Humphreys CV - 1

Lee Humphreys

305 Kennedy

Dept. of Communication 607 255 2599 (office)

Cornell UniversitySkype: lhumphreys

Ithaca, NY 14853

CURRENT POSITION

Associate Professor, Department of Communication, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (July 2014 – Current)

Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (July 2008- 2014)

PRIOR ACADEMIC POSITIONS

Associate Lecturer, Department of Communication Arts, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (2007-2008)

EDUCATION

Ph.D., Communication, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 2007

Dissertation Title: Mobile Sociality & Spatial Practice: A Qualitative Fieldstudy of New Social Networking Technologies

Dissertation Committee: Dr. Carolyn Marvin (chair), Dr. John Carey, Dr. Keith Hampton, Dr. Paul Messaris

M.A., Communication, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 2003

Thesis Title: Can you hear me now? A field study of cellphone usage in public space.

Thesis Committee: Dr. Carolyn Marvin (chair), Dr. Joseph Cappella

B.S., Communication, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 1999

Graduated with honors in research.

AWARDS AND HONORS

Award for Excellence in the Teaching, Advising, and Mentoring of Graduate and Professional Students, GPSA, Cornell University (Spring 2013)

Institute for the Social Sciences, Faculty Fellowship, Cornell University (Fall, 2012)

Outstanding Graduate Student Publication, Communication & Information Technologies section of the American Sociological Association (August, 2007)

Research Incentive Prize, Urban Communication Foundation (November, 2006)

Annenberg Dissertation Research Fellowship (November, 2005)

James D. Woods Award for outstanding teaching by a graduate student (May,2004)

Full tuition and research stipend, Annenberg School for Communication (2001-2005)

Cornell Tradition Fellowship (1995-1999)

BOOKS

Humphreys, L. (under contract). The qualified self: Social media and the cataloguing of everyday life. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Messaris, P. & Humphreys, L. (Eds.) (2006). Digital media: Transformations in human communication. New York, Peter Lang.

JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS

(* denotes graduate student co-author, ** denotes undergraduate student co-author)

Humphreys, L. & Wilken, R. (in press). Social media, small businesses, and the control of information. Information, Communication & Society

Newbury, E.*, Humphreys, L., & Fuess, L.** (in press). Over the hurdles: Barriers to social media use in Extension offices. Journal of Extension.

Halpern, M.* & Humphreys, L. (in press). iPhonography: Middlebrow art worlds. New Media & Society.

Liao, T.* & Humphreys, L. (2014).Layar-ed places: Using mobile augmented reality to tactically reengage, reproduce, and reappropriate public space. New Media & Society. DOI: 10.1177/1461444814527734

Humphreys, L. & Gillespie, T. (2014). Introduction to AoIR special issue. Information, Communication, & Society, 17(3): 283-285.

Humphreys, L., Gill, P.,* & Krishnamurthy, B. (2014). Privacy on Twitter: A content analysis of personal information. Information, Communication & Society, 17(7):843-857.

Humphreys, L. & Liao, T.* (2013). Foursquare & the Parochialization of Public Space. First Monday: Special Issue on Media and the Social Production of Urban Space. 18(11). 4 November 2013

DOI: 10.5210/fm.v18i11.4966.

Humphreys, L., Von Pape, T., & Karnowski, V. (2013). Evolving mobile media ecology: Uses and conceptualizations of the mobile Internet by American and German college students. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. DOI:10.1111/jcc4.12019

Humphreys, L., Gill, P.,* Krishnamurthy, B. & Newbury, E.* (2013). Twitter & historical diaries: A content analysis. Journal of Communication. 63(3): 413-431. (lead article) DOI: 10.1111/jcom.12030

Humphreys, L. (2013). Mobile social media: Future challenges and opportunities. Mobile Media & Communication. 1(1): 20-25.

