Race, Class and Gender Specialist
Dr. Christopher Bell is as an Assistant Professor of Media Studies and the Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Communication at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. He earned a Bachelors degree in Social Science from the University of Northern Colorado, a Masters in Television, Film and New Media Production from San Diego State University, and a Ph.D. in Communication and Media Studies from the University of Colorado Boulder.
He specializes in the study of popular culture, focusing on the ways in which race, class and gender intersect in different forms of media. Dr. Bell is a highly trained and dynamic speaker with a gift for connecting with students. His vast and authentic knowledge of popular culture combines with his years of study in the areas of media effects and textual analysis to create a unique blend of information and delivery that speaks to the hearts of academics and non-academics alike.
At UCCS, he teaches both theory and methodology courses in critical analysis of popular culture, rhetorical theory, representation theory and mass media. Dr. Bell’s academic books include American Idolatry: Celebrity, Commodity and Reality Television (McFarland 2010),Hermione Granger Saves the World! (McFarland 2012), Legilimens! Perspectives in Harry Potter Studies (Cambridge Scholars 2013), From Here to Hogwarts (McFarland 2015), and Wizards vs. Muggles (McFarland 2016).
For over ten years, Dr. Bell has been a featured professional speaker on a variety of college campuses, both large and small, nationally touring on issues of race, class and gender in the media. In what little spare time is left over, Dr. Bell is the author of the children’s books Do Not Open the Door! and Do Not Look Under the Rug!, a competitive gamer, competing on regional and international circuits, and travels with his wife and daughter.
Not Diversity Training lecture:
Dr. Bell is a one-of-a-kind speaker with a message that you and your students will never forget. His passion and dynamic presence will inspire you to look at the world in a whole new way. People are tired of sitting through diversity trainings. I promise. Every year, it’s the same old thing, the same old discussions and the same old results. Dr. Bell’s signature program, Not Diversity Training, will change all of that. Using contemporary examples from popular culture, Dr. Bell will help get to the heart of “diversity issues” and combat them where they live: inside your own head. Through his distinctive blend of academic theory and popular culture, Dr. Bell shows your students, staff or community how leadership practices and social group memberships are defined and shaped by media. Using examples from everything from Disney films to the NFL, Dr. Bell weaves an intricate and compelling tapestry of media messages to help attendees become more savvy media consumers and develop a more complex understanding of diversity issues.
Media Messaging lecture:
Every day, in a variety of contexts, you encounter situations in which attitudes, beliefs, and feelings are challenged, reinforced, and sublimated – particularly around race, gender, class, sexual orientation, ability, religion, and so on. The characteristics which inwardly and outwardly define and categorize us in the eyes of others have a direct impact on the way in which we treat other people and, in turn, the way other people treat us. Where do your attitudes, beliefs, and feelings come from? How are they formed? Media have a profound impact on the way you see the world, for better or worse. It is not a question of conservative or liberal, black or brown or white, gay or straight, Christian or Jewish or Muslim, male or female. It is a question of representation: who put those attitudes in your head, what societal processes and structures are reinforced in doing so, and how savvy are you in determining what it is the media around you are trying to get you to think about?
The Importance of Female Superheroes:
If we want to change the world, we have to change the way we teach children about the world and their places in it. In a 100% media saturated society, that means changing the media our children consume, and the ways in which they interact with media. Our society is driven by material culture, and the ways in which we learn about other people and about the world begin when we are children. The vast majority of childhood learning is received through play – how a child plays will affect how a child learns, grows, and ultimately lives. We need more female superhero toys, and we need them right now – not just for girls, but for boys as well.
To have Dr. Bell present at your next event, please call (303) 478-6652, email DSB Events & Talent or click the teal “BOOK NOW” button on the upper right side of this page.
CHLOE SUTTON