Faculty Bio: Gemini Creason-Parker
I am a Visiting Assistant Professor and PRODiG+ Fellow in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice. I completed my PhD in Sociology at Texas A&M University in Spring 2025 and am in the process of finishing my second PhD in Criminal Justice at Texas State University. I also have two masters': one in Communication and Media Studies and the other in Criminal Justice. I am an interdisciplinary scholar, which means I conduct research and teach in realms that overlap with one another more so than not. While I research a variety of topics, my primary foci are sexual assault and media and crime. For my dissertation at A&M, I conducted a content analysis of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" to examine how the show portrays rape cases on screen. This project involved 28+ undergraduate researchers.
"The media has such a profound impact on us as human beings living in a society. Because of its power in shaping public perceptions, its imperative that we understand WHAT it is doing and HOW it is doing so."
Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice
Project Overview
This lab houses multiple projects related to the content analysis of media projects. One team is focused on comparing newspaper coverage of the Charlie Kirk and Melissa Hortman murders. Another team is examining the extent to which popular music lyrics across 50 years use overt and covert rape language. And the third team is exploring how TV's longest-running primetime drama, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (SVU)," portrays rape cases, victims and offenders on screen.
Student Mentees
Carlee Azure
Marissa Martin
Zayne Pavlick
Gabriella Turo
Questions?
Students interested in participating in this project can contact Dr. Creason-Parker at creasoga@potsdam.edu or (315) 267-2769.