Here’s an interview with Professor Radhika Parameswaran, Professor in the School of Journalism at Indiana University, Bloomington. She has been researching colorism—a term originally defined by Black scholars– in media culture, and more specifically, in media like comic books and advertising. After having met virtually, 18 months prior, we finally met in June 2012 to get us at The Coloursim Project thinking critically about the issue. I instantly learnt this from our face-to-face meeting: she is incredibly gracious, a foodie and shares her commentary in a witty, poignant style. Dr. Parameswaran and I talked about films, classrooms, our personal journeys, and of course, Colourism. Below is her short bio which outlines briefly her area of research and publications. Videos embedded below are in 3 parts and total approximately 18 minutes. I am conveniently invisible, seated behind the recording device. Please also find the transcript inserted between the videos for your reading pleasure!
Short Bio
Dr. Radhika Parameswaran, Professor in the School of Journalism and adjunct faculty in the Cultural Studies and India studies programs at Indiana University, Bloomington. Her areas of research include feminist cultural studies, gender and media globalization, South Asia, qualitative methods, and postcolonial studies. She has an edited volume on global audience studies forthcoming from Wile-Blackwell and her recent articles have appeared in Journal of Children and Media, The Handbook of Critical Indigenous Methodologies, Communication, Culture, and Critique, Critical Studies in Media Communication, Popular Communication and Communication Review. She has also received three teaching awards from the Journalism School.