This fall quarter, the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public welcomed Anna Lee Swan as a new postdoctoral scholar. Working with CIP co-founders Chris Coward, a UW Information School senior principal research scientist, and Emma S. Spiro, an iSchool associate professor, Swan studies the interstitial spaces of identity, content creation, and influencer media and has taught a variety of courses including intercultural communication and public speaking.
Swan is currently collaborating on several CIP projects that reflect her own interest in the intersection of gender, emotion, health and wellness. One project, led by Coward, seeks to create an “escape room” style game that helps support breast cancer patients navigate nutrition-related misinformation. She is also joining ongoing work at the CIP that examines tactics wellness influencers use in their communication and the monetization of misinformation.
Swan maintains an affiliation with the UW Tech Policy Lab, working with CIP co-founder Ryan Calo, a School of Law and Information School professor who serves as Tech Policy Lab’s faculty co-director.
Swan, who received her PhD in Communication from the University of Washington in 2021, has work published in peer-reviewed journals like Communication, Culture & Critique and Feminist Media Studies and has also contributed commentary for In Media Res. Before starting her doctoral studies, Swan completed a B.A. in International Studies at the University of Iowa, and studied at Yonsei University (2012) and Ewha Womans University (2013) in Seoul, South Korea.
