Marilyn Matelski, Ph.D.

Dr. Marilyn J. Matelski is a tenured, full professor and former chair in the Department of Communication at Boston College. Graduating with a B.A. from Michigan State University in 1972, Matelski went on to the University of Colorado at Boulder, where she received her Ph.D. in 1978. She was hired at BC as an assistant professor that same year.

Initially, Matelski's interests lay in the area of TV/radio production and media studies. Over the years, however, these areas have been amplified into a significant writing agenda, combining issues in mass communication with social change, multiculturalism and intercultural studies.

For much of her research, Matelski has traveled widely and often to various countries in Eastern and Western Europe for books like Vatican Radio: Propagation by the Airwaves (1995), Messages from the Underground (co-authored, 1997), Soap Operas Worldwide (1999), and War and Film in America (co-authored, 2003). Further fieldwork in Beijing, Shanghai and Nanjing contributed to the authenticity of her work in American Businesses in China, co-authored and published in 2003; and revised and expanded for a second edition (scheduled for release in June 2008). Currently, she is working on another book on China's system of higher education, due for completion in 2008. All in all, Dr. Matelski has published twelve books, more than thirty articles and participated in dozens of academic conferences, both at home and abroad.

But Matelski's first love is teaching and working with students, integrating her research and writing with course development. Over the past several years, Dr. Matelski has created and/or taught a wide range of courses, including Cultural Diversity in the Media, Intercultural Communication, Family Communication and Mass Communication Theory, as well as an online course (Advanced Intercultural: studyabroad.comm) for students traveling abroad. Her research, teaching and service reflect the totality of her commitment to Boston College.