About
Benjamin Pearson's research encompasses media globalization, digital media distribution and streaming technologies, media policy, and media industries and cultures. He is particularly interested in how Northern policy and financial organizations impact digital media industries and cultures in sub-Saharan Africa, and how this transnational relationship relates to histories of colonialism and notions of race and ethnicity. Ben is currently working on two research projects that revolve around African media and global digital, representational, and economic inequality. The first is a book that examines policy and development initiatives in the Global North that attempt to mitigate inequities in North-South media flows by funding film, TV, and digital media production in sub-Saharan Africa and its circulation in global media markets. The second is an ongoing series of articles on Africa-centric video on demand (VOD) platforms.
Ben completed his PhD in the Department of Media and Communication at the University of Michigan. Previously, he earned MAs as an Erasmus Mundus scholar at the University of Groningen (Netherlands) and University of Deusto (Spain) in European integration studies. He also holds an MA in Comparative Literature at Dartmouth University.
Fields of study: Cultural studies; Tech Industry Studies; Precarious creativity; Decolonization; Media history; Media aesthetics; Identity, Power, and Inequality
