Dr. Theresa Catalano was a 2025 Fulbright Specialist at Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Bandung, West Java.

Guest Lecture for Introduction to Critical Media Studies

Dr. Theresa Catalano, Professor of Second Language Education/Applied Linguistics at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, and Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (UPI), had successfully completed a collaboration on Media and Linguistics Studies from September 4 through 15, 2025. The collaboration was carried out through the Fulbright Specialist Program.

She gave five guest lectures in total to students and faculty at the Communication Department and the Linguistics Department. The lectures covered Critical Media Studies, Communication Science, and Media and Society.

She was also invited to give a talk on Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis at the Linguistics department, and spoke to faculty about the struggles, successes, and suggestions for publishing in academia.

In addition, she led a workshop for the faculty on international publishing. In the workshop, she mentored the faculty and discussed the role of AI in publishing and ideas for being successful in academia in general.

With graduate students and the Chair from the Faculty of Linguistics

She and Dr. Fathiyyah Maryufani at UPI were able to complete and submit one article to a high-impact journal (Media, Culture and Society) and nearly complete a book chapter, which they will submit in March.

Moreover, she made several connections with faculty for future collaborations. She further stated that the main outcomes of sharing her knowledge and discussing future research collaborations were met. The statement was confirmed by Dr. Ahmad Fahrul Affandi, the head of Communication Department at UPI.

“Looking forward, we plan to continue collaborating with Prof. Theresa Catalano on joint research projects and faculty exchanges, furthering the academic connection between UPI and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln,” Dr. Affandi said.

When asked about her feelings about the collaboration and her time in Indonesia, she said that her time in Indonesia was invaluable in understanding the current political climate and how it connects to her study.

She hopes that the students were able to learn some things about the United States, as well as the differences and similarities between the two countries, and expand their way of thinking about media.

“I hope that I impacted the way they think about media (and social media in particular) and how they interact with it in their daily lives, as well as its benefits and consequences for society,” she said.