Judith Clemens-Smucker

About

Dr. Clemens-Smucker joined SHSU’s Mass Communication Department following careers in theatre and creative writing. Judy worked as an Equity stage manager in Philadelphia, PA, and Louisville, KY, and as the General Manager of Philadelphia’s Cheltenham Center for the Arts before publishing twelve crime fiction novels and one non-fiction book of biographies about peacemakers. She has also published several short stories in crime fiction magazines, two plays, and several essays on writing. Dr. Clemens-Smucker received her PhD in American Culture Studies and her master’s in Popular Culture from Bowling Green State University (Ohio). She loves teaching and working with college students and enjoys talking with them about television and film and the role they play in society.

Teaching Specialities

Film Appreciation, Film History, Television history, Television and Gender, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Popular Culture, American Culture Studies.

Research Interests/Recent Publications

Dr. Clemens-Smucker’s main research area is the intersection of television and gender, although she branches out to write about other topics within film and television, such as Bollywood or the FCC and its influence during the modern streaming era. Recent academic publications include:

“Stranger Teens: Eleven Transforms the Monstrous Symbolism of Adolescence through a Contemporary Narrative Arc.” Journal of Popular Film and Television, Vol. 50, No. 2, 2022, pp. 60-68.

“Star Trek: Voyager – The Monstrousness of Humans in ‘Scorpion, Parts 1 & 2.’” Interdisciplinary Literary Studies: A Journal of Criticism and Theory, vol. 23, no. 3. The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2021, pp. 319-37.

“Growing up with Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Recruiting New Fans and Teaching Star Trek Ideology through YA Literature.” Strange Novel Worlds? Star Trek Novels and Fiction Collections in Popular Culture, edited by Caroline-Isabelle Caron and Kristin Noone. McFarland, Upcoming 2024.

"Dealing with Trauma: The Feminist Progression of Suffering in Star Trek.” Space: The Feminist Frontier, edited by Jennifer Garlen and Anissa Graham. McFarland, upcoming.

“Smiling No Matter What: Analyzing the Suppressed Rage of Jocelyn Schitt in the Sitcom Schitt’s Creek.” Schitt’s Creek: A Place to Love, edited by Kellie Deys, Jim Deys, and Nikki Anderson-Boss. Lexington Books, upcoming.

Education

PhD in American Culture Studies, received 2023
Bowling Green State University, Ohio
Primary concentration: Critical Studies in Film, Media, and Culture

MA in Popular Culture, received 2020
Bowling Green State University, Ohio

BA in theatre, 1991
Goshen College, Ohio

Memberships/Affiliations

Society for Cinema and Media Studies
Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association
Sisters in Crime, former president, lifetime member

Awards/Honors

Charles E. Shanklin Award for Research Excellence Finalist, Bowling Green State University, 2023
Popular Culture Departmental Thesis Award, Bowling Green State University, 2021