Devon Powers | |
---|---|
Born | 1977 or 1978 (age 45–46) [1] |
Nationality | American |
Occupation(s) | Music journalist, professor |
Spouse |
David Bennion (
m. 2007) |
Academic background | |
Alma mater | New York University (2008) |
Academic work | |
Institutions |
Drexel University (2008–2016) Temple University (2016–2022) University of Michigan (2022–) |
Notable works | Blowing Up the Brand Writing the Record On Trend |
Devon Powers (born 1977 or 1978) is an American communication studies professor, author, and former music journalist.
Powers was born in 1977 or 1978. [1] Her father, Lee R. Powers, is an engineer and her mother, Mandy Powers, is a nurse. [1] In 2007 she married lawyer David Bennion. [1] Powers is African American. [2]
In 1999, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and women's studies from Oberlin College and, in 2008, a Ph.D. in media studies from New York University. [3]
Between 2001 and 2004, she worked as a freelance music journalist, largely writing for PopMatters. [3] [4]
As of 2023 [update], she is a professor of communication and media at the University of Michigan. [5] Her research interests include consumer culture (historical and contemporary) and shifts in cultural intermediation, circulation and promotion. [6]
She has written two books, Writing the Record: The Village Voice and the Birth of Rock Criticism (2013) and On Trend: The Business of Forecasting the Future (2019) and, with Melissa Aronczyk, co-edited Blowing Up the Brand: Critical Perspectives on Promotional Culture (2010).
In 2013, University of Massachusetts Press published Writing the Record: The Village Voice and the Birth of Rock Criticism. In the monograph, a reworking of her doctoral thesis, Powers provides a deeply researched analysis of the challenging relationship between critics and the rise of pop culture in the 1950s through the 1970s. [7] [8] To tell this story, she focuses on the careers of Richard Goldstein and Robert Christgau, both writers at New York's famed Village Voice. [7] Powers argues that these music journalists should be considered public intellectuals, even though they weren't traditional academics. [9]
Powers was influenced to study the topic because of her own work as a music journalist. [4] She says she tested many of her ideas about the social function of music criticism in a regular column she wrote for PopMatters titled More Than Words: Musings on Music Journalism. [4]
In 2019, University of Illinois Press published On Trend: The Business of Forecasting the Future, a study of the cultural economy of the trend analysis and futurology industry. [2] [10] Powers employed ethnographic research methods, visiting forecasting companies such as Sparks & Honey and conducting dozens of interviews to collect material for the book. [2] [10] Scott McLemee notes that the book shines a light on the largely opaque but influential trend-spotting industry. [2]
On Trend was selected as a 2020 Choice Outstanding Academic Title. [11]