Vita

Education

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA , Chapel Hill, NC
Ph.D., Mass Communication, 2001
Certificate in Cultural Studies
Dissertation: Micro-Radio and the FCC: Media Activism and the Struggle Over Broadcast Policy .

UNIVERSITY OF OREGON , Eugene, OR
M.S., Communication, 1998
Thesis Project: Dr. Shipsey and the Cows: Searching for Solutions. A 30-minute video documentary.

HARVARD UNIVERSITY , Cambridge , MA
B.A., Cum Laude, Anthropology 1986
Honors Thesis: Speaking Without Tongues: Tradition, Technology and the Talking Drum of the Yoruba.

Academic Appointments & Teaching

Associate Professor, Florida State University, Fall 2001 to present

Area Head, Media Production Program, January 2005 to present

Undergraduate video production courses

• Media Aesthetics: Spring 2008
• Television Field Production: Fall 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007
• Documentary Video Production: Spring 2002, 2003, Fall 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007
• Narrative and Experimental Video Production: Fall 2002, Spring 2004, 2005
• Advocacy Video Production: Summer 2005

Graduate seminars

• Foundations of Digital Video Production: Spring 2006, 2007
• Media, Culture and the Environment: Spring 2003, 2005
• Qualitative Research Methods:Spring 2002, 2004
   

Visiting Professor, University of Washington Vancouver, Summer 2007

• Taught video production in Digital Technology and Culture Program

Director, British Documentary Experience, FSU International Program, London, Summer 2006

• Taught the history of British Documentary Film, established and supervised documentary production internships in London.

Teaching Assistant, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Sept 1998 to May 2000

• Taught undergraduate video production labs

Teaching Assistant, University of Oregon, Sept 1996 to May 1998

• Taught undergraduate video production skills

Books
 

Elmer, Greg & Opel, Andy (2008). Preempting Dissent in the War on Terror. Arbeiter Ring. More Information...

Opel, Andy. (2004). Micro Radio and the FCC: Media Activism and the Struggle Over Broadcast Policy. Praeger Press. More Information...

Opel, Andy & Pompper, Donnalyn, Eds. (2003). Representing Resistance: Media, Civil Disobedience and the Global Justice Movement. Praeger Press. More Information...  

 

Refereed Publications

Opel, Andy. (2008). From Water Crisis to Water Culture: An Interview with Vandana Shiva. Cultural Studies 22(3-4). More Information...

Opel, Andy. (2006). Corporate Culture Keeps Nature Regular: Super-Citizens, Media and the 'Metamucil and Old Faithful' Ad. Capitalism Nature Socialism 17(3). More Information...

Elmer, Greg & Opel, A. (2006). Surviving the Inevitable Future. Preemption in an age of faulty intelligence. Cultural Studies 20(4-5). More Information...

Opel, Andy & Templin, Rich. (2005). Is Anybody Reading This? Indymedia and Internet Traffic Reports, Transformations, 10, special issue on alternative media. Read Article Online.

Opel, Andy. (2005). Paradise Lost I & II: Documentary, Gothic and the Monster of Justice. Jump Cut, 47. Reprinted and translated into Greek, (2008). Read Article Online.

Opel, Andy & Smith, Jason. (2004). ZooTycoon: Capitalism, Nature and the Pursuit of Happiness. Ethics and the Environment, 9(2).

Opel, Andy . (2002). Monopoly, The National Parks Edition: Reading Neo-Liberal Simulacra. Book chapter in Enviropop: Studies in Environmental Rhetoric and Popular Culture, Ed. by Mark Meister and Phyllis Japp. Greenwood Press.

Opel, Andy. (1999, Winter). Constructing Purity: Bottled Water and The Commodification of Nature Journal of American Culture, 22(4) Winter 1999. Reprinted (2008) in Cultural Studies: An Anthology, M. Ryan Ed., Blackwell Publishing.

 

Invited Book Chapters

Opel, Andy (In Press). Community Radio. Contribution to the Encyclopedia of Journalism, C. Sterling and D.C. Whitney Eds., Sage Publications.

Elmer, Greg & Opel, Andy. (2006). “Pre-empting Panoptic Surveillance: Surviving the Inevitable War on Terror”, in Theorizing Surveillance: The Panopticon and Beyond, D. Lyon Ed., Wilan Publishing. More Information...

Opel, Andy. (2003). Punishment Before Prosecution: Pepper Spray as Post-Modern Repression. In Representing Resistance: Media, Civil Disobedience and the Global Justice Movement, edited by Andy Opel and Donnalyn Pompper. (2003) Praeger Press. More Information...  

