Marie-Louise Mares, born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, in 1967. Ph.D. from University of Wisconsin-Madison. Associate Professor in Communication Arts at University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Fellow (1 September 2011 – 30 June 2012)
IMAGES OF IMMIGRANTS: WHAT CHILDREN LEARN FROM INTERPERSONAL & MEDIATED CONTACT
I analyzed and wrote up a series of studies examining the role of media and interpersonal content in shaping children’s beliefs about two immigrant groups in the US. One part of the project examined preschool children’s responses to TV programs intended to teach them about Chinese and Hispanic cultures. Two papers have resulted, one examining children’s learning of cultural content and the other examining the effects on attitudes toward Asians and Hispanics. The second part of the project examined the developmental trajectory of attitudes toward Asians and Hispanics among 8-18 year olds, and I have worked on three papers from that data set. Finally, I benefited tremendously from the opportunity to work with scholars at the VU University in Amsterdam, where we began a series of studies on the types of media content that people find inspiring and elevating.