Christopher Westgate

Professor

JWU Faculty Since 2011

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Contact Info

Email
christopher.westgate@jwu.edu
Phone
401-598-2764
Campus
Providence

My research program includes communication history, digital culture, Latinx media, social identities, and sound studies. My scholarship brings qualitative research methods to bear on the interpretation of everyday acts and artifacts. My years of work as a communication scholar and radio professional have convinced me that no questions are more interesting than who exercises power, by what means, and to what ends; the answers to these questions have important implications for media organizations and their workers.


Education

  • PhD, Texas A & M University
  • MA, Columbia University
  • BS, Cornell University

My years of work as a communication scholar and radio professional have convinced me that no questions are more interesting than who exercises power, by what means, and to what ends

Teaching Interests

My teaching interests are diverse. I enjoy teaching seminars on media representations as well as classes that explore the intersection of media, culture, and society. Many of my courses involve opportunities to engage with local media organizations and institutions. I have been teaching for fifteen years.

Scholarly Interests

My research program addresses the ways in which social identities--racial, ethnic, gender, and sexual--find expression in media industries, with an emphasis on Latinx popular music.

Courses

  • MCST2050: Media Audiences
  • MCST3100: Radio, Records, and Popular Music
  • MCST4010: Global Media
  • MCST4190: Media Research Methods
  • MCST4200: Senior Seminar in Media and Communication Studies
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Extra Curricular Roles

Co-director, Media & Communication Studies major

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Professional Affiliations

Society for Cinema and Media Studies, International Communication Association, International Association for the Study of Popular Music

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Publications

  • 2024, The First Spanish-Language Album to Reach Number One: El Ultimo Tour del Mundo, Bad Bunny, and the Billboard 200. International Journal of Communication, 18, 1724-1744
  • 2021 Silent Pivoting: Listening for the Inaudible in the Remote University. Forthcoming in Sound Studies.
  • 2019 Popular Music Fans and the Value of Concert Tickets. Popular Music & Society, 43(1), 57-77. DOI: 10.1080/03007766.2019.1601152
  • 2016 Community and Communication (with E.W. Rothenbuhler). In K.B. Jensen (ed.), International Encyclopedia of Communication Theory and Philosophy. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell.
  • 2014 One Language, One Nation, and One Vision: NBC Latino, Fusion, and Fox News Latino. In A. Dávila and Y. Rivero (eds.), Contemporary Latina/o Media: Production, Circulation, Politics. New York: NYU Press, 82-102.
  • 2014 Mexican Mobile Music: Una Convergencia con Sabor (with P. Burkart). In S. Sumanth and J. Stanyek (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Mobile Music Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 415-433.
  • 2013 Notes on the Wire: Ballads, Biases, and Borders of Performance Journalism. Media, Culture & Society 35(8), November. 996-1010. DOI: 10.1177/0163443713501934
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Dissertations And Theses Advised

  • Honors Thesis Advisor/Committee Chair: Yuvia Morales, Mackenzie Carroll, Anais Nolasco, Alyssa Termini, Johnson & Wales (2014-present)
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Honors And Awards

  • 2020-2021 Faculty Research Fellowship, College of Arts & Sciences, Johnson & Wales
  • 2016 Faculty Exchange Recipient, Inholland University of Applied Sciences, Hoofddorp, Netherlands, Johnson & Wales
  • 2015-2016 Faculty Research Fellowship, College of Arts & Sciences, Johnson & Wales
  • 2013-2014 Alan Shawn Feinstein Faculty Fellowship in Experiential Education, Johnson & Wales
  • 2013-2014 Alan Shawn Feinstein Technology & Design Center, Digital Media Project Grant, Johnson & Wales
  • 2011-2013 Travel to Conference Awards, Johnson & Wales University