Linda Jean Kenix
Linda Jean Kenix (previously Kensicki) received her Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin in 2001. Her dissertation, titled “Media construction of an elitist environmental movement: New frontiers for second level agenda setting and political activism,” was completed under the supervision of Dr. Maxwell McCombs, the co-creator of agenda setting theory. Upon the completion of her degree, she moved north to the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, where she spent four years braving the winters as an Assistant Professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. In 2005, she moved to New Zealand to continue her career at the University of Canterbury.
Dr Kenix's research has traditionally focused on the representation of politically marginalized groups in mainstream and alternative media. Her recent work has broadened to examine how marginalized groups are utilizing various media as a potential tool for social change. Since receiving her Ph.D., she has published broadly in international, peer-reviewed academic journals and has presented her research at over 30 international conferences – winning ‘best paper’ awards four separate times. She was awarded two prestigious Erskine Fellowships involving placements as a Visiting Research Fellow at Oxford University in 2008 and the University of Cambridge in 2010.
She has ten years of professional media experience in different aspects of visual communication as a studio artist, graphic designer, art buyer and design assistant .
Areas of expertise: visual representations of marginalized groups in the media; analyzing the aesthetic of community media; print media design and layout.