Selected Publications

NOTE: Although I try to publish open-access whenever possible, some of these articles are behind paywalls. If you cannot access them, please contact me and I’d be happy to send you a copy.

Books

Kligler-Vilenchik, N., & Literat, I. (2024). Not your parents’ politics: Understanding young people’s political expression on social media. Oxford University Press. 

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles (*=student co-authors)

• Kligler-Vilenchik, N., & Literat, I. (2025). Expressive citizenship: Youth, social media, and democracy. Journal of Children and Media. https://doi.org/10.1080/17482798.2024.2438680
• Saiyinjiya, A.*, Lei, L.*, Meng, X.*, Gu, Y.*, & Literat, I. (2024). Bringing #LinaBell to life online: A case study in the creative and collaborative dynamics of Chinese online fandom. Media, Culture & Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437241301 
• Gu, Y.*, Yang, Y.*, Saiyinjiya, A.*, Wu, W.*, Chen, Q.*, Chen, S.*, & Literat, I. (2024) Commerce meets activism: #StopMenstrualShaming and the dynamics of feminist  advocacy on Xiaohongshu. International Journal of Communication 18.
• Lei, Y.*, Meng, X.*, Huang, X.*, Li, J.*, Jiang, Y.*, Yu, Y.*, & Literat, I.* (2024). Short videos, big impact: How Chinese youth perceive and engage with news on short video platforms. Global Media and China (ahead-of-print) https://doi.org/10.1177/20594364241298055
• Russo, R.*, Blikstein, P., & Literat, I. (2024). Twisted knowledge construction on Twitter: An analysis of constructivist sense-making on social media leading to political radicalization. Information & Learning Sciences 125 (9): 693-719. https://doi.org/10.1108/ILS-12-2023-0210.
• Barber, C.* and Literat, I. (2024). TikTok as a lens into teacher attrition: Perspectives from #teacherquittok. English Teaching: Practice & Critique. Ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/ETPC-05-2023-0049 [accepted preprint available here]
• Russo, R.*, Literat, I., & Blikstein, P. (2023). Weaponizing John 8:32: The Complex Interconnections between Religion and Politics on Brazilian Twitter. Social Media & Society.
• Meng, X.* & Literat, I. (2023). #AverageYetConfidentMen: Chinese stand-up comedy and feminist discourse on Douyin, Feminist Media Studies,  https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2023.2267781
• Abdelbagi, A.* & Literat, I. (2023). Mapping the information landscapes of Sudanese youth: Implications for media literacy education. International Journal of Communication 17, 4755-4777.
• Literat, I., & Kligler-Vilenchik., N (2023). TikTok as a key platform for youth political expression: Reflecting on the opportunities and stakes involved. Social Media + Society (Special issue on TikTok and activism). https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051231157595  
• Literat, I., Boxman-Shabtai, L., & Kligler-Vilenchik., N (2022). Protesting the protest paradigm: TikTok as a space for media criticism. The International Journal of Press/Politics. https://doi.org/10.1177/19401612221117481  
• Stahl, C.C.,* & Literat, I. (2022). #GenZ on TikTok: The collective online self-portrait of the social media generation. Journal of Youth Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2022.2053671
• de Saint-Laurent, C., Glaveanu, V.P., & Literat, I. (2022). Mimetic representations of the COVID-19 pandemic: An analysis of objectification, anchoring and identification processes in coronavirus memes. Psychology of Popular Media. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000370 
• Literat, I.​, & Kligler-Vilenchik, N. (2021). How popular culture prompts youth collective political expression and cross-cutting political talk: A social media cross-platform analysis. Social Media + Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051211008821
• Literat, I. (2021). On research and hope, in an America aflame: Sketching youth civic futures as a mother and a researcher. Journal of Children and Media 15(1), 109-111. 
