Research

Beck caught the bug for higher education as she earned her BA in English and Psychology at the University of Alabama, Huntsville. After earning insufficient pocket change while performing stand-up comedy and improv professionally, she went on to earn an MA in Women’s Studies from Ohio State University and a Ph.D. in American Studies from University of Maryland, College Park. Her research specializations are studies in humor and performance with a focus on stand-up comedy; social justice and resistance movements; media representations; visual and popular culture; and American subcultures, specifically survivalists and preppers or those preparing for large-scale disasters.