Law, Media, and Culture

The Authors: Janis L. Judson is an Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of the Law and Society program at Hood College. She earned a Ph.D in political science from the University of Maryland. Judson has been the recipient of academic fellowships from Harvard Law School, Johns Hopkins University, and Stanford Law School. She has contributed essays on the Constitution to the Encyclopedia of the U.S. Congress and is currently working on constitutional essays about affirmative action and equality. Judson received a Gubernatorial appointment to serve on the Maryland Commission on Criminal Sentencing Policy, which among other tasks, recommends penalties for hate crimes. A recipient of a Teagle Foundation Grant and a Hood College Hodson Faculty Fellowship, Dr. Judson is doing extensive research on Issues of gender, free speech, and the law.
Donna M. Bertazzoni is Associate Professor of Journalism and codirector of the Communication Arts Program at Hood College. She earned her M.A. in journalism from Northwestern University, Illinois, and her M.B.A. from Frostburg State University, Maryland. She has been actively involved in the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication and has received a Hodson Faculty Fellowship, a Teagle Foundation Grant, and a fellowship from the American Press Institute. A former newspaper reporter and editor, she has published widely in journals and the popular press.

"At a time when hatred is on the national agenda, 'Law, Media, and Culture: The Landscape of Hate' is a journey through a contemporary cultural exposé of hate. Judson and Bertazzoni examine their subject with clarity, sensitivity, and an eye to social justice." (Cynthia Burack, Associate Professor of Women's Studies, Ohio State University, and Author of 'The Problem of the Passions: Feminism, Psychoanalysis, and Social Theory'
"'In Law, Media, and Culture: The Landscape of Hate', Judson and Bertazzoni have written a highly accessible guide to the role of hatred in everyday American life. Rather than comfort the reader with the notion that hatred, somehow, is 'out there' on the margins, they show us that hatred infects virtually all avenues of public and private culture in contemporary society. This book particularly is a must-read for students of the media's impact on public opinion and social life." (Brian Steffen, Associate Professor and Chair of Communication Studies, Simpson College, Indianola, Iowa)
"This is an important and necessary book, one that captures the complexity, force, and yes, even the social value of the strongest -and most politically incorrect - of human emotions. Its discussion of digital hate speech moves well beyond the standard legal summary to raise sharp questions about the implications of hate sites on our national character and conceptions of community: have we truly become a culture in which hate is as much the basis of community as de Tocqueville's democracy ever was? It's a critical question - one that students across the disciplines should be urged to consider." (Dianne Lynch, Associate Professor in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communications, St. Michael's College, Vermont, and Editor of 'Stand! Virtual Ethics: Debating Media Values in a Digital Age')