​Barbara Ley joined the Department of Communication in 2011. She also holds a joint position in the Department of Women’s Studies. Her research and teaching focus on public understandings of and engagements with science, technology, and medicine. Her current research projects relate to digital technology, culture, and women’s health; environmental health science, politics and prevention; and science, media and public opinion. Her 2009 book, From Pink to Green: Disease Prevention and the Environment Breast Cancer Movement, presents a cultural history of activists’ efforts over the past two decades to push for increased scientific and public attention to environmental causes of breast cancer and disease prevention more generally . She has also published articles in journals such as Science Communication, Public Understanding of Science, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, and Chinese Journal of Communication. Ley received her Ph.D. from the Department of History of Consciousness at the University of California at Santa Cruz, and she spent several years during graduate school working for environmental health policy organizations in Washington, DC.

Courses Taught:

Communication 200: Health Communication
Women’s Studies 267/Communication 267: Gender and Digital Culture
Communication 408: New Media Project Design
Communication 418/618: Internet Communities and Cultures