Reckoning with the Past
Product details
- ISBN 9781611865714
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 01 Jul 2026
- Publisher: Michigan State University Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
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For over a century, National Geographic has shaped American visual culture, captivating audiences with stunning photography and compelling storytelling. Yet behind its iconic yellow border lies a fraught legacy of gender bias, racial misrepresentation, and colonialist narratives.In this incisive study, Leland G. Spencer examines the brand's recent attempts to reckon with that legacy across its magazine and television platforms. From special issues spotlighting transgender lives, to a public acknowledgment of past racism, to a magazine edition created entirely by women, these efforts signal a move toward inclusivity. But as Spencer reveals through rigorous rhetorical analysis, these gestures often fall short. The texts themselves frequently echo the same systemic inequalities they seek to redress. National Geographic's progressive rebranding, he argues, remains tangled in the very histories it aims to transcend.
Leland G. Spencer is professor and chair in the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of South Carolina. He is the author of Rape, Agency, and Carceral Solutions and Women Bishops and Rhetorics of Shalom, and he has won the Randy Majors Award from the Caucus on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Concerns of the National Communication Association, the Janice Hocker Rushing Award from the Southern States Communication Association (SSCA), and the Gender Studies Scholar of the Year Award from the Gender Studies Division of SSCA.
