
Why it's so important for children to see diversity on the big and small screens
Research suggests that children who see a wide range of genders, races and sexualities on screen are less likely to develop stereotypes.
In addition to my appointment in the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development, I serve as Director of Tufts Center for Interdisciplinary Studies and a Senior Fellow in Civic Media at the Tisch College of Civic Life.
My interdisciplinary training (anthropology, sociology, women's history as an undergraduate) and media studies (as a graduate student) positioned me for equally interdisciplinary research. A lot of what I do is focused around examining race, ethnicity and gender in children's media and the effects of these images. But I also do a lot focused around historical issues – mostly the fascinating lives of some 19th-century women.