Zizi Papacharissi

Professor and head of the Communication Department at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Internet researcher, interested in political and social things people do online, accidental administrator, former dj, aspiring avant garde traditionalist. Fan of art, music, architecture, film. Anti-fan of grocery shopping, fluorescent lighting, and musicals.

Author of three books, most recently A Private Sphere: Democracy in a Digital Age, and A Networked Self: Identity, Community and Culture on Social Network Sites. Has published over 40 journal articles, book chapters or reviews and has studied blogs, online journalism, social network sites, civility, self presentation in digital environments, and privacy/publicity/sociality online. Also researched how terrorism is portrayed in international news, and the uses and consequences of reality TV. Teaches courses on the information society, digital democracy, online politics, the social web, media studies, communication research methods and communication theory, and other.