Please join us to learn about the research from Talia Fiester and Erica Quinones (University of Delaware).

Talia Fiester’s research interests include networked publics, affective truth claims, post‑#MeToo digital culture, and mediated feminisms. Before coming to Annenberg, she earned a research master’s degree in Media and Communications from the London School of Economics, focusing on the intersection of feminist theory, digital culture, and platform logics. As an undergraduate at Penn, Talia conducted research on Asa Seresin’s concept of heterofatalism and how it manifests in mediated dating discourse, revealing that users simultaneously amplify despair around heterosexual relationships while fostering community and collectivism among young women.

Her work is grounded in feminist media studies and critical discourse analysis and is informed by her background in sexual violence prevention and education. Her future research will continue to theorize the entanglement of interpersonal violence, gender politics, and the digitally mediated production of justice.

Title: The Public Spectacle of Gendered Truth Claims in Lively v. Baldoni

This talk will explore the dynamics of public engagement with victimhood and believability in the post-#MeToo landscape using Lively v. Baldoni as a case study. Focusing on suspicion towards women as mode of engagement and the moral immunity afforded to celebrity men, this research project traces the way publics construct, contest, and circulate gendered truth claims through TikTok’s participatory modes of engagement.

Erica Quinones, a PhD candidate in English, will present their dissertation chapter titled: “Skin-Deep: AI Biometrics and the Automation of Gender Policing.” 

Lunch will be provided.

More info forthcoming.