Logie, J. & Humphreys, L. (2013). Introduction to AoIR special issue. Information, Communication, & Society. 16(3): 287-290

Shapiro, S.** & Humphreys, L. (2013). Publicizing & personalizing war: A comparison of military blogs to military letters from WWI. New Media & Society, 15(7): 1151-1167.doi:10.1177/1461444812466718

Humphreys, L. (2012). Connecting, coordinating, cataloguing: Communicative practices on mobile social networks. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media. 65(4): 494-510.

Humphreys, L. (2011). Who’s watching whom? A study of interactive technology and surveillance. Journal of Communication, 61: 575-595.

Humphreys, L. & Liao, T.* (2011). Mobile Geo-Tagging: Reexamining Our Interactions with Urban Space. Journal of Computer Mediated Communication. 16(3): 407-423.

Humphreys, L. (2010). Mobile social networks and urban public space. New Media & Society,12(5): 763-778. doi:10.1177/1461444809349578.

Pollak, J.P.*, Gay, G., Byrne, S., Wagner, E.**, Retelny, D.** & Humphreys, L. (2010). It’s Time to Eat! Using Mobile Games to Promote Healthy Eating. IEEE Pervasive Computing, 9(3): 21-27.

Humphreys, L. (2007). “Mobile social networks and spatial practice: A case study of Dodgeball” Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, 13(1): article 17. (Accessible at

Humphreys, L. & Barker, T.* (2007). “Modernity and the Mobile Phone: Exploring tensions about dating and sex in Indonesia.” Journal of Media & Culture, 10(1). (Accessible at

Humphreys, L. (2005). "Cellphones in public: Social interaction in a wireless era." New Media & Society, 7(6): 813-836.

Humphreys, L. (2005). "Reframing social groups, closure, and stabilization in the social construction of technology." Social Epistemology,19(2-3): 231-253.

Humphreys, L. (2005). "Social topography in a wireless era: The negotiation of public and private space." Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 35(3): 367-384.

BOOK CHAPTERS & REVIEWS

Humphreys, L. (in press). Mobile social networks. International Encyclopedia of Digital Communication & Society.

Humphreys, L. (2013). Mobile social networks and surveillance. In A. Jansson & Christensen, M. (Eds.) Media, surveillance, and identity: A social perspective (pp. tbd.). New York, NY: Peter Lang.

Humphreys, L. (2011). Review of Joseph Reagle Jr’s “Good Faith Collaboration” (MIT Press, 2010). Journal of Communication. 61(2): e1.

Humphreys, L. (2010). Technological Determinism. In S. H. Priest (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Science and Technology Communication (Vol. 2, pp. 869-872). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Humphreys, L. (2009). “Mobile social networks.” In T. Dumova & R. Fiordo (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Social Interaction Technologies and Collaboration Software: Concepts and Trends (pp. 22-32). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.

Humphreys, L. & Barker, T. (2009). “Modernity and the Mobile Phone: Exploring tensions about dating and sex in Indonesia.” Reprinted in New Age Mobile Telephony Devices - Developments, Trends And Issues. Andhra Pradesh, India:Icfai University Press.

Cappella, J.N.. Mittermaier, D.J.*, Weiner, J., Humphreys, L., Falcone, T., & Giorno, G. (2009). “Coding instructions: An example” in Krippendorff, Klaus & Bock, Mary (eds.),The content analysis reader (pp. 253-266). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Inc.

Humphreys, L. (2008). “Mobile devices & social networking” in Hartmann, M., Rössler, P., & Höflich, J. (eds.). After the Mobile Phone? Social Changes and the Development of Mobile Communication (pp. 115-130). Berlin: Frank & Timme.

Humphreys, L. & Finlay, C. J.* (2008). “New technologies, new narratives” in Dayan, D. & M. Price’s (eds.) Owning the Olympics: Narratives of the New China(pp.284-306).Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.