• Literat, I. (2021). “Teachers act like we’re robots”: TikTok as a window into youth experiences of online learning during COVID-19. AERA Open 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858421995537 
• Literat, I., Chang, Y.K., Eisman, J.*, & Gardner, J.* (2021). LAMBOOZLED!: The design and development of a game-based approach to news literacy education. Journal of Media Literacy Education, 13(1), 56-66. https://doi.org/10.23860/JMLE-2021-13-1-5. 
• Literat, I., Abdelbagi, A.*, Law, N.Y.L.*, Cheung, M. Y-Y.*, & Tang, R.* (2021). Likes, sarcasm and politics: Youth responses to a platform-initiated media literacy campaign on social media. Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Misinformation Review. https://doi.org/10.37016/mr-2020-67
• Literat, I. (2021). Memes in the time of corona: An autoethnographic visual essay on memes as relational resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. Visual Studies https://doi.org/10.1080/1472586X.2021.1911678.
• de Saint-Laurent, C., Glaveanu, V.P., & Literat, I. (2021). Internet memes as partial stories: Identifying political narratives in coronavirus memes. Social Media + Society, doi: 10.1177/2056305121988932.
• Liou, A.L., & Literat, I. (2020). “We need you to listen to us”: Youth activist perspectives on intergenerational dynamics and adult solidarity in youth movements. International Journal of Communication 14, 4662-4682. 
• Literat, I., & Markus, S. (2020). ‘Crafting a way forward’: Online participation, craftivism and civic engagement in Ravelry’s Pussyhat Project group. Information, Communication & Society, 23(10), 1411-1426.
• Brough, M., Literat, I., & Ikin, A. (2020). “Good social media?”: Underrepresented youth perspectives on the ethical and equitable design of social media platforms. Social Media + Society 6(2), DOI: 10.1177/2056305120928488. 
• Literat, I., Chang, Y.K., & Hsu, S.-Y.* (2020). Gamifying fake news: Engaging youth in the participatory design of news literacy games. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies 26(3), 506-516.
• Chang, Y.K., Literat, I., Price, C., Eisman, J., Gardner, J., Chapman, A., & Truss, A. (2020). News literacy education in a polarized political climate: How games can teach youth to spot misinformation. Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Misinformation Review, https://doi.org/10.37016/mr-2020-020.
• Literat, I., & Brough, M. (2019). From ethical to equitable social media technologies: Amplifying underrepresented youth voices in digital technology design. Journal of Media Ethics 34(3), 132-145.
• Literat, I., & Kligler-Vilenchik, N. (2019). Youth collective political expression on social media: The role of affordances and memetic dimensions for voicing political views. New Media & Society. First published online: April 1. DOI: 10.1177/1461444819837571
• Literat, I. & Kligler-Vilenchik, N. (2018). Youth online political expression in non-political spaces: Implications for civic education. Learning, Media & Technology 43(4), 400-417.
• Literat, I., Kligler-Vilenchik, N., Brough, M., & Blum-Ross, A. (2018). Analyzing youth digital participation: Aims, actors, contexts, and intensities. The Information Society, 34(4), 261-273.
• Kligler-Vilenchik, N. & Literat, I. (2018). Distributed creativity as political expression: Youth responses to the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election in online affinity networks. Journal of Communication 68(1), 75-97.
• Glaveanu, V.P., de Saint-Laurent, C.,. & Literat, I. (2018). Making sense of refugees online: Perspective taking, political imagination, and Internet memes. American Behavioral Scientist 6(4), 440-457.
• Cybart-Persenaire, A. & Literat, I. (2018). Writing stories, rewriting identities: Using journalism education and mobile technologies to empower marginalized high school students. Learning, Media & Technology. First published online: April 10.
• Literat, I., & Glaveanu, V.P. (2018). Distributed creativity on the Internet: A theoretical framework for online creative participation. International Journal of Communication 12, 893-908.
