About
Kristen Leer is a McNair scholar who received her B.A. in Psychology, Classic Civilization, and Religious Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her undergraduate research focused on youth engagement with substance abuse and the environment/psychological components surrounding such an engagement. Nevertheless, after completing her Honors College senior thesis on "The Evolution of Schizophrenia throughout the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Editions and Cinematic Representations," she saw the important discourse that needs to happen between media studies and psychology. This has led Leer to independently write multiple publications evaluating how trauma occupies various cinematic and social media spaces.
Her current research interests are centered on evaluating how cultural trauma exists within various media spaces and the psychological impact it makes on its audiences, especially BIPOC youth populations. Leer hopes during and after her graduate studies to further EDI knowledge and application within academic spaces but also serve as a guide for media industrial environments to be more inclusive and sensitive of content creation for target populations.
