Assistant Professor of Journalism and Mass Communication Molly Wright Steenson
Molly Wright Steenson (BA’03, German) is, in her own words, a “German major, turned geek girl, turned design professor, turned architectural historian, turned digital studies professor.”
The University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication’s newest assistant professor certainly has an eclectic background. She has been interested in technology since she was a kid — she actually programmed her family’s Apple //e computer as a fifth grader — and began a career working with the web before she completed her undergraduate work at UW-Madison.
The St. Paul, Minnesota, native helped build Reuters’ first news-delivering website in 1995 and produced Netscape’s Search page, which was the second-most hit page on the Internet in 1996. She’s worked for a whole host of companies, big and small, and has taught at several design schools.
Steenson holds a master’s degree in environmental design from Yale, and recently completed her Ph.D. in architecture from Princeton.
Welcome, Molly! You have a master’s in environmental design and a Ph.D. in architecture. Now you’re teaching in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Why?
I've always been interested in transdisciplinary approaches to communication, technology and the world around us. From an architectural perspective, I research the role of information and technology in the built environment. I wanted to understand the history of how architects deal with information and technology and find precedents for things we see in the real world. Being in the School of Journalism & Mass Communication is a way to unite these different paths.
Why were you interested in returning to UW-Madison?
There is no campus as exciting and vibrant as this one. I always hoped to teach at a school as lively as the one I attended. I just had never imagined that this would be where I would land. There are so many possibilities here.
What should students expect in the classroom?
I draw parallels between the experiences of my students with digital media and an expanded field of what that means — different critical approaches, histories, contexts and ideas.
What courses do you teach?
Media Fluency for the Digital Age. I’m shadowing Introduction to Mass Communication (and will teach it on my own in a future semester), and I’m developing Data Visualization, to teach in the fall.
You've lived all over the world. Do you have a favorite city or country?
I love and miss San Francisco with everything in me. I also love Berlin, Bangalore, and Umeå, Sweden.
What do you like to do outside of work?
I’m a fierce knitter. I cook and love to travel, and I’m a fan of indie rock.