Lawrence Wood

Dr. Wood has a strong interdisciplinary background. He has worked in the School of Media Arts and Studies for the past 20 years, and prior to that he earned degrees in Geography, Economics, and History. He has published numerous peer-reviewed articles on topics that include the digital divide; regional development policy; rural development; and discursive constructions of poverty in the media. Dr. Wood’s current research interests center around relationships between photography (primarily mobile photography) and social media. This includes examining the participatory and artistic opportunities associated with the emergence of social networking sites such as Instagram, as well as the tendencies for photographic content on such sites to perpetuate, if not exacerbate, negative stereotypes associated with geographic locations and the people who live there. These current research interests have been informed by his own experience with photography – his photographs have won a number of awards and have been shown in several galleries as well as in the Columbus Museum of Art. His current teaching profile generally consists of the following courses: Introduction to Social Media; Media and Development; Critical Analysis of Media Aesthetics; and Research Methods in Communication and Development. Over the course of his academic career, Dr. Wood’s research has appeared in highly ranked journals that include Environment and Planning A; Government Information Quarterly; Learning, Media, and Technology; Public Administration Review; Regional Studies; and Telecommunications Policy. He has also written or co-authored policy reports for agencies that include the Appalachian Regional Commission; the Economic Development Administration; the Economic Policy Institute; and the United Nations Population Fund. Finally, it is of note that in conjunction with working in the School of Media Arts and Studies, Dr. Wood served as the Director of the Communication and Development Studies master’s program for nine years. He maintains a strong affiliation with that program.

Education

Ph.D Geography, Penn State University

M.S. Agricultural, Environmental, and Regional Economics, Penn State University

M.S. Geography, Penn State University

B.A Liberal Arts (emphasis History), Franklin and Marshall College