Hello!
I am an Assistant Professor of Media and Cultural Studies in the Communication Department of Denison University in Granville, Ohio.
My book project, Air Spaces: Localism in American Thought and Media Policy, 1920-1934, explores how regulators, the radio industry, and the public used discourses and structures of localism in a range of struggles to shape the media system. It will be a few years before it sees publication, but if you’re interested you can read and download the dissertation that it is based on here.
My publications include articles in Radio Journal, the Journal of the Society for American Music, the Journal of Popular Culture, Community Media Review, an anthology from Penn (Sound in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, edited by David Suisman and Susan Strasser), and a forthcoming anthology from Rutgers (Down to Earth: Satellite Technologies, Industries and Cultures, edited by Lisa Parks and James Schwoch).
My ongoing research and teaching interests include media history and cultural policy; impacts of popular culture on American public life; theories, practices, and future of citizen-produced media; and media and disability. You can read and download my curriculum vitae here.
I am married to Anna Nekola, an oboist and musicologist. We live in Granville and have two cats (warning: cat photos on this site!).
You can reach me at mwkirkpa@gmail.com.