Rate My Professor Teri Higgins

Dr. Teri Higgins is a graduate of the University of Otago's Media, Film and Communication programme, where she completed her PhD in May 2013. The title of her doctoral thesis is 'Attention to Detail: Epistolary Discourse and Contemporary Cinema'. This work explores changing understandings of self expression in public and private spaces; of narrative expression in the romance drama; and of masculinity and femininity in relation to romance and film genre, with a focus on the films of Noah Baumbach, Wes Anderson, and Judd Apatow. She previously earned her Master of Arts degree in 2009 with the thesis 'Narratives of desperation : genre, gender, and Desperate Housewives'. Higgins also undertook an honours project on the psychoanalytical failure of the remake of Psycho as part of her Film and Media Studies major. Notably, she was the recipient of a First-in-Family scholarship, being the first member of her family to attend university.

Currently, Dr. Teri Higgins serves as Regional Market Manager - Americas (and Europe) in the International Office at the University of Otago. Despite her administrative role, she continues her scholarly pursuits as an independent researcher. In 2023, she co-edited 'Epistolary Entanglements in Film, Media and the Visual Arts' with Catherine Fowler, both affiliated with Otago's Media, Film and Communication. The book delves into epistolary forms across film, media, and visual arts. Higgins contributed key chapters, including 'Doing (Audio-Visual) Things with Words – From Epistolary Forms to Audiovisual Address' and explorations of epistolary listening in Chantal Akerman's 'News from Home'. Her research specializations include epistolary discourse, gender and genre in television and film, visual culture, American studies, television studies, film music, and sound design. Her publications and editorial roles underscore her impact on academic discussions surrounding narrative techniques and identity representations in contemporary visual media.