Humphreys, L. (2006). “Photos and fieldwork: Capturing norms for mobile phone use in the US”. In J. Höflich & M. Hartmann (Eds.), Mobile Communication in Everyday Life: Ethnographic views, observations, and reflections (pp. 55-78). Berlin, Frank & Timme.

Humphreys, L. (2006). "Images and Online Romance”. In P. Messaris & L. Humphreys(Eds.), Digital Media: Transformations in Human Communication (pp. 39-49).New York, Peter Lang.

Messaris, P. & Humphreys, L. (2006). “Introduction.” In P. Messaris & L. Humphreys(Eds.), Digital Media: Transformations in Human Communication (pp. XV-XX).New York, Peter Lang.

OTHER PUBLICATIONS

Humphreys, L. (2007). Mobile Sociality & Spatial Practice: A Qualitative Fieldstudy of New Social Networking Technologies. PhD Dissertation. Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania: Philadelphia, PA.

Humphreys, L. (2006). Out with My Mobile: Exploring social coordination in urban environments. Vodafone’s Receiver magazine. (Accessible at

Humphreys, (L). (2003). Can you hear me now? A field study of cellphone usage in public space. Master’sThesis. Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania: Philadelphia, PA.

Turow, J., Coluccio, K., Hersh, A., Humphreys, L., Jacobsohn, L., & Sawicki, N. (2003). “Discussion of Health Websites in Medical and Popular Media" Report to Consumer WebWatch.

MANUSCRIPTS IN PROGRESS

Ling R. & Humphreys, L. (revise & resubmit). Location Based Communication. International Encyclopedia of Philosophy of Communication.

Ozkul, D. & Humphreys, L. (minor revise & resubmit). Record and remember: Memory and meaning-making practices through mobile and location media. Mobile Media & Communication

FUNDING

Principle Investigator(Co-PI: Prof. Dawn Schrader) (January 2015-December 2016)

  • Proposal submitted to the Science, Technology & Society Division of NSF ($331,094 over 2 years)
  • Research project entitled: “The Ethics and Practices of Locative Socio-Technical Systems”

Principal Investigator (October 2010-September 2013)

  • Funded by USDA via Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station, Hatch Funding ($60,080)
  • Research Project entitled: Twitter 101: Identifying Best Practices for Microblogs and Privacy Protection

Principal Investigator (September 2010)

  • Funded by Cornell’s ADVANCE ($1500)
  • Professional Development Grant to bring Professor Nancy Baym to campus.

Principal Investigator (May, 2010-August, 2010)

  • Funded by the Cornell Cooperative Extension ($4500)
  • Research Project entitled: Social Media & Cornell Cooperative Extension: A Formative Research and Development Plan

Principal Investigator (November 2008-November, 2009)

  • Funded by the Institute for Social Science at Cornell University ($2880)
  • Research Project entitled: Mobile Social Networking in Urban Environments

Principal Investigator (October 2008)

  • Funded by the College for Agriculture & Life Science ($3,930)
  • Funding for first-time teaching needs for graduate level qualitative research methodology course.

Principal Investigator (November 2006 - November 2007)

  • Research Incentive Prize from the Urban Communication Foundation ($1500)
  • Research Project entitled: Mobile Social Networking in Urban Environments

Principal Investigator(January 2006)

  • International Travel Grant from the Center for Global Communication Studies, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania ($2500)

Teacher Training

Diversity Workshop, Cornell University (June, 2010)

  • Three-day workshop run by the Center for Teaching Excellence.
  • Learned various techniques for incorporating diverse perspectives and content into the classroom.

Teaching Training, Annenberg School, U. of Pennsylvania (Spring, 2004)

  • Certified one-day training run by the Center for Teaching and Learning.
  • Discussed effective teaching and evaluation strategies.

“Navigating the Classroom” Workshop Series, Graduate Student Center, U. Pennsylvania (Fall, 2003)

  • Run by the Learning Resource Center at the University of Pennsylvania
  • Attended a series of teaching workshops about building courses, designing syllabi, presentation methods, teaching to multiple intelligences, fair grading, and creating evaluation forms.

