Rate My Professor Ronald Becker

Ronald Becker, Ph.D., is Professor of Media and Communication and Strategic Communication in the Department of Media, Journalism, and Film at Miami University. He holds a Ph.D. in Media and Cultural Studies and an M.A. in Scandinavian Languages and Literature, both from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Becker is an affiliate faculty member in Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies and American Studies. Throughout his career at Miami University, he has served as program coordinator for the Media and Communication program and currently acts as Acting Director for the Humanities Center. He regularly teaches the introductory course "Media, Culture, and You," for which he leads an Undergraduate Assistant program, as well as senior seminars such as Gender, Sexuality and the Media and Media, Representation and Society. Becker was selected as a Miami Plan Faculty Fellow, highlighting his commitment to liberal education initiatives. His teaching emphasizes critical media analysis, cultural representation, and the societal impacts of mass communication.

Becker's academic interests encompass TV studies, media criticism and analysis, queer theory, media history, and cultural theory. His book Gay TV and Straight America, published in 2006, explores the cultural politics and industry dynamics that led to the increased presence of gay material on U.S. network television during the 1990s. He co-authored Media and Culture: Mass Communication in a Digital Age, the 13th edition released in 2022, providing an overview of mass communication in the digital era. Becker also co-edited Saturday Night Live and American TV in 2013, examining the show's influence on American television. His scholarship further appears in notable edited volumes and journals, including TV Studies in Queer Times; Very Special Episodes: Televising Industrial and Social Change; The Craft of Media Criticism; The Television Studies Reader; Queer TV: Theories, Histories, Politics; The Great American Makeover: Television, History and Nation; and Television and New Media. Becker's contributions have shaped scholarly discussions on media representation, queer visibility in television, and the evolution of cultural programming.