Theresa White

EDUCATION

Ph.D. University of California, Los Angeles,(UCLA), 2008
M.A. University of California, Los Angeles, (UCLA), 1999
B.A. University of Southern California (USC), 1992

COURSES TAUGHT

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS

PUBLICATIONS

"Parental Support and Psychological Control in Relation to African American College Students’ Self-Esteem." Africology: The Journal of Pan African Studies, 9(4), 199-218. 2016. (Plunkett, S., White, T., Carter, D. B., & Horne, M.E.F.)

"The Changing Landscape of Race, Culture and Family Life: Interracial Couples’ Contribution to the Conversation." World Journal of Social Science Research. 2(1). 2015. (White, T., Love, S., DeBose, H.).

"A Glance at Herstory: African American Female Documentarians: Navigating Beyond the Normative Constraints in A Question of Color and My Mic Sounds Nice: The Truth About Women in Hip Hop." In Novotny, L. (Ed.). Documenting the Black Experience: Non-narrative Cinema & African American History, Culture, and Identity. (pp. 229-252). Jefferson, NC: McFarland Press. 2014. (White, T., Tekle, S., & Shaw, M.).

"Exploring the Sexuality of African American Older Women." British Journal of Medicine & Medical Research. 4(5), 1129-1148. 2014. (Lagana, L., White, T., Bruzzone, D. & Bruzzone, C.).

“Tweet of Hope: Social Media’s Impact on Young Adults’ Political Participation in the Obama 2008 and 2012 Presidential Elections.” In Patrut, B. and M. Patrut (Eds.). Social Media in Politics: Case Studies on the Political Power of Social Media.(pp. 213-223). Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishers. 2014.

“Digital Social Media Detox: Responding to a Culture of Interconnectivity.” In B. Patrut, M. Patrut and C. Cmeciu (Eds.). Social Media and the New Academic Environment: Pedagogical Challenges. (pp. 414-430). Hershey, PA: IGI Global Publisher. 2013.

“Factors influencing older black women’s sexual functioning and their disclosure of sexual concerns.” OA Women’s Health, 1(1):10, 1-7. 2013.

“Missy ‘Misdemeanor’ Elliot and Nicki Minaj: Fashionistin’ Black Female Sexuality in Hip Hop Culture---Girl Power of Overpowered?” Journal of Black Studies (JBS), 6(44), 608-627. 2013.

“Muslim Women and Girls: Searching for Democracy and Self-Expression.” Journal of International Women’s Studies (JIWS), 14(3), 2013.

"Economic Coping and Heads of Households' Perception of Family Health." Handbook of Psychology of Coping: New Research.  In S. Mottola (Ed.). Psychology of Coping: New Research. (pp. 85-110). Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers.  2012.

 “Visual Literacy and Cultural Production: Examining Black Masculinity Through Community Engagement.” Journal of Visual Literacy, 1(31), 2012.

PRESENTATIONS

Chair: “Race, Activism, and African Culture in Hip-Hop.”National Council for Black Studies (NCBS) Conference, Atlanta, Georgia. March, 2018.

Chair: “"Tried to be softer, prettier, less awake." National Council for Black Studies (NCBS) Conference, Houston, Texas. March, 2017.

Poster Presentation: “Digital Storytelling to Enhance Student Engagement and Learning.” CSUN Academic Innovation Showcase. Grand Salon, California State University, Northridge. Northridge, CA. May, 2016.

Presenter: “Re-Dressing the Black Masculine Fashion Aesthetic---Dandyism to Metro-Sexual: Transgressing Cultural Identity.” National Council for Black Studies (NCBS) Conference, Charlotte, North Carolina. March, 2016.

Chair: “Decolonizing the narratives surrounding people of color–--a comparative look at the narratives associated with African Americans and Pacific Island New Zealanders, International Journal of Arts and Science (IJAS) Conference, Barcelona, Spain. July, 2015.

Presenter:“Re-Dressing the Black Masculine Fashion Aesthetic---Dandyism to Metro-Sexual: Transgressing Cultural Identity.” International Journal of Arts and Science (IJAS) Conference, Barcelona, Spain. July, 2015.

Presenter: “Re-Shaping Media Images for Black Women,” Black Women’s Wellness Conference: Get Smart B4U Get Sexy. California Endowment, Los Angeles. September, 2014.

“Re-Dressing the Black Masculine Fashion Aesthetic---Dandyism to Metro-Sexual: Transgressing Cultural Identity.” Paper Presentation. Popular Culture and American Culture (PCA/ACA) Conference. Chicago, Ill., April 2014.

