About

Karen Elise Sternheimer

Associate Professor (teaching) of Sociology

Contact Information
E-mail: sternhei@usc.edu
Phone: (213) 740-3533
Office: KAP 352
Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday : 12:30-1:45; 3:30-4:30

LINKS
Personal Website
Everyday Sociology Blog
 

Biographical Sketch
Karen Sternheimer is the author of Kids These Days: Facts and Fictions About Today’s Youth (Rowman & Littlefield, 2006) and It’s Not the Media: The Truth About Pop Culture’s Influence on Children (Westview Press, 2003). Connecting Social Problems and Popular Culture: Why Media is not the Answer will be published by Westview Press in August 2009. She currently teaches in the sociology department, where her research focuses on issues related to popular culture and youth. Specific topics of inquiry have included concerns about youth violence, kidnapping, substance use, child obesity, teen driving, and fears about the effects of media on children. Her current research involves a comparative historical study of American celebrity culture. Her commentary has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Newsday, the San Jose Mercury News, and other newspapers around the country. Sternheimer is also a sought-out source for journalists around the world, and has been interviewed for scores of magazines and newspapers, including the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Variety, Child, and Ladies’ Home Journal, as well as for publications in China, Japan, and South America. In addition, she has provided commentary for CNN, The O’Reilly Factor, MSNBC, The History Channel and other televised programs, and has been a guest on numerous radio shows nationally and internationally, including NPR’s Marketplace, Bloomberg radio and Voice of America. She is also the editor and lead writer for everydaysociologyblog.com.
 

Education
Ph.D. Sociology, University of Southern California, 8/1998
 

Description of Research

Summary Statement of Research Interests
Karen Sternheimer is currently working on a study of American celebrity culture and consumption. This project involves an investigation of celebrity fan magazines dating back to 1911, and ultimately will yield a comparative historical analysis of celebrity culture in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.
 

Research Keywords
Youth, popular culture, media, celebrity, teens, social problems and childhood, consumption, video games, fears of youth and media.
 

Publications

Book
Sternheimer, K. E. (2006). Kids These Days: Facts and Fictions about Today's Youth. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Sternheimer, K. E. (2003). It's Not the Media: The Truth about Pop Culture's Influence on Children. Boulder, CO: It's Not the Media: The Truth about Pop Culture's Influence on Children/Westview Press.
 

Journal Article
Sternheimer, K. E. (2008). Hollywood Doesn't Threaten Family Values. Contexts: Understanding People in Their Social Worlds/American Sociological Association. Vol. 7 (4), pp. 44-48.
Sternheimer, K. E. (2007). Do Video Games Kill?. Contexts: Understanding People in Their Social Worlds/American Sociological Association. Vol. 6 (1), pp. 13-17.
 

Honors and Awards
USC Center for Excellence in Teaching, Faculty Fellow, 5/29/2008-  
 

Service to the Profession

Professional Memberships
Pacific Sociological Association, 1995-  
American Sociological Association, 1993-  
 
 
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