In my research, I use a critical cultural approach to better understand how movies and television represent individuals or groups of people with the understanding that these artifacts are cultural documents that can both articulate and generate our understanding of the world around us. My first book, Ode to Gen X: Institutional Cynicism in Stranger Things and 1980s Film, is a comprehensive look at the parallels between Stranger Things and iconic 1980s popular culture, moving beyond the (at times) non-sequitur 1980s Easter eggs to a common underlying narrative: a generation’s growing distrust in American institutions. The book urges readers to look at all texts through the social, economic, and political context in which they were produced.
The same curiosity that drives my research also shapes what and how I teach. I primarily teach courses in popular culture, media literacy, professional writing, and pedagogy. As a teacher, I view myself as a facilitator or guide. In all my classes, I employ active learning strategies to engage students in course content. Much like writing, I believe that teaching is a reflective practice. To write and teach effectively, one must be willing to revise. To improve my courses, I participate in a variety of professional development opportunities related to teaching throughout the year.
Courses Taught
- Communication 750: Advanced Issues in Communication (UX Writing and Research)
- Communication 712: Emerging Trends in Teaching and Learning Online
- Communication 702: Intro to College Teaching in the Humanities and Social Science
- Communication 435: Critical Approaches to Popular Culture
- Communication 425: Specialty Writing
- Communication 112: Understanding Media and Social Change
Awards & Honors
- AccessADVANCE Faculty Fellowship, Disability Studies, 2022-2025
- Office of Teaching Learning Teaching Innovation Award, 2024
- Popular Culture Association President’s Award, 2023
- Popular Culture Association Executive Director Service Award, 2022
- Bison Ambassadors Apple Polisher Award, 2021
- NDSU Office of the Provost Faculty Fellowship, 2020-2021
- College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Outstanding Teaching Award, 2018
Links
University Affiliations
Education
- Ph.D., Rhetoric, Writing, and Culture, North Dakota State University
Publications
Books:
Vosen Callens, Melissa and Olivia Vogt. Good Old-Fashioned Values: Gender and Family in Family Guy, The Cleveland Show, and American Dad!, McFarland & Company, 2024.
Ode to Gen X: 1980s Institutional Cynicism in Stranger Things and 1980s Film, University Press of Mississippi, 2021.
Select Journal Articles and Book Chapters:
“You’re the Worst.” FX Reader, edited by David Pierson and Brian Faucette, Syracuse University Press, 2025.
Vosen Callens, Melissa, Cali Anicha, and Larry Napoleon, Jr. "Making (Virtual) Space for Disability Equity in Academia.” Feminist Pedagogy, vol. 5, no. 2, 2024.
Vosen Callens, Melissa, David K. Westerman, and Aaron Cross. “Why We Hate Watch: The Role of Nostalgia and Investment in WWE Viewership.” Journal of Popular Culture, vol. 56, no. 1, 2023.
“There Goes My Antihero: How Wendy Byrde Broke Bad.” Heroism Science, vol. 7, no. 2, 2022.
“From Latchkey Kid to Granny Nanny: How Gen X Changed the Modern Family.” Gen X at Middle Age in Popular Culture, edited by Pam Hollander, Rowman and Littlefield, 2020.
“AMC’s Infamous Criminal Partnerships: Suppressing the Female Antihero.” Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy, vol. 6, no. 2, 2019, pp. 49-61.
Vosen Callens, Melissa, Paul Kelter, Jill Motschenbacher, James Nyachwaya, Jared Ladbury, and Anna Semanko. "Developing and Implementing a Campus-wide Professional Development Program: Successes and Challenges,” Journal of College Science Teaching, vol. 49, no. 2, 2019, pp. 68-75.
Presentations
- Northeast Pop Culture Conference, October 9-11, 2025
“Two Words: Naz Reid (How Naz Reid Became Minnesota’s Role Tide) - Northeast Pop Culture Conference, October 3-5, 2024
“You’re The Worst Ushering in a New Era on FX” - Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, May 11-16, 2024 (with Cecila Aragon, Canan Bilen-Green, and Brianna Blaser)
“Expanding Accessibility in Immersive Virtual Spaces: A Comprehensive Approach for All Disabilities” - Northeast Pop Culture Conference, Virtual, October 12-14, 2023
“The Kids are Alright: The Role of Children in Seth MacFarlane’s Animated Series” - Northeast Pop Culture Conference, Virtual, October 20-22, 2022
“The Role of Pets and Nonhumans in Seth MacFarlane’s Animated Series” - Pop Culture Association National Conference, April 14-16, 2022 (with Olivia Vogt)
“Background Beauties and Cutscene Cuties: The Minor Role of Moms in Seth MacFarlane’s Animated Series” - Pop Culture Association National Conference, June 2-5, 2021
“From Latchkey Kid to Granny Nanny: How Gen X Changed the Modern Family” - Northeast Pop Culture Conference, October 22-24, 2020
“A Million Miles Away: Black Mirror as Gen X Nostalgia Therapy” - Midwest Pop Culture Conference, October 2-October 4, 2020 (with David Westerman and Aaron Cross)
“Why We Hate Watch: The Role of Reflective and Restorative Nostalgia in WWE Viewership