Title: Professor
Company: University of California, Irvine
Location: Costa Mesa, California, United States
Catherine Benamou, professor at the University of California, Irvine, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Educators for dedication, achievements, and leadership in higher education.
With over three decades of experience, Dr. Benamou has carved out a distinguished career in the field of film and media studies. Currently, she serves as a professor at the University of California, Irvine, a role she has held since 2023, and has been an associate professor of film and media studies at the same institution since 2008. In this role, she teaches both graduate and undergraduate courses in film and media studies, mentors graduate students, works with a research assistant on various projects, conducts writing retreats, and consults on film projects.
Dr. Benamou has also served as an editorial board member for Framework Film Journal since 2007, Doc on-line since 2004, and the Catalan Journal of Communication & Cultural Studies at Universitat Rovira e Virgili since 2011. She was a consultant for the National Museum of the American Indian from 1993 to 2004 and has authored one book with the University of California Press and one book with Palgrave Macmillan since 2007.
In addition to these accomplishments, Dr. Benamou served as a guest lecturer and speaker at Universidade Federal Fluminense in 2003, 2010, and 2015, and was the director of the Film & Video Center at the University of California, Irvine, from 2009 to 2010. She was also an associate professor in the American cultures program, film and video studies, and romance languages and literature at the University of Michigan from 2004 to 2008.
Dr. Benamou contributed to the Nuevo Texto Critico Journal in 1998 and served as interim director of the Duke in Los Angeles Program at Duke University from 1996 to 1998. While studying at New York University from 1984 to 1997, she worked as an associate producer and senior research executive on the film “It’s All True” at Paramount Pictures from 1991 to 1993. Additionally, she was an adjunct lecturer at the City University of New York, Staten Island, from 1992 to 1996, and an assistant research scientist for the New York Research Program in Inter-American Affairs at New York University from 1984 to 1986. Her career also includes roles as a consultant and research coordinator for the Film and Video Center at the National Museum of the American Indian in New York City from 1993 to 1995, a panelist for film and media grants with the New York Council for the Humanities in 1988, and a curator for Latin American film and video in New York City from 1983 to 1992.
Before embarking on her professional path, Dr. Benamou pursued coursework at Reed College and then earned a Bachelor of Arts in Ibero-American studies, graduating cum laude from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1978. She continued her studies at New York University, where she obtained a Master of Arts in Latin American and Caribbean studies with a concentration in sociology in 1982, followed by a Master of Arts in cinema studies in 1988. She completed her academic efforts with a PhD in cinema studies from New York University in 1997.
Dr. Benamou has made significant contributions through her creative works. She is the author of “Transnational Television and Latinx Diasporic Audiences: Abrazos Electrónicos in Four Global Cities” and “It’s All True: Orson Welles’ Pan-American Odyssey.” She also authored the chapter “Dual-Engined Diplomacy: Walt Disney, Orson Welles, and Pan-American Film Policy During World War II,” in the book ¡Américas Unidas! Nelson A. Rockefeller’s Office of Inter-American Affairs (1940-46), published by Iberoamericana Editorial Vervuert. Additionally, she co-authored “Women Filmmakers and Citizenship in Brazil, From Bossa Nova to the Retomada,” in Hispanophone & Lusophone Women Filmmakers, published by Manchester University, and “Televisual Melodrama in an Era of Transnational Migration,” in the book “Latin American Melodrama: Passion, Pathos, and Entertainment,” published by University of Illinois Press. She has also authored numerous journal articles, papers, and presentations.
Beyond her primary responsibilities within the field, Dr. Benamou has actively participated in various civic and professional organizations. She volunteers with OC Badgers and OCCORD. and has contributed to voter registration efforts with the Yes We Can Democratic Club in 2012. She also remains affiliated with numerous professional organizations. She has been a member of the Urban Affairs Association since 2015 and served as co-chair of the Latina/o caucus (SCMS) from 2003 to 2004. Her memberships include the Society for Cinema and Media Studies, the Popular Culture Association, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, the International Communication Association, the American Studies Association, the Brazilian Society for Cinema Studies, and the Latin American Studies Association.
In light of her impressive undertakings, Dr. Benamou has accrued several accolades throughout her career. She co-founded the project “Punto de Vista Latina” with Women Make Movies in 1983 and served as an advisor and contributor to a project at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 2014 to 2017. Additionally, Her first book has been translated into Portuguese and published in Brazil. She has also been recognized with numerous awards, including a National Endowment for the Humanities grant in 2010, a grant from the University of Michigan in 2002, and a Recognition of Special Achievement from The Smithsonian Institution in 1996.
Dr. Benamou attributes her success to perseverance, hard work, and resilience in the face of setbacks. Looking ahead, she is committed to continuing her career in higher education. She is currently consulting on several projects and is optimistic about their successful completion. Additionally, she plans to conduct the necessary research to publish a book exploring the history of inter-American film.
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