Expertise
Media Freedom, Comparative and International Political Communication, Human Rights, Repression and Dissent, International Relations, Research Methods
Research Interests
Media and Politics; Human Rights; Repression & Dissent; International Communication; Political Communication and Research Methods.
Education
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D): Politics and International Relations, (2010), University of Southern California - Los Angeles, California
- Dissertation / Thesis Title: The Fabled Fourth Estate: Media Freedom, Democracy and Human Rights
- Master of Science (MS): Radio, Television and Film, (1989), Syracuse University - Syracuse, New York
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.): Communication, (1987), Emerson College - Boston, Massachusetts
Biosketch
Jenifer Whitten-Woodring has served as Dean of the Honors College since 2022. She is also Vice President of the International Studies Association and Chair of the Commonwealth Honors Council. Whitten-Woodring remains active as a political scientist. Her research focuses on human rights and civil liberties, including gendered rights, media freedom and freedom of expression. Prior to becoming a political scientist, Whitten-Woodring worked as a journalist in print and broadcast media and received five first place awards from the New York State Associated Press Broadcasters Association. She became interested in media freedom and the relationship between media, politics, and human rights when she was a journalism instructor and student newspaper adviser, first at Cedar Crest College in Allentown, Pennsylvania and then at California State University at San Marcos. She holds a B.F.A. from Emerson College, an M.S. from Syracuse University and PhD in Politics and International Relations from the University of Southern California.
Selected Awards and Honors
- Center for Women and Work Associate (2011) - University of Massachusetts Lowell
- Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society (2010)
- Best Paper in International Communication (2009) - Section of the International Studies Association
- The Letty and Peter Toma Prize (2009), Scholarship/Research
Selected Publications
- Anderson, Nicole., Commins, Aerin., Whitten-Woodring, J.M. (2024). Fostering bottom-up censorship from the top-down: Nationalism and media restrictions. The International Journal of Press/Politics
- Whitten-Woodring, J.M., Kleinberg, M., Thawnghmung, A., Thitsar, M.T. (2020). Poison If You Don’t Know How to Use It: Facebook, Democracy, and Human Rights in Myanmar . International Journal of Press/Politics
- Whitten-Woodring, J.M. (2016). News about Her: The Effects of Media Freedom and Internet Access on Women’s Rights. Journal of Human Rights,15(3) 383–407.
- Hutchison, M.L., Schiano, S., Whitten-Woodring, J.M. (2016). When the Fourth Estate Becomes a Fifth Column The Effect of Media Freedom and Social Intolerance on Civil Conflict. The International Journal of Press/Politics,21(2) 165–187.
- Whitten-Woodring, J.M., Van Belle, D. (2015). The Correlates of Media Freedom: An Introduction of the Global Media Freedom Dataset. Political Science Research and Methods.
- Whitten-Woodring, J.M. (2015). The Role of Media in the Repression-Protest Nexus: A Game Theoretic Model. The Journal of Conflict Resolution,59(6) 1017-42.
- Whitten-Woodring, J.M., A. Van Belle, D. (2014). Historical Guide to World Media Freedom a Country-by-Country Analysis. Sage Reference/CQ Press
- Whitten-Woodring, J.M., James, P. (2012). Fourth Estate or Mouthpiece? A Formal Model of Media, Protest, and Government Repression. Political Communication,29(2) 113-136.
- Whitten-Woodring, J.M. (2009). Watchdog or Lapdog? Media Freedom, Regime Type, and Government Respect for Human Rights. International Studies Quarterly, (3) 595.
Selected Presentations
- Effective Collaboration with Teaching and Learning Assistants - The Provost's Excellence in Learning & Teaching Virtual Seminar Series, July 2020