Multi-Media Products
 

Opel, Andy, (In Production). Beating Justice: The Martin Lee Anderson Story. A One hour documentary about the video-taped death of 14 year-old Martin Anderson during his first day in a Panama City, Fl sherriff's boot camp. View Video Clip

Opel, Andy. (In Production). The Cargo Bike. 30 Minute narrative video in the Eco-Horror-Comedy Genre.

Gardner, Paula and Opel, Andy. (In Production). Eyes That Don’t See, Hearts That Don’t Feel. One hour documentary profiling survivors of torture who have resettled in the U.S. Produced in cooperation with the Center for the Advancement of Human Rights at FSU and Florida Center for the Survivors of Torture.

Opel, Andy (2008). Nine Public Service Announcements on Sustainability. Director/Producer. Nine, 30 second to one-minute pieces produced for Florida State University Sustainable Campus Initiative. View Video Clip.

Opel, Andy and Galloway, Terry. (2008). Tough. 16 minute video collage of performance art piece by Terry Galloway, Produced and Directed by T. Galloway, D. Nudd and A. Opel. Video Production by Opel. To be included in a DVD companion to the book Gay Shame, edited by David Halperin and Valerie Traub, University of Chicago Press. **Refereed** View video clip.

Opel, Andy & Ellison, Amy. (2003). Precogs and Preemption: Minority Report and The Bush Doctrine. An 8 minute video (de) construction. View video.
Competitive Screenings:

●Florida State University Literature and Film Conference, February, 2003.
●Console-ing Passions Conference, New Orleans, LA, May, 2004.

Opel, Andy. (2000). Power. A 7 minute experimental documentary.
Competitive Screenings:

● Duke University Film and Video Documentary Happening, Durham, NC. February 2000.

Opel, Andy. (1998). Dr. Shipsey and The Cows. A 30 minute video documentary produced as my Master’s project at the U. of O.
Competitive Screenings:

● First Place winner in the student competition at the Marco Island Film Festival, Marco Island, FL. $1,000 cash prize. October 1998.
● Fort Worth Film Festival, Fort Worth, TX, October 1998.
● Duke University Film and Video Documentary Happening, Durham, NC, January 1999.

Opel, Andy. (1998). The End of The Ride. A Feature length screenplay about two twenty-something friends who decide to abandon cubicle lives and race across the country hitch-hiking.

● Semi-finalist in the Lonestar Screenplay Competition, 1998.
● Quarter-finalist in the Empire Screenplay Competition, 1998.

 

Refereed Conference Presentations

Opel, Andy (November, 2007). Greening NCA: A Roundtable Discussion on Shrinking the Ecological Footprint of the NCA Annual Convention. Environmental Communication Division of NCA, Chicago, IL. **Panel Organizer**

Opel, Andy & Elmer, Greg (October, 2007). Electrifying Dissent: Mapping Pain Compliance Technologies. Paper presented to the Union of Democratic Communication, Vancouver, BC.

Opel, Andy (February, 2007). Micro Radio and the Media Reform Movement: Looking for Community Connections. Paper present to the Media Studies Interest Group of the Western Communication Association, Seattle, WA.

Opel, Andy (November, 2006). The Memory of Landscapes: An Injury to One and the Persistance of Environmental Injustice. Panel presentation to the Environmental Communication Division of NCA, San Antonio, TX. **Panel Organizer**

McKahan, Jason & Opel, Andy (November, 2006). The Earth's First Soft Drink?: Perrier Bottled Water Advertising in the U.S. Paper presented to the Critical and Cultural Studies Division of NCA, San Antonio, TX.

Opel, Andy (November, 2006). Voyage to Kure: Nature Documentaries, President Bush and Public Policy. Paper presented at the Film and History Conference: The Documentary Tradition, Dallas TX.

Opel, Andy (November, 2005). Depleted Uranium and the Media: Conspiracy, Censorship and the Iraq War. Panel presentation to the Environmental Communication Commission of NCA, Boston, MA.

Opel, Andy & Elmer, Greg (May 2005). Looking Back at the Future: Betting, Inevitability and the Survivor Society. Paper presented to the Philosophy of Communication Division of ICA, New York, NY.

Opel, Andy (November, 2004). Photoshop, Email and Resistance: Bush Parody Posters and the Iraq War. Paper presented to the Critical and Cultural Studies Division of NCA, Chicago, IL. **Panel Organizer**

Opel, Andy (November, 2004). Disciplining Civil Disobedience: Mapping 'Pain Compliance' Technologies at the Miami FTAA Protests. Paper presented to the Political Communication Division of NCA, Chicago, IL.

