Joy studies the cultural history of broadcasting in the United States and Mexico with a primary focus on the period 1930-1950. She investigates the role of radio broadcasting in cultural identity formation through the archival collections of broadcasting institutions (government agencies and commercial networks), the texts of radio programs (recordings and scripts), and the documents produced by and about radio audiences (fan letters and surveys). Some of her recent work examines the construction of whiteness in U.S. family drama programs of the late thirties and explores the impact of these radio shows on early television representations of "the American family." Her course offerings at the graduate level include the Cultural History of Radio, Nationalism as a Communication Process, Bakhtin and Cultural Theory, and Theories of Mass Communication
Articles
Radio Reader: Essays in the Cultural History of Radio, Journal of Communication (2004)
Reviews the book "Radio Reader" edited by Michele Hilmes and Jason Loviglio
Redeeming the Dial: Radio, Religion, and Popular Culture in America, Business History Review (2004)
Reviews the book "Redeeming the Dial" by Tona J. Hangen
Did Herbert Hoover Broadcast the First Fireside Chat? Rethinking the Origins of Roosevelt's Radio Genius, Journal of Radio Studies (2000)
The continuing importance of radio as a forum for American politics can be traced directly...
Radio Voices: American Broadcasting, 1922-1952, Journal of Communication (1998)
Reviews the book "Radio Voices" by Michele Hilmes
“Touching the sentiments of everyone”;: Nationalism and state broadcasting in thirties Mexico, The Communication Review (1996)
This paper provides a historical perspective on the intersection of media, popular culture, and nationalism...
Books
Contributions to Books
National Imaginings On the Air: Radio in Mexico, 1920-1940, The Eagle and the Virgin: Nation and Cultural Revolution in Mexico, 1920-1940 (2006)
Presentations
Space, Place, and Community in U.S. Network Radio: A Reinterpretation of the 1938 'War of the Worlds" Broadcast (with K. Battles), The Radio Conference (2009)
An Historical Perspective on Whiteness in U.S. Broadcasting, International Communication Association Conference (2009)