Who is Meg Tully?

Dr. Meg Tully is a Belmont alumna who has come back to teach at Belmont and share her love for communication, pop-culture and comedy. When I asked her this question, Meg said without hesitation, “I am a pop-culture obsessive who conned her way into academia because I study TV.”

Meg, one of our newest Assistant Professors, received her M.A. from Ball State University and her Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. Meg’s research covers the intersections of feminist media criticism and critical rhetoric. She has published her work in Women’s Studies in Communication and Critical Studies in Media Communication and also has researched works such as “Inside Amy Schumer” and “Bob’s Burgers.” Most recently, Meg’s research followed white feminist rhetoric in pop-culture through the written works of “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot,” “Snatched,” and “Big Little Lies.”

What makes Meg, Meg?

Meg cites television as one of the most influential factors in her career. Not only is TV one of her favorite topics to study, but it also serves as one of her escapes. Outside