Introducing Our New Executive Secretary

Introducing Our New Executive Secretary

Hannah Sophie Schiffner

Hannah spent a significant part of her life in New England. She took classes at the Rhode Island School of Design to build her art portfolio, before pursuing cultural studies at Zeppelin University. Today, Hannah is completing her PhD, where she explores heroic narratives in children’s and teen media.

What first brought you to NEPCA?

Being the only PhD student at my university working on popular culture, I was looking for a community where I could feel a stronger sense of belonging and connect with people who shared my interests. NEPCA has given me many possibilities to develop academically and I have enjoyed giving back through my work with NEPCA over the years.

What are you most excited about for the association?

I’m excited for us to find more ways to create spaces for discussion and connection, such as through our affinity circles that we are piloting this year. I’m also looking forward to supporting our members through spotlighting their work, achievements, and contributions to popular culture. Likewise, I want to continue to create avenues for publications, such as through our recently launched book review committee. I am looking forward to continue fostering NEPCA’s role in popular culture scholarship.

What is your current research obsession?

I had a lot of fun researching rodents in popular culture. I was inspired by my childhood love of mice, from Geronimo Stilton to Ratatouille. I had a few chances to present my research and ended up publishing a paper on heroic mice and villainous rats. I think they have a lot to say about how we imagine heroism in children’s films and literature, especially in terms of underdogs and in narratives that challenge our traditional idea of heroic concepts.

What is currently on your bookshelf?

Lately, I’ve developed a love for thrifting pop-culture cookbooks. Some of them use recipes to explore historical places, others allow you to delve into fictional tv shows through the dishes that you can recreate. While some are simply fun and quirky, others are almost more art projects than cookbooks. I’ve started writing book reviews on them and will launch a pop-culture cookbook review column soon. So make sure to keep an eye out for that!