Professional Summary
Dr. Krysten Stein (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English & Communication at the University of Cincinnati Blue Ash College. She earned her PhD in Communication and Media Studies from the University of Illinois Chicago, with concentrations in Gender and Women’s Studies and Black Studies. She also holds a BA in Communication with minors in Psychology and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and an MA in Communication with a graduate certificate in Film and Media Studies, both from the University of Cincinnati.
Grounded in qualitative and ethnographic methods—including interviews, participant observation, and the analysis of textual and visual materials, Krysten’s research examines the sociocultural dimensions of reality television and social media, with a focus on representation and identity, production and political economy, and health and wellness. While her earlier research focused on identity and representation in television, her scholarship has since expanded to explore social media ecologies. She is currently working on her first book manuscript, And How Does That Make You Feel? Theratainment and the Digital Commodification of Mental Health, which analyzes the platformization and commodification of mental health care in the algorithmic age.
She is a Research Affiliate at the Center on Digital Culture and Society (CDCS) at the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, and is active in various professional and scholarly roles within the field. Krysten is a co-founding member of the Content Creator Scholars Network (CCSN) and currently serves as the Social Media Editor for Feminist Media Studies (FMS). She is also a Global Member of the TikTok Cultures Research Network. Previously, she was a Dissertation Fellow with the UCLA Center for Critical Internet Inquiry (c2i2) and served as the Student and Early Career Representative for the Popular Media and Culture Division (PMC) of the International Communication Association (ICA).
Her research has been published in leading academic journals such as Feminist Media Studies, Gender & Society, The International Journal of Communication, and Queer Studies in Media & Popular Culture. Her work has also been featured in major media outlets including The Guardian, Business Insider, and CNN. She regularly presents her research at national and international conferences, including the International Communication Association (ICA), the Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR), the Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS), and Console-ing Passions.
With more than a decade of teaching and advising experience, Krysten brings a critical, student-centered approach to the classroom. Her pedagogy bridges theory and lived experience, cultivating curiosity, critical inquiry, and analytical engagement with media, communication, and culture.
Education
Master of Arts: University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, Ohio, 2012 (Communication)
Bachelor of Arts: University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, Ohio, 2011 (Major: Communication Minors: Psychology, Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies )
Graduate Certificate: University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, 2016 (Film and Media Studies )
PhD: University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, 2024 (Communication, Gender and Women's Studies, Black Studies)