OUR TEAM
Henry Jenkins
Provost's Professor of Communication, Journalism, Cinematic Arts & Education
www.henryjenkins.org | @henryjenkins
Henry Jenkins is Provost’s Professor of Communication, Journalism, Cinematic Arts and Education at the University of Southern California. He joined USC from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was Peter de Florez Professor in the Humanities. Jenkins directed MIT’s Comparative Media Studies graduate degree program from 1993-2009, setting an innovative research agenda during a time of fundamental change in communication, journalism and entertainment.
Jenkins has also played a central role in demonstrating the importance of new media technologies in educational settings. He has worked closely with the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to shape a media literacy program designed to explore the effects of participatory media on young people, and reveal potential new pathways for education through emerging digital media.
He is principal investigator on the Media Activism Participatory Politics project. Jenkins’ most recent books include Participatory Culture in a Networked Society (with danah boyd and Mimi Ito) and By Any Media Necessary: The New Youth Activism (with Sangita Shresthova, Liana Gamber-Thompson, Neta Kligler-Vilenchik, and Arley Zimmerman). He is currently finishing a book on contemporary graphic novels. He blogs twice a week at henryjenkins.org.
Sangita Shresthova, PhD is a multilingual scholar specializing in civic participation, popular culture, and the intersections of digital media and intercultural communication. She leads a range of projects examining civic engagement in both digital and physical spaces. Shresthova’s expertise in designing and executing complex qualitative research is exemplified by her leadership in a multi-year study of youth activism in the digital age, which culminated in the publication of By Any Media Necessary: The New Youth Activism.
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Shresthova’s published works include Practicing Futures: The Civic Imagination Action Handbook and Popular Culture and the Civic Imagination: Case Studies of Creative Social Change, which explore how imaginative practices and popular culture can foster creative social transformation. She is also a co-creator of the Digital Civics Toolkit, a widely recognized resource designed to support educators and community leaders in guiding youth learning in digital environments. The toolkit was named one of the “Best Edtech of 2018” and continues to be a vital resource for fostering digital literacy and civic engagement.
Forthcoming in 2025, her books We Are Civic Media (Northwestern University Press) and Connected Cultures: How to Parent Across Borders (Channel View Publications) will expand her contributions to civic media studies and cross-cultural communication.
Civic Paths Group
Gabriel Peters-Lazaro
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Much of the thinking and work on the Civic Imagination Project is done by members of the Civic Paths Group at the University of Southern California. The Civic Paths Group explores continuities between online participatory culture and civic engagement through outreach, creative work, research, and academic inquiry. Learn more about Civic Paths here.
Gabriel Peters-Lazaro was an assistant professor of the practice of cinematic arts in the Division of Media Arts + Practice at the USC School of Cinematic Arts where he researched, designed and produced digital media for innovative learning. As a member of the Media, Activism and Participatory Politics (MAPP) project he worked to develop participatory media resources and curricula to support new forms of civic education and engagement for young people. He helped create The Junior AV Club, a participatory action research project exploring mindful media making and sharing as powerful practices of early childhood learning. He taught graduate and undergraduate courses on digital media tools and tactics, digital studies and new media for social change. He received his B.A. in Film Studies from UC Berkeley, completed his M.F.A in Film Directing and Production at UCLA and received his Ph.D. from Media Arts + Practice at USC. Gabriel (also known as Gabe) passed away in May 2021. His thinking continues to influence and shape our work in many ways.