DR. DANA SCHOWALTER
Western Oregon University Faculty
Dana Schowalter joined the Western Oregon University faculty in 2015 and currently serves as a professor and co-chair of the Department of Communication. She teaches courses in social media, media literacy, and gender/race in social movements, and her research projects focus on gender, economics, and power. Her 2022 book The Misogynistic Backlash Against Women-Strong Films focused on the social media backlash against strong women heroines in film, and her most recent book project currently under contract looks at diverse representations in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She also conducts research on social media discussions of “bad motherhood” as a space for building community around the realities of parenting.
Dr. Schowalter was a first-generation college student and has spent much of her academic life trying to make education more accessible to all students. Her service work includes membership on the advisory boards for Abby’s House and SafeZone, and she helps to organize community projects such as a 500-person Thanksgiving Dinner and an annual Pride festival in her adopted hometown of Falls City
Email: schowalterd@wou.edu