PEER-REVIEWED CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

Humphreys, L. & Wilken, R. (2014). Social Media, Commercialization and the Control of Information. Presented at AoIR, Deagou, Korea. October 21-24.

Humphreys, L. (2014). Popular memory in old and new media practices. Presented at ICA, Seattle, WA, May 22-26.

Ozkul, D. & Humphreys, L. (2014). Record and remember: Memory and meaning-making practices through mobile and location media. Presented at ICA Mobile Pre-conference, Seattle, WA, May 20-21.

Humphreys, L. (2013). Resisting Methods & Newness: Juxtaposition, Play & Reflexivity. Presented at AoIR, Denver, CO, October 24-27.

Humphreys, L. & Liao, T. (2013). Foursquare & the Parochialization of Public Space. Presented at AoIR, Denver, CO, October 24-27.

Liao, T. & Humphreys, L. (2013). Augmented Places: Tactical Experiences and Engagement with Public Places Using Augmented Reality. Presented at AoIR, Denver, CO, October 24-27.

Steinhardt, J.,* & Humphreys, L. (2012). Wisdom of the crowds 2.0: Financial advice-seeking and interaction through an online social network. Presented at NCA, Orlando, FL, November 14-17.

Shapiro, S.** & Humphreys, L. (2012). Publicizing & personalizing war: A comparison of military blogs to military letters from WWI. Presented at 4S, Copenhagen, October 17-19.

Humphreys, L. (2012). Connecting, coordinating, cataloguing: Communicative practices on mobile social networks.Presented at AoIR, October, 18-20.

Humphreys, L., Gill, P.,* Krishnamurthy, B. & Newbury, E.* (2012). Twitter & historical diaries: A content analysis.Presented at ICA, Phoenix, AZ, May 24-28.

Von Pape, T., Karnowski, V., & Humphreys, L. (2012).Mobile internet usage: anywhere, anytime, any app?An experience sampling study on the social, spatial, temporal and cultural contextsof mobile Internet use in the US and Germany.Presented at ICA Mobile Preconference,Phoenix, AZ, May 24-28.

Karnowski, V., Von Pape, T., & Humphreys, L. (2012).Mobile internet usage: anywhere, anytime, any app?An experience sampling study on the social, spatial, temporal and cultural contextsof mobile Internet use in the US and Germany.Presented at Mobile Local Conference, NC State, Raleigh, NC March 16-17.

Humphreys, L, Byrne, S., & Gay, G. (2011). Teen iPhone Adoption: Expectations & Experiences. Presented at the National Communication Association Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA. November 17-20.

Halpern, M. & Humphreys, L. (2011). iPhonography: Middlebrow Art Worlds. Presented at the 4S Annual Conference, Cleveland November 4-5.

Humphreys, L. (2011). Negotiating Public and Private: Mobile technology in public space. Presented at the International Communication Association Conference in Boston, May 27-29.

Humphreys, L. (2010). Mobile Social Networks & Surveillance. Presented at the National Communication Association Conference in San Francisco, November 14-16.

Karnowski, V., von Pape, T., & Humphreys, L. (2010, November). Internet goes mobile: Use and importance of mobile online services in German and American students. Presentation at the annual conference of the DGPuK-FG Computer-mediated Communication, Computer and Communication – ”Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow“ in Mainz, Germany,November 11-13.

Humphreys, L. von Pape, T., & Karnowski, V. (2010).Users’ perspectives on an evolving mobile media ecology: Uses and conceptualizations of the mobile Internet by American and German college students. Presented at the International Communication Association Preconference on Mobile Communication in Singapore, June 21-22.

Humphreys, L., Gill, P.,* Krishnamurthy, B. (2010). How much is too much?Privacy issues on Twitter.Presented at the International Communication Association Conference, Singapore, June 23-25.