Opel, Andy & Templin, Rich. (May, 2004). Is Anybody Reading This? Indymedia and Internet Traffic Reports. Paper presented to the Political Communication Division of ICA, New Orleans, LA.

Opel, Andy & Smith, Jason. (May 2004). ZooTycoon: Capitalism, Nature and the Pursuit of Happiness. Paper presented to the Popular Communication Division of ICA, New Orleans, LA.

Opel, Andy . (March, 2004). Paradise Lost I & II: Documentary and the Monster of Justice. Paper presented to the Society for Cinema and Media Studies, Atlanta, GA.

Opel, Andy. (November, 2003). Corporate Culture Keeps Nature Regular: Super-Citizens, National Parks and the 'Metamucil and Old Faithful' Ad. Panel presentation for the 2003 NCA convention, Environmental Communication Commission, Miami Beach, FL.

Nudd, Donna Marie; Schriver, Kristina; Opel, Andy. (November, 2003). Don’t Attack Iraq: Audience and the Power of Puppetry in Protest. Panel presentation for the 2003 NCA convention, Visual Communication Commission, Miami Beach, FL.

Opel, Andy. (May, 2003). The Whole World is Sweating: Media Coverage of the Student Anti-Sweatshop Movement . Paper presented to the Popular Communication Division of ICA, San Diego, CA.

Opel, Andy. (November, 2002). A Typology for Media Activism: A Social Movement About Media and Democracy. Paper presented at the 2002 NCA convention, Critical Cultural Studies Division, New Orleans, LA.

Opel, Andy. (November, 2002). Tapping Patriotism: Mapping attempts to link patriotism and efficiency post 9/11. Paper presented at the 2002 NCA convention, Environmental Communication Commission, New Orleans, LA.

Opel, Andy. (November, 2002). Representing Dissent: Media, Discourse, and the Global Justice Movement. Panel organized for the 2002 NCA convention, Critical and Cultural Studies Division, New Orleans, LA. **Panel Organizer**

Opel, Andy. (October, 2002). Media and the Student Anti-Sweatshop Movement. Paper presented at the Union for Democratic Communication Conference, State College, PA.

Opel, Andy. (October, 2002). Looking for Signs of a Media Activism Movement. Paper presented at the Action Coalition for Media Education Summit, Albuquerque, NM.

Opel, Andy. (August, 2002). Representing Micro Radio: Newspaper Coverage of the Micro Radio Issue, 1998- Paper presented at the annual convention of the Association for the Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Miami, FL.

Opel, Andy & Matthews, Denise. (August, 2002). Lights, Camera, Activism: On The Road to a Critical Media Pedagogy. Panel presentation presented at the annual convention of the Association for the Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Miami, FL.

Opel, Andy. (November, 2000). Punishment Before Prosecution: Pepper Spray as Post-Modern Repression.

• Paper presented to the Critical and Cultural Studies Division of the National Communication Association Conference, Seattle, WA.

Opel, Andy. (August, 2000). Hemp in the News: Social Struggles Over a Controversial Crop. Paper presented to the Cultural and Critical Studies Division of the Association of Educators in Journalism and Mass Communication Conference, Phoenix, AZ.

Opel, Andy. (June, 2000). Monopoly, The National Parks Edition: Reading Neo-Liberal Simulacra. Paper presented to the Popular Communication Division at the International Communication Association Conference, Acapulco Mexico. **Awarded Top Student Paper**

Opel, Andy. (June, 2000,). Constructing Purity: Bottled Water and the Commodification of Nature. Paper presented to the Popular Communication Division at the International Communication Association Conference, Acapulco Mexico.

Opel, Andy. (October, 1999). Micro-Radio and the Law. Paper presented to the Union for Democratic Communication Conference, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR.

Opel, Andy. (August, 1999). Pirate Radio’s Challenge to the FCC: Direct Action and the Judiciary as Tools for Change . Paper presented (with companion video Showdown at the FCC) to the Law Division at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Conference in New Orleans, LA.

Opel, Andy. (May, 1999). From Activism to Consumption, The Evolution of a Community: The Oregon Daily Emerald’s Framing of the Grateful Dead 1968-1995 . Paper presented to the Popular Communication Division at the International Communication Association Conference in San Francisco, CA. 

 

Book Reviews

Opel, Andy (2007). Structural Change? Environmental Documentary and Globalization. [Review of the films Darwin's Nightmare and Who Killed the Electric Car]. Environmental Communication, v1., n1.

Opel, Andy (2007). Review of Global Citizens: Social Movements and the Challenge of Globalization by Marjorie Mayo. International Journal of Media and Cultural Politics, v3, n2.