• Literat, I. (2018). Make, share, review, remix: Unpacking the impact of the Internet on contemporary creativity. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies 25(5-6), 1168-1184.
• Literat, I., Conover, A., Herbert-Wasson, E., Page, K.K., Riina-Ferrie, J., Stephens, R., Thanapornsangsuth S., & Vasudevan, L. (2017). Toward multimodal inquiry: Opportunities, challenges and implications of multimodality for research and scholarship. Higher Education Research & Development. First published online: Oct. 16.
• Literat, I. & van den Berg, S. (2017). Buy memes low, sell memes high: Vernacular criticism and collective negotiations of value on Reddit’s MemeEconomy. Information, Communication & Society. First published online: August 22.
• Feng, Y., & Literat, I. (2017). Redefining Relations Between Creators and Audiences in the Digital Age: The Social Production and Consumption of Chinese Internet Literature. International Journal of Communication 11: 2584-2604.
• Li, Q. & Literat, I. (2017). Misuse or misdesign? Yik Yak on college campuses and the moral dimensions of technology design. First Monday 22(7). First published online: July 3.
• Literat, I. (2017). The Power of a Pony: Youth Literacies, Participatory Culture, and Active Meaning-Making. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 61(1), 113-116.
• Literat, I. (2017). Facilitating Creative Participation and Collaboration in Online Spaces: The Impact of Social and Technological Factors in Enabling Sustainable Engagement. Digital Creativity 28(2), 73-88.
• Literat, I. (2017). Refugee Selfies and the (Self-)Representation of Disenfranchised Social Groups. Media Fields Journal 12.
• Literat, I. & Glaveanu, V.P. (2016). Same but Different? Distributed Creativity in the Internet Age. Creativity: Theory, Research, Applications 3(2), 330-342.
• Literat, I. (2016). Interrogating Participation Across Disciplinary Boundaries: Lessons from Political Philosophy, Cultural Studies, Education, and Art. New Media & Society 18(8), 1787-1803.
• Literat, I. (2015). Implications of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) on Higher Education: Mitigating or Reifying Educational Inequities? Higher Education Research & Development 34(6), 1164-1177.
• Literat, I., & Balsamo, A. (2014). Stitching the Future of the AIDS Quilt: The Cultural Work of Digital Memorials. Visual Communication Quarterly 21(3), 138-149.
• Literat, I. (2014). Empowering Local Women through Digital Training Programs: A Sustainable Income-Generating Model in Hyderabad, India. Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy 5.
• Literat, I. (2014). Measuring New Media Literacies: Towards the Development of a Comprehensive Assessment Tool. Journal of Media Literacy Education 6(1), 15-27.
• Literat, I. (2013). N=1: A Social Scientific Inquiry into Happiness and Academic Labor. Hybrid Pedagogy: A Digital Journal of Learning, Teaching, and Technology. 
• Literat, I. (2013). Participatory Innovation: The Culture of Contests in Popular Science Monthly, 1918-1938. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 90(4), 776-790.
• Literat, I. & Chen, N.-T. ( 2013). Communication Infrastructure Theory and Entertainment-Education: An Integrative Model for Health Communication. Communication Theory, 24, 83-103.
• Literat, I. (2013). A Pencil for Your Thoughts: Participatory Drawing as a Visual Research Method with Children and Youth. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 12, 84-98.
• Literat, I. (2013). Participatory Mapping with Urban Youth: The Visual Elicitation of Socio-Spatial Research Data. Learning, Media & Technology, 38(2), 198-216.
• Literat, I. (2012). The Work of Art in the Age of Mediated Participation: Crowdsourced Art and Collective Creativity. International Journal of Communication, 6, 2962-2984.
• Felt, L., Vartabedian, V., Literat, I., & Mehta, R. (2012). Explore Locally, Excel Digitally: A Participatory Learning After-School Program for Enriching Citizenship On- and Offline. Journal of Media Literacy Education, 4(3), 213-228.