Cheris Kramarae facts for kids
Cheris Kramarae is a smart researcher who studies how people communicate. She focuses on topics like gender, language, technology, and education. She is especially known for her ideas about how different groups use language. She also helped create a special dictionary called A Feminist Dictionary.
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Early Life and Learning
Cheris Kramarae went to college and earned several degrees. She got her first degree from South Dakota State University. Then, she earned a master's degree from Ohio University. In 1975, she completed her Ph.D. in communication and language studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
Today, she is a visiting professor at the Center for the Study of Women in Society at the University of Oregon. She is also a professor emerita (which means a retired professor who keeps her title) at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
Teaching Career
After finishing her Ph.D., Dr. Kramarae started teaching. In 1978, she became a professor at the University of Illinois Urbana. She taught speech communication there until 1985.
In 1988, she moved to the University of Oregon. There, she helped lead the Center for the Study of Women in Society.
From 1991 to 1996, Dr. Kramarae was back at the University of Illinois. She helped start and organize a special center called Women, Information Technology & Scholarship (WITS). She also directed the Women's Studies program at the University of Illinois starting in 1993.
Since 1996, she has been a visiting professor at the Center for the Study of Women in Society at the University of Oregon. She also worked as an International Dean at the Women's University in Germany.
Research and Ideas
Dr. Kramarae's research mainly looks at gender, language, communication, technology, and education. She often explores how women experience higher education. Through her research, she has written many books and articles. These works discuss how women communicate using technology and how this might be different for men and women.
She is most famous for two main contributions: her ideas about Muted Group Theory and her work on A Feminist Dictionary.
Muted Group Theory
Muted Group Theory (MGT) is one of Dr. Kramarae's most well-known ideas. This theory explores how power works in groups and how language is used. It suggests that language is shaped by culture. Since men have historically held more power, language has often been created in a way that favors men's experiences.
MGT has three main points:
- Boys and girls, and men and women, often see the world differently. This is because they have different life experiences.
- Men, who have more power, can use their power to stop women's ideas from becoming widely known.
- Because of this, women often have to change how they express themselves. They might need to use language that is more accepted by men.
Based on this, Dr. Kramarae suggests that language can be a tool. It can be used by a powerful group to make other groups feel less important. It can also stop them from fully participating in society.
A Feminist Dictionary
Dr. Kramarae is also known for helping to write A Feminist Dictionary. This is a special dictionary that she created with Ann Russo and Paula Treichler. It includes over 2,500 words and their definitions. But these definitions are written from a feminist point of view. This book was later reprinted with a new title: Amazons, Bluestockings and Crones: A Woman's Companion to Words and Ideas.
Activism
In 1977, Dr. Kramarae became involved with the Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press (WIFP). This is a group in America that helps women communicate more. It also works to connect the public with media created by women.
See also
