Henry Jenkins | |
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Born |
Henry Jenkins III June 4, 1958 Atlanta, Georgia, United States |
Education | B.A., Political Science & Journalism, M.A., Communication Studies; Ph.D., Communication Arts |
Alma mater | Georgia State University, University of Iowa, University of Wisconsin–Madison |
Occupation | University Professor |
Years active | 1992–present |
Employer | University of Southern California |
Known for | Theories of "transmedia storytelling" and "convergence culture" |
Title | Provost Professor of Communication, Journalism and Cinematic Arts |
Spouse(s) | Cynthia |
Children | 1 |
Henry Jenkins III (born June 4, 1958) is an American media scholar and a Provost Professor of Communication, Journalism, and Cinematic Arts, a joint professorship at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and the USC School of Cinematic Arts. He also has a joint faculty appointment with the USC Rossier School of Education. Previously, Jenkins was the Peter de Florez Professor of Humanities as well as co-founder co-director (with William Uricchio) of the Comparative Media Studies program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has also served on the technical advisory board at ZeniMax Media, parent company of video game publisher Bethesda Softworks.
Jenkins has authored over a dozen books including By Any Media Necessary: The New Youth Activism (2016), Spreadable Media: Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture (2013), Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide (2006), Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture (1992), and What Made Pistachio Nuts?: Early Sound Comedy and the Vaudeville Aesthetic (1989).
Beyond his home country of the United States and the broader English-speaking world, the influence of Jenkins' work (especially his transmedia storytelling and participatory culture work) on media academics as well as practitioners has been notable, for example, across Europe as well as in Brazil and India.
Jenkins graduated from Georgia State University with a B.A. in Political Science and Journalism. He then earned his M.A. in Communication Studies from the University of Iowa and his Ph.D. in Communication Arts from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He and his wife Cynthia Jenkins were housemasters of the Senior House dorm at MIT before leaving MIT for the University of Southern California in May 2009. They have one son, Henry Jenkins IV.