Dr. John Peters

Biography

John Durham Peters is the Maria Rosa Menocal Professor at Yale University, specializing in English and Film Media Studies. He holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University, earned in 1986, and an M.A. from the University of Utah in 1982. Throughout his career, John has been actively engaged in teaching and writing about media history and theory, with a significant tenure at the University of Iowa from 1986 to 2016. He is the author of several important works, including 'Speaking into Air: A History of the Idea of Communication' (1999), 'Courting the Abyss: Free Speech and the Liberal Tradition' (2005), 'Marvelous Clouds: Toward a Philosophy of Elemental Media' (2015), and 'Promiscuous Knowledge: A Cultural History of Information' (2020), all published by the University of Chicago Press. His research interests include the interaction of media with weather phenomena and consciousness, and he has served on various doctoral committees, advising and co-advising numerous PhD dissertations throughout his career.

Research Interests