“Media Savvy Adolescent Consumers in the Fight Against Childhood Obesity.” Paper Presentation: Health, Wellness and Society International Conference, Sao Paolo, Brazil, March 2013.

“Missy ‘Misdemeanor’ Elliot and Nicki Minaj: Fashionistin’ Black Female Sexuality in Hip Hop Culture---Girl Power of Overpowered?” Paper Presentation: National Women’s Studies Association (NWSA), Oakland, California, November 2012.

“Muslim Women and Girls: Searching for Democracy and Self-Expression.” Paper Presentation: International Visual Sociology Association (IVSA) Conference, Buenos Aires, Argentina, August 2012.

“Documentaries as Ethnographic Research and Self Expression.” Poster Presentation: Broadcast Education Association (BEA), Las Vegas, Nevada, April 2012.

“Battling Beauty; Re-Presenting Global REELalities in the Search for Self.” Documentary Award Pitch Presentation. Las Vegas, Nevada, April 2012

“Battling Beauty; Re-Presenting Global REELalities in the Search for Self.” Paper Presentation: National Women’s Studies Association (NWSA) Conference, Atlanta, GA, November 2011.

“Using Visual, Participatory Research to Critique the Psychosocial Effects of Social Media.” Paper Presentation: International Visual Sociology Association (IVSA), Vancouver, B.C., July 2011.

 “Childhood Obesity and Ethnic Communities.” Northridge Child and Adolescent Development Alumni Chapter Conference: Childhood Obesity—Practical Approaches to Positive Change. Panelist, CSUN, Northridge, CA, March, 2011.

“Documentaries as Scholarly Research: Honing Media and Visual Literacy Through Community Engagement.” Paper Presentation: International Visual Literacy Association (IVLA) Conference, Cyprus, Greece, September 2010.

AREAS OF RESEARCH AND SPECIALIZATION

Film Criticism; Feminist Theory; Cultural Studies; Visual Culture; Documentary Film Production; Race, Gender and Media Representations; Critical Media Literacy; Sexuality; Masculinity, Self Image/Self Esteem and Health Disparities for Minority Populations.

Cultural Production:

Dr. White is the Director and Producer of educational documentary films that offer narratives and perspectives from marginalized groups including, Buckism to Barackism: Re-Imagining Black Masculinity and Manhood; Muslim Women and Girls: Searching for Democracy and Self Expression; Developing Media Savvy Adolescent Girls in the Fight Against Childhood Obesity (M.I.S.S.); RIMI-An Interview with Dr. Carrie Saetermoe. She is in post-production for Battling Beauty: Re-Presenting Global REELatiies in the Search for Self.

Community Engagement:

The former Co-Director of the Civil Discourse and Social Change (CDSC) Initiative, Dr. White works with faculty, students and community organizations to create a culture where social justice is a permanent part of the institutional make-up, by engendering a community of consciousness, academic engagement, and advocacy.  She is the former Director of the DuBois Hamer Institute for Academic Achievement, where she developed innovative community engagement projects addressing Female Health Literacy, African American Male Empowerment and Media Literacy.

Health Disparities for Minority Populations:

An active member of the RIMI Research Infrastructure for Minority Institutions (RIMI) at CSUN, she has developed community-based programs for African American and Latino adolescent and tween girls. Her most recent project is Developing Media Savvy Adolescent Consumers in the Fight Against Childhood Obesity, for which she received the prestigious NIH (RIMI) Tiered Mentor Scholar Award. Referred to as the M.I.S.S. (Media Inspired Savvy Sisters) program, it is an after-school psychosocial, nutritional, media intervention for at-risk African American tween (8-11) females at the Challengers Boys and Girls Club in Los Angeles. It aims to empower girls, while placing emphasis on eating in normal and healthful ways, developing increased levels of self-esteem and media/advertising literacy.  The project also examines the effects of food marketing on children, focusing on how they respond to, and perceive commercials embedded in the online environment of selected videogames, media platforms and outdoor advertising.

Student Collaboration:

Dr. White is the founding faculty advisor for the CSUN student research group, C.A.P.T.U.R.E.D. (Creative Awareness Productions Through Universal Research and Educational Documentaries), and is the faculty editor for the C.A.P.T.U.R.E.D. Multi-Media Student Journal. She has also co-authored several peer-reviewed articles with CSUN students.