Opel, Andy. (2004). Review of Communication, Media, and American Society: A Critical Introduction by Daniel W. Rossides. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, v81, n1.

Opel, Andy. (2004). Review of Beyond Ideology: A Case for Egalitarian Bias in the News, by Reginald Ecarma. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, v81, n1.

 

Editorial Board Appointments

Editorial Board Member, Environmental Communication Yearbook. Fall 2003 - 2006 Editorial Board member, Kaleidoscope: Graduate Journal of Qualitative Comm. Research. Fall 2002 - Present
Editorial Board Member, Popular Communication Fall 2004 - Present
Film Review Editor, Environmental Communication: A Journal of Nature and Culture. Fall 2006 - Present
Guest Reviewer, Transforming Anthropology, Winter 2008
Guest Reviewer, The Information Society. Fall 2004 - Present
Guest Reviewer, Communication Theory Fall 2004 - Present

 

Committees & Service

Departmental Service ( Florida State University)
Chair, FSU Media Production Faculty Search Committee. Fall 2006

Chair, FSU Media Production Faculty Search Committee. Spring 2006

Member FSU Media Studies Faculty Search Committee. Fall, Winter 2002/3.
Member, Media Production Faculty Search Committee. Winter 2002/3.
Chair, FSU, Dept. of Communication , V89 radio station revision task force. Spring 2002.
Coordinator, Media Production Program Student Video Festival. 2002-4.

Student Committees:

Ph.D

Rich Templin (Committee Chair) 2008
Topic: Indymedia Network and Social Activism

Jason McKahan (Committee Chair) 2008/9
Topic: Production Analysis of Hollywood Terrorism Films

Joe Clark (Committee Chair) 2010/11
Topic: Second LIfe and Environmental Politics

Jason Smith (Committee Chair) 2006
Title: Political Ecology in Large Format Films: Analysing Environmental Representation and Audience Reception in IMAX Documentaries

Tami Tomasello (Committee Member) 2003
Mihaela Nicasian (Committee Member) 2005
Albert Hsu (Committee Member) 2005
Bakari Akil (Committee Member) 2007
Michael Allison (Outside Committee Member, Pol. Sci.) 2006
Kristen Stewart (Outside Committee Member, Geography) 2006
Jason Eastman (Outside Committee Member, Sociology) 2007
Willow Shanti (Outside Committee Member, Education) 2008/9
Kathryn Wright (Outside Committee Member, Humanities) 2008/9
Sammy Rastagh (Outside Committee Member, Sociology) 2008/9

M.A.

Derrick Shannon (Committee Chair) 2008/9
Title: Portrait of an Activist as a Yes Man

Abe Kahn (Committee Member) 2002
Scott Varda (Committee Member) 2002
Chris Creel (Committee Member) 2003
Kristina Ferguson (Committee Member) 2004
Lauren Handler (Committee Member) 2004
Stephen Andon (Committee Member) 2005

Undergraduate Honors Thesis

Chris Chafin (Committee Chair) 2004
Michele Harvey (Committee Chair) 2004

 

Professional Service ( Florida State University)

Alternate representative of the College of Communication to the Faculty Senate, FSU.Spring 2002-2005
Panelist for the film, “Justice and the Generals.” Premiered at FSU. Feb. 20 th, 2002 Moderator, Literature and Film Conference, FSU. January 2002
Appointed Member, FSU Visions committee. 2002-05
Member, Faculty Human Rights Seminar. 2002-04

Professional Activities (External)

Reviewer, Critical and Cultural Studies Division, NCA. 2003
Reviewer, Popular Culture Division, ICA. 2002-04
Respondent, Popular Culture Division, ICA. 2004
Reviewer, Environmental Communication Division, NCA. 2002-07
Respondent, Panel Chair, Environmental Communication Commission, NCA. 2004

 

Fellowships, Grants & Awards

 

2008 Committee on Faculty Research Support (COFRS): $13,000. Grant to pay summer salary to support the post-production of the documentary, Beating Justice.

2008 Committee on Ethics in Research and Creative Activity: $5,000. Grant to develop a series of graduate student workshops for creative projects that address issues of copyright, peer review and human subjects/consent form clearence.

2007 Rockwood Leadership Fellowship in Media, Communications and Information Policy. Funded by the Ford Foundation.

2007 Service Learning Program Grant. Campus Sustainability Initiative: $5,000. Grant to develop a series of video public service announcements promoting suistainable behavior on campus.

2004 College of Communication Emerging Scholar Award.

Faculty Senate Library Committee Primary Resource Grant, 2004: $4000.00 grant to purchase video documentaries on social movements and the environment.