Humphreys, L. (2010). Historicizing Microblogging. CHI Workshop on Micro-Blogging 2010, April 10–15, 2010, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Humphreys, L. (2009). GPS Mobile Social Networks: Reexamining Our Interactions with Urban Space. Presented at the International Communication Association Preconference on Mobile Communication in Chicago, May.

Humphreys, L. (2008). “Mobile Social Networks and Urban Public Space.” Presented at the National Communication Association Annual Conference in San Diego, November.

Humphreys, L. (2008). “Mobile Social Media and the Parochialization of Urban Public Space.” Presented at the Social Mobile Media Workshop, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, August.

Humphreys, L. (2008). “Who’s Watching Whom?: A Fieldstudy of Interactive Technology & Surveillance.” Presented at the American Sociological Association Annual Conference, Boston, MA, August.

Humphreys, L. (2008). “Privacy, Surveillance, and Interactive Technology” Presented at the International Communication Association Annual Conference, Montreal, May.

Humphreys, L. & Barker, T. (2007). “Modernity and the Mobile Phone: Exploring tensions about dating and sex in Indonesia.” Presented at the National Communication Association Annual Conference in Chicago, November.

Humphreys, L. (2007). Atomization or Collectivization? Mobile Connections on Dodgeball. Presented at the Mobile Pre-Conference at the International Communication Association Annual Conference, San Francisco, CA, May.

Humphreys, L. (2006). “Media Events and the Diffusion of Technology: A Closer Look at Mobile Initiatives for the Beijing Olympics”. Presented at the Beijing Olympics Workshop, Center for Global Communication Studies, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, November.

Humphreys, L. (2006). “Mobile Devices and Social Networking.” Presented at the 'After the Mobile?' Pre-Conference, International Communication Association in Erfurt, Germany, June.

Klein, A. & Humphreys, L. (2006). “Measuring Online Social Support: Can Computer-Based Text Analysis Approximate Burleson’s Person-Centered Hierarchy?” Presented at the International Communication Association in Dresden, Germany, June.

Humphreys, L. (2005). “The Use of Technology in Public Spaces: A case study of the Remote Lounge.” Presented at the National Communication Association, Boston, MA, November.

Schreiber, D., Humphreys, L. & Cappella, J.N. (2005). "Computerized Content Analysis of News about Genetic Influences on Disease and Behavior: MySQL, LIWC, and Automap as Tools." Presented at the Critical Issues in eHealth Conference, Bethesda, MD, June.

Humphreys, L. (2004). "Photographs and the Presentation of Self through Online Dating Services." Presented at the National Communication Association Conference, Chicago, IL, November.

Lammie, K & Humphreys, L. (2004). "No Votes for Turncoats" An Analysis of Bumper Stickers as Public Discourse." Presented at the National Communication Association Conference, Chicago, IL, November.

Humphreys, L. (2004). "Social Interaction in a Wireless Era." Presented at the International Communication Association Conference, New Orleans, LA, May.

Humphreys, L. (2003). "The Bad News about Cellphones: a framing analysis of cellphone risk in the US and UK." Presented atthe National Communication Association Conference, Miami, FL, November.

Humphreys, L. (2003). “Methodological challenges in a wireless era." Presented at the International Communication Association Annual Conference, San Diego, CA.

SELECTED INVITED TALKS

Invited Speaker, Mobile Ubiquity Workshop, Center for Global Communication, University of Pennsylvania, Nov. 7, 2014.

Invited Speaker, Communication Studies Seminar Series, Northwestern University, Nov. 3, 2014.

Invited Speaker, History of Material Texts Seminar Series, University of Pennsylvania Oct 13, 2014.

Invited Speaker, Cornell Summer Lecture Series, Cornell Continuing Education and Summer Session, Statler Auditorium, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY July 17th, 2013.

