Dr. Nicola Corbin, Ph.D is an assistant professor in the Communication department at Weber State University, in Ogden, Utah. Dr. Corbin was born in Georgetown, Guyana and immigrated to the United States when she was 16 years old. She graduated magna cum laude, with a BA Degree in Communications from Seton Hall University and later became an adjunct profession teaching Media Writing, Oral Communication and freshman orientation courses at both Seton Hall and the University of Maryland.
Following her graduation from Seton Hall, Dr. Corbin worked as a news desk and features copy editor who was also responsible for youth outreach at the Herald News in West Paterson, N.J. During her time there, she received design awards from the New Jersey Press Association and the New Jersey Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. She later attended University of Georgia, where she earned a Doctorate Degree in Mass Communication in 2013. Her dissertation, titled “The Publicness of the Private: Articulations of Colorism in Popular Media, 1982-2012,” traced the discursive production of colorism, or intra-race discrimination in select popular media, and the ways in which it is gendered. Dr. Corbin also spent a year at the University of Maryland as member of the senior staff and assistant to the director, responsible for marketing and communications within the Department of Transportation Services.
My 10 years of professional experience in journalism and public relations enhances my profound love for teaching, interaction and engagement in the classroom. I believe that teaching goes beyond the presentation of course material. I value integrating theoretical foundations with practical, industry-tested approaches, making course material relevant and topical which promotes engagement and learning, and providing effective and constructive feedback to enable critical self-assessment.
Dr. Corbin is currently working on a number of research projects, including:
• “Transgressing Respectability: A Safe Space to Let It Hang Out in Dark Girls” In process for Feminist Media Studies.
• “Why Is My Black Beautiful? The Articulations for Race and Gender in Public Relations Practice.” In process for Public Relations Review.
• “Natural Transitions: Fad or True Change – Dissecting the Online Discourse Surrounding the Natural Hair Care ‘Movement’. ” In process for Journal of Black Studies.
• “The Problem Isn’t Gabby Douglas’ Hair: An Examination of the Ways in Which Race and Gender Are Articulated in Issues of Appearance.” In process for Journal of Black Studies.
• “The Politics of Respectability and Ratchedness: Constructing Black Femininity in Online Magazine
Her University of Georgia profile states:
My research interests revolve around critical/cultural approaches to the study of mass media, society, popular culture with a focus on the ways in which race, gender, ethnicity, class and nationality are constructed and articulated.
Here is an interview Dr. Corbin did with The Standard Examiner for Black History Month
