Tina Benigno, PhD
Research and Interests
My research interests include childhood and youth studies, cinema and media studies, girls and girlhoods, care, relationships, culture, young people's care practices, qualitative research, neoliberal feminism, young people's views on socio-political issues and (alternative) spirituality, 1990s Canadian girlhood in film & TV, imagination, pedagogy, speculative fiction, and healthcare/medical humanities.
My doctoral project comes out of group interviews with teen girls from various communities in Toronto. This work explores the idea of the 'extra-ordinary' girl under neoliberalism, where being extra-ordinary or powerful is secondary to care and connection for the girl not in the public eye. Focusing specifically on two case studies of the activist and witch figures in popular film/TV and society, I address the dialogic relationship between figures of the extra-ordinary girl and cultural-historical practices of girls.
When I'm not working, I enjoy running, baking, spending time with friends, family, and pets, watching shows (and some sports), indoor cycling, and travelling.
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Education
Doctorate of Philosophy, York University Sept. 2015-2021
Humanities
Examination Fields:
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Girlhood & Film: The Teenage Years
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Young People’s Media & Cultures
Dissertation Title:
The Extra-Ordinary Girl Under Neoliberalism, On and Off Screen:
How Teen Girls in Toronto Negotiate Care, Connection, and Figurations of Girlhood
Supervisor: Dr. Cheryl Cowdy Advisors: Dr. Natalie Coulter, Dr. Michael Zryd
Master of Arts, York University 2008-2010
Cinema and Media Studies
MRP Title:
Liminal Cinema: New Models of Imagination, Memory and Romantic Longing in Amélie and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Honours Bachelor of Arts, University of Toronto 2002-2007
Major: Cinema Studies; Minors: English Literature, Italian Studies
