Reckoning with the Past
National Geographic and the Limits of Social Justice Rhetoric
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Michigan State University Press
Publishing:1st Jul '26
£38.95
This title is due to be published on 1st July, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
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 Spencer makes a much-needed contribution to the communication discipline and larger cultural conversation with his critique of an iconic magazine that, for more than one hundred years, has ‘othered’ faces and places in the name of education. His careful analysis of the 2016–17 turn toward social justice—with special issues and documentaries on race and gender—reveals a small shift missing the mark on opportunities to construct and communicate messages that counter U.S. American–centric meanings in worldmaking.” —Karla D. Scott, Professor of Communication, Saint Louis University
“Deploying an intersectional feminist lens to trace National Geographic’s historic entanglement with sexism, racism, patriarchy, and (neo)colonialism, Leland Spencer powerfully illustrates how the brand’srecent turn toward social justice—prominently exemplified by the publication of its ‘Gender Revolution’ (2017) and ‘The Race Issue’ (2018)—does little to reckon with its complicated past and how it must be viewed skeptically. Spencer’s astute rhetorical analyses invite scholars and students interested in media, communication, critical race, and gender studies to consider what actual accountability from National Geographic under the constraints of neoliberal capitalism might look like.”—Mia Fischer, associate professor of media studies, Department of Communication, University of Colorado Denver, and author of Terrorizing Gender: Transgender Visibility and the Surveillance Practices of the U.S. Security State
“Deploying an intersectional feminist lens to trace National Geographic’s historic entanglement with sexism, racism, patriarchy, and (neo)colonialism, Leland Spencer powerfully illustrates how the brand’srecent turn toward social justice—prominently exemplified by the publication of its ‘Gender Revolution’ (2017) and ‘The Race Issue’ (2018)—does little to reckon with its complicated past and how it must be viewed skeptically. Spencer’s astute rhetorical analyses invite scholars and students interested in media, communication, critical race, and gender studies to consider what actual accountability from National Geographic under the constraints of neoliberal capitalism might look like.”—Mia Fischer, associate professor of media studies, Department of Communication, University of Colorado Denver, and author of Terrorizing Gender: Transgender Visibility and the Surveillance Practices of the U.S. Security State
ISBN: 9781611865714
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
200 pages