was selected as an honorable mention for the William Snorgrass Award for Outstanding Paper on Minority Journalism History.
“It's wonderful to see our doctoral students' work recognized by acceptance for presentation at a national conference, where they received feedback from scholars across the field of media history,” said Kitch.
Artoglou titled her research Seventeen Magazine, 1990-2010: Constructions of Teenage Girlhood in the Third Wave and Postfeminist Eras. In this exploration, she examined archives from the ‘90s to the '00s, comparing how the magazine discussed pop culture, social issues and body image for girls.
The former Fordham graduate’s investigation led to a realm of paths among why the magazine shifted its focus from educating young women on critical issues to promoting diet culture. Artoglou learned the magazine was bought by Hearst Corporation and given a new Editor-In-Chief in 2003. She concluded that the magazine started to convey a new message to its readers during the transition.
“I grew up reading Seventeen, and one of the things that prompted me to explore this was that I am such a fan of beauty culture and fashion. I loved magazines growing up, but I had always thought of myself as a feminist and someone who believes in empowering women,” Artoglou said. “The cogitative distance of thinking of myself as a feminist, a smart, educated woman and loving women’s magazines. ‘I was like, why do I feel like there is such a tension there? Why do I feel like I can’t enjoy and be both things?’ I wanted to explore that more, and I wasn't expecting Seventeen to do both in such a successful way.”
Chan titled his research “Rebel in a Chinatown: The Legacy of Yellow Seeds and Their Newspaper in Philadelphia’s Chinatown.” He decided to explore the Chinese diaspora media in Philadelphia during his research. He landed upon Yellow Seeds, a bilingual Chinese-English newspaper based on Philadelphia's Chinatown struggles published between 1972 and 1977. The paper provided a lens into the Asian American community and informed individuals of political activism, including the “Save Chinatown” movement.
The third-year PhD student contrasted the differences between Yellow Seeds' coverage of Chinatowns’ struggle and how the mainstream media presented the problem. Chan learned the Yellow Seeds were able to uncover the power struggles among the community and the imbalance of power within the area.
Chan’s research is also particularly relevant as the Philadelphia 76ers are looking to move their arena to Chinatown. He argued the importance of this research and highlighted that Washington, D.C., no longer has a Chinatown community due to casinos and arenas built in the area.
“I’m from Hong Kong, and Chinatown has been my second home since I’ve been here. I go there every week and I know people around there. I wanted to do something for people not just in academia, but for the general people who were interested in history and want to learn something about the past, and especially what is happening in Chinatown right now.”
During the conference, Artoglou and Chan both had the opportunity to speak on a panel with individuals who did research on similar topics.
Artoglou talked with students from the University of Georgia and Samford University about the overall topic of feminism in print over the centuries. On his panel, Chan spoke with a historian and a student from The New School for Social Research. The panel focused on dissent and the alternative press.
Although the conference concluded over a month ago, both students are still critiquing their papers and would like to have them published in a journal one day.
Upon graduation, Artoglou would like to continue her studies in feminist media and social attitudes in gender roles to become a professor. Similarly, Chan also wants to pursue a career in academia and is intrigued by the study of political satire.