“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’s recent 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
“Leland Spencer masterfully wields rhetorical criticism to explore how National Geographic has misrep/presented identities and intersectionalities throughout its storied history. His thorough critiques entreat the magazine to do better and readers to imagine the justice-rooted possibilities that could appear within that familiar yellow box in the future. This is a must-read for anyone who has loved—or hated—National Geographic.”
—Siobhan Smith-Jones, professor, Department of Communication, University of Louisville, and former editor of Women Language