Provost’s Faculty Travel Grants 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007: $450.00 travel grants awarded to present research at NCA and ICA.

First Year Assistant Professor Award 2002: $10,000 summer research grant from the Council on Research and Creativity at Florida State University. Research Topic: The student anti-sweatshop movement on university campuses.

Park Fellowship 1998-2001: Fellowship included tuition remission, annual stipend and travel expenses for three years of Doctoral study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Eli S. Rubenstein Dissertation Research Grant 2000: Paid expenses associated with dissertation travel and research.

Senior Thesis Research Grant 1985: Summer research grant from the Committee on African Studies at Harvard University. Grant supported 10 weeks of field study in Nigeria. Research Topic: The Talking Drum of the Yoruba.

Top Student Paper Award, ICA Conference, 2000.

Kappa Tau Alpha National Honor Society, Journalism & Mass Communication Award 1997

 

Affiliations

International Communication Association (ICA)
National Communication Association (NCA)
Union for Democratic Communication (UDC)
Association of Independent Video and Film Makers (AIVF)

 

Public Scholarship/Lectures

 

Opel, Andy (April 2, 2008). Electrifying Dissent. Invited lecture to the Cultural Studies Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Opel, Andy (December 1, 2007). Torture Profiteering. 30 minute radio interview, available on-line. Listen Here

Opel, Andy (Nov. 2, 2007). Torture and Profit - Government Sidesteps Morality and Accountablility. Op-Ed piece published in the Tallahassee Democrat

Opel, Andy (Oct. 2, 2007). Guest Lecture in Oceanography course (OCE 5018) Issues in Environmental Science. Title: Bottled Water Summer and the Thin End of the Wedge.

Opel, Andy (April 23, 2007). Guest on Brian Fasulo Show 1040 WWBA, Tampa, FL. Topic: Cable Franchise Bill pending in Florida Legislature.

Opel, Andy (April 15, 2007). Our water shouldn't be in private hands. Op-Ed piece published in the Tallahassee Democrat. Read Online...

Opel, Andy (March 3, 2007). Our water shouldn't be in private hands. Op-Ed piece published in the Tallahassee Democrat. Read Online...

Opel, Andy (March 31, 2005). Government Hits New Low with Fake News. Op-Ed piece published in the Tallahassee Democrat.

Opel, Andy (Feb. 20, 2005). Indymedia and Academics. Roundtable discussion among alternative media researchers and activists at the Indy Conference, a conference on Indymedia. Austin, TX. ** Panel Organizer **

Opel, Andy (Nov. 7, 2004). Media Activism and Social Change. Keynote address at the annual FSU Service Scholars Dinner.

Opel, Andy (Feb. 1, 2004). Censorship and the Super Bowl. Lead Op-Ed piece in the Sunday edition of the Tallahassee Democrat, Super Bowl Sunday. Read Online...

Opel, Andy (March 19, 2003). Guest panelist on public radio WFSU, call-in talk show Perspectives. Topic: Media, Social Movements and the Iraq War.

Opel, Andy (March 12, 2003). Patriotism, Efficiency and The Greens. Front page story for The Tortoise, Tallahassee Community Newspaper. Read Online...

Opel, Andy (January 21, 2003). Keynote speaker at the inauguration of the Tallahassee-Red Hills Independent Media Center. (http://tallahassee.indymedia.org).

 

Other Professional Experience

 

Production Assistant
Knight Library Media Center, U. of O., Eugene, OR January 1997 to May 1998

• Ran camera and audio on over 30 episodes of UO Today, a 30-minute faculty interview program.

Research Assistant
Oregon Research Institute, Eugene, OR, September 1990 to June 1995

• Worked on multiple children’s health related psychology research projects. Duties included:
• Project coordination, presentations to high school classes throughout Oregon, questionnaire administration, data collection and structured interviewing.

Teacher
Visions International, Blackfeet Indian Reservation, June to August 1995

• Taught carpentry and backcountry camping skills to high school students.
• Organized service projects on the Blackfeet Indian reservation.

Teacher
Willamette Pass Ski Area, Eugene, OR, November 1994 to March 1995

• Taught basic cross-country and tele-mark skiing technique to children and adults.

Teacher
Arthur Morgan School, Burnsville, NC, September 1987 to June 1990

• Taught Social Studies, grades 7-9 at an alternative middle school in the mountains of N. Carolina.
• Led 3-day and 6-day backcountry camping trips with small groups of teenagers.
• Led 6-week field trips to the boarder region of Texas and Mexico as part of a boarder witness program monitoring the plight of Central American refugees.