Dr. Julius Matthew Riles
Dr. Julius Matthew Riles (Ph.D., University of Illinois – Urbana/Champaign) is a faculty member of the Department of Communication. He has received several awards for teaching, research, and service. For example, he received the Campus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, an award given to the top five graduate teaching instructors from among the thousands at the University of Illinois. As an assistant professor at Mizzou, he was honored with the Advisor of the Year Award by the Department of Communication graduate student body and the Mass Comm Division Teaching Award from the National Communication Association. Dr. Riles is currently serving as Co-Director for the Media & Diversity Center.
Dr. Julius Matthew Riles researches the interplay between media use and social relationships. He theoretically approaches this examination from several perspectives. Specifically, Dr. Riles psychologically explores how exposure to social group portrayals can influence social perceptions and inclinations pertaining to those groups, the mechanisms by which social relationships influence media use, and the experience of parasocial relationships with figures in the media. His research agenda concerns practices pertaining to both traditional and digital media, and his interdisciplinary approach has led to research in the sub-disciplines of both health communication and political communication. Dr. Riles has been published in top-ranked peer-reviewed outlets such as the Journal of Communication, New Media & Society, Communication Research, Media Psychology, Communication Monographs, and Health Communication.
Riles, J. M., Ramasubramanian, S., & Behm-Morawitz, E. (2022). Theory development and evaluation within a critical media effects framework: An intersectional identity approach to media psychology. Journal of Media Psychology: Theories, Methods, and Applications, 34(2), 101-112.
Wiemer, E. C., Riles, J. M., & Tewksbury, D. (2022). Artists and attributions: How music platform implementation affects parasocial experiences and support intentions. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 66(2), 300-319.
Riles, J. M., Miller, B., Funk, M., & Morrow, E. (2021). The modern character of mental health stigma: A 30-year examination of popular film. Communication Studies, 72(4), 668-683. Communication Studies, 72(4), 668-683.
Riles, J. M., Funk, M., Miller, B., & Morrow, E. (2021). An Inclination for Intimacy: Depictions of Mental Health and Interpersonal Interaction in Popular Film. International Journal of Communication, 15, 2260-2280.
Riles, J. M., & Adams, K. (2021). Me, myself, and my mediated ties: Parasocial experiences as an ego-driven process. Media Psychology, 24(6), 792-813.