  • Invited Speaker to Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research Youth Development Research Update, La Tourelle, Ithaca, NY, June 4th, 2013.
  • Commencement Speaker, Department of Communication, Cornell University, May 26, 2013.
  • Invited Speaker to Social Media Collective, Microsoft Research Cambridge, MA, May 7, 2013.
  • Invited Panelist, “Social Media Matters”, Liberty Hyde Bailey Lecture, Cornell University, June 8th, 2012.
  • Keynote Speaker, Mobile Communication, Community, & Locative Media, ICA Mobile Pre-conference, Phoenix, AZ, May 23-24, 2012.
  • Invited Speaker to Cornell Institutional Affairs Review in Ithaca, NY, Oct. 24th, 2011.
  • Invited Speaker to Cornell Alumni Leadership Conference, Washington, D.C., Jan. 29th, 2011.
  • Invited Speaker to Microsoft Social Computing Symposium, NYU, New York, NY, Jan 11th, 2011
  • Invited Speaker to Cornell University’s Strategic Marketing Conference, FDR Presidential Library, Hyde Park, NY, Nov 1, 2010.
  • Invited Speaker to the Center for Deliberation, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin, Madison, May 28th, 2010.
  • Invited Panelist, Alumni Development and Social Media Panel, Cornell Alumni Affairs and Development, Cornell University, Feb 23rd, 2010
  • Invited Speaker, School of Public Administration, Syracuse University, Oct 16th, 2009.
  • Invited speaker, Center for Sustainable Future. Social Media for Outreach. April 4th, 2010.
  • Invited Speaker to the Surveillance Project, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Jan 15th, 2009.

MEDIA

  • Featured in the Cornell Chronicle, January 7th, 2014,
  • Featured on Fox News, July 29, 2013, “Tweeting is not revolutionary”
  • Featured in the Cornell Chronicle, June 23rd, 2013,
  • Featured guest, Mission: Radio, WRFI (Ithaca Community Radio), July 15th, 2013.
  • Featured in I.D.E.A.L. Magazine, Summer 2013: “Dr. Lee Humphreys: Cornell’s Dr. Lee Humphreys on Text-to-911 Mobile Communication for the Hearing and Speech Impaired”, by Deborah A. Pierro, pp7-8.
  • Featured in Nielson Lab Report, May 8th, 2013:
  • Panelist on Huffington Post Live for segment titled “You Can’t Have My Tweets” (12/11/12) 2012)
  • Featured in “Tech News: Google Privacy Policy Changes” on News 12 Long Island. (March 12, 2012)
  • Featured in WebWatch from Radio France Internationale. (9/10/11). Is Twitter Breaking New Ground? (
  • Featured in The Independent (6/15/10) “Twitter Just a 300-year old diary”
  • Featured in The New Yorker (4/15/10) “Small Bird Chirps Land in Big Library” by Deirdre Folley-Mendelssohn.
  • Featured in the Wall Street Journal (4/13/10) “Twitter Updates, the 18th Century Edition” by Jennifer Valentino-Devries.
  • Quoted in the St. Louis Dispatch (9/7/09) “Bluetooth headsets inspire love and loathing” by Tim Barker.
  • Quoted in the St. Louis Dispatch (6/3/09) “Was rude text message to blame for stabbing?” by Tim Barker.
  • Work cited in the Chronicle for Higher Education (8/8/08). “Big Brother is Being Watched” by Mark Leonard.
  • Interviewed on BBC Radio, Word of Mouth. October 28th, 2005 about research on bumper stickers as form of public discourse.
  • Quoted in Harkin, M. (2004). “Overheard Monologues Spark Phone Rage.” Nature.com. October 5th. (Accessible at

CORNELL SERVICE

Member, Mann Building Committee, Dept. of Communication, Cornell University (2013-Current)

Member, Faculty Search Committee, Dept. of Communication, Cornell University (2012-2013)

Member, Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, Dept of Communication, Cornell University (2011-Current)

Member, Graduate Admissions Committee, Information Science Field, Cornell University (2010)