Eric Pierson, PhD
Professor, Communication
Co-Director, Film Studies
- PhD, Institute of Communication Research, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Communications (2000)
- BFA, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Theatre (1983)
- 1983-1985, University of California, Los Angeles, Radio, Film and Television program
Eric Pierson, PhD, joined the faculty in 1999. Prior to joining the faculty, he spent five years teaching at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign while pursuing his PhD. He served as chair of the department between Fall 2006 and Spring 2011.
Areas of Expertise
film and media studies, minority images in film and television, political economy, film production and distribution
Honors and Affiliations
Member Kappa Tau Alpha
Scholarly Work
Expanding media literacy is philosophical glue that holds together Professor Pierson’s multiple strands of scholarly and creative work. He strives to create work which reflect academic rigor while also being accessible to those outside of the university setting. Professor Pierson’s work appears in a wide variety of venues as he strives to reach diverse audiences, some of the venues where you find his work are academic journals, edited book collections, film festival panels, and museum exhibits.
Professor Pierson wrote the introduction and contributed an article to the inaugural issue of Screening Noir: A Journal of Black Film, Television and New Media, and he also served as co-editor of the issue and continues to serve on the editorial board. The issue revisited the Blaxploitation film movement by examining the political, social and financial forces that influenced the genre. His co-authored piece, “The Rhetoric of Hate on the Internet: 'Hateporn’s' Challenge to Modern Media Ethics” with department colleague, Larry Williamson, examines the question of social responsibility and image/information dissemination. The article appears in the Journal of Mass Media Ethics.
Professor Pierson’s essay “The Importance of Roots” is part of Watching While Black: Centering the Television of Black Audiences, a collection of essays that focus on Black television viewership. He has been a frequent panelist and moderator for Ebertfest, an annual film festival which continues the legacy of film critic, Roger Ebert. His historical/cultural observations are part of the traveling museum instillation of the costumes of Academy Award winner, Ruth E. Carter. Professor Pierson’s “About the Film” analysis provide museum patrons insight into the historical/cultural significance of Carter’s work, beginning with Do the Right Thing (1989) through Black Panther (2018).
Areas of Interest
Professor Pierson has contributed a number of new course to the Communication curriculum. As the founding faculty advisor for USDtv and USDradio Professor Pierson worked with students to move the volunteer experience into one where students could receive practicum credit for their work. This practicum experience has help many of our students build professor careers in media creation and production. His interest and training in film has led to the creation of film courses in Independent Cinema, Documentary film and a course focused on the relations between films and cultural politics. Professor Pierson continues to promote the study of film through his role as Co-director of the Film Studies minor. His course, British Media Systems has been a regular offering in the Study Abroad Program. Along with his colleague, Professor Pace, Professor Pierson created the American Independent Film course, the course which is taught onsite during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah has been a yearly offering since 2005.