Lisa Tillmann, PhD
Professor, Department Chair
Lisa M. Tillmann, PhD, is an activist researcher, social justice documentary filmmaker, and professor of Critical Media and Cultural Studies (CMC), a program she founded at Rollins College. Grounded in values of peace, equity, and justice, CMC examines the world’s most pressing issues and challenges and helps students envision ways to work toward change. On campus and in central Florida, Dr. Tillmann has participated in numerous activist initiatives, many centering on civil rights.
Education
BA, Marquette University
PhD, University of South Florida
Research & Publications
As her teaching does, Dr. Tillmann's research centers on social issues related to inequity and injustice. She has published four books, Between Gay and Straight: Understanding Friendship across Sexual Orientation, In Solidarity: Friendship, Family, and Activism Beyond Gay and Straight, Advances in Autoethnography and Narrative Inquiry: Reflections on the Legacy of Carolyn Ellis and Arthur Bochner (coedited with Tony E. Adams and Robin M. Boylorn), and Mindful Activism: Autoethnographies of Social Justice Communication for Campus and Community Transformation (coauthored with Kathryn Norsworthy and Steve Schoen).
Dr. Tillmann also identifies as a social justice documentary filmmaker, having produced the films College Crucible and Weight Problem: Cultural Narratives of Fat and “Obesity,” and co-produced the films Off the Menu: Challenging the Politics and Economics of Body and Food and Remembering a Cool September (about LGBTQ+ civil rights). Students played key roles in each of those films.
She also co-produced a music video, “Ode to Academic Labor.”
If any of this sounds meaningful, exciting, and fun, CMC might be a good fit for you!
Courses Taught
Dr. Tillman's teaching reflects and advances the mission of CMC by tackling some of the world’s most pressing challenges and supporting students in envisioning ways of addressing those challenges. As a CMC student, you will become both a critical analyst of media and culture and a critically oriented producer of media and culture.
Incarceration & Inequality
You will identify a problem with criminal justice practice or policy, research the problem, and advocate for a solution to real policy-makers like the Winter Park and Orlando Chiefs of Police, city and county commissioners, and state representatives. Read more about this course.
CMC 320 Political Economy of Body and Food
Your testimony and creative work could be incorporated into a documentary film like Weight Problem: Cultural Narratives of Fat and “Obesity” or Off the Menu: Challenging the Politics and Economics of Body and Food.
CMC 400 Senior Research Practicum
You can research, write, shoot, and edit a documentary film in one semester.
