Cheris Kramarae
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Cheris Kramarae (previously known as Cheris Kramer) is a scholar in the area of
women's studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on Feminism, feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining Social constructionism, social and cultural constructs of gender; ...
and
communication Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...
, with her research primarily focusing on gender, language and communication, technology, and education. She is mostly known for her contributions to muted group theory, as well as '' A Feminist Dictionary'', in which she was a co-author.


Early life and education

Kramarae received a B.S. from
South Dakota State University South Dakota State University (SDSU or SD State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Brookings, South Dakota, United States. Founded in 1881, it is the state's largest university and is the sec ...
, an M.A. from
Ohio University Ohio University (Ohio or OU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. The university was first conceived in the 1787 contract between the United States Department of the Treasury#Re ...
and, in 1975, a Ph.D. in communication and social linguistics from
University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...
, Urbana-Champaign. She is currently a visiting professor at the Center for the Study of Women in Society at the
University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...
, as well as a professor emerita in communication and gender studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.


Teaching career

Upon completing her doctorate, Kramarae accepted a position in 1978 at the University of Illinois Urbana as an associate professor, teaching
speech communication Speech is the use of the human voice as a medium for language. Spoken language combines vowel and consonant sounds to form units of meaning like words, which belong to a language's lexicon. There are many different intentional speech acts, s ...
through 1985. In 1988, she moved on to the
University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...
, where she was the acting director for the Center for the Study of Women in Society. From 1991 to 1996, Kramarae was at the University of Illinois, where she was the co-founder and co-organizer of the Women, Information Technology & Scholarship (WITS) Center for Advanced Study. She was also the director of the
Women's Studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on Feminism, feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining Social constructionism, social and cultural constructs of gender; ...
program at the University of Illinois, beginning in 1993, as well as Jubilee Professor or Liberal Arts & Social Sciences at the University of Illinois. She is currently a visiting professor for the Center for the Study of Women in Society, at the University of Oregon, where she has been since 1996. She worked as the International Dean at the Women's University in Germany.


Research

Kramarae's research has been primarily focused on gender, language, communication, technology, and education. Her research focuses on taking a look at women experience in higher education. With her research, she has published many books and articles on the concepts of women communication via technology, and how that can differ between genders. Kramarae is mostly known though, for her contributions to muted group theory, as well as ''A Feminist Dictionary''.


Muted Group Theory

Kramarae is most widely known for her contributions to muted group theory (MGT). This theory looks at power and how different groups use it. This theory begins with the premise that language is culture-based, and since men are seen to have more power than women, men have been seen to have power over language, resulting with a male-biased language. MGT breaks down into three assumptions: * Men and women perceive the world differently because they have different perception shaping experiences. * Men enact their power politically, using their power to suppress women's ideas from gaining public awareness. * Women must then convert their voices into language that is considered male. Upon this definition of MGT, Kramarae made the widely accepted claim that language is a tool made by men and used by a dominant culture to marginalize other groups and to deter them from full participation in their given societies.


''A Feminist Dictionary''

Kramarae is also well known for co-authoring ''A Feminist Dictionary''. This is an alternative dictionary compiled by Kramarae, Ann Russo, and Paula Treichler. This dictionary includes over 2,500 separate words and definitions from a feminist perspective. This book has since been reprinted as ''Amazons, Bluestockings and Crones: A Feminist Dictionary''.


Activism

In 1977, became an associate of the
Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press (WIFP) is an American nonprofit publishing organization that was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1972. The organization works to increase media democracy and strengthen independent media. Basic informati ...
(WIFP). WIFP is an American nonprofit publishing organization. The organization works to increase communication between women and connect the public with forms of women-based media.


Selected publications

* Henly, N. M., Kramarae, C., & Thorne, B. (1983). ''Language, gender, and society.'' New York, NY: Newbury House Publishers * Kramarae, C. (1980). ''Women and men speaking.'' New York, NY: Newbury House Publishers * Kramarae, C., Russo, A., & Treichler, P. (1985) ''A feminist dictionary''. London, UK: Rivers Oram Press * Kramarae, C. (1988). ''Technology and women's voices.'' Abingdon, UK: Taylor & Francis * Kramarae, C., Russo, A., & Treichler, P. (1992) ''Amazons, bluestockings, and crones: A woman's companion to word's and ideas''. Abingdon, UK: Routledge * Kramarae, C. (2000). ''Routledge international encyclopedia of women: Global women's issues and knowledge.'' Abingdon, UK: Routledge * Kramarae, C. (2001). ''The third shift: Women learning online.'' Washington, DC: American Association of University Women Educational Foundation


See also

*
Feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
*
Women's studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on Feminism, feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining Social constructionism, social and cultural constructs of gender; ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kramarae, Cheris Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American feminists Dakota people Ohio University alumni South Dakota State University alumni University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty University of Oregon faculty Writers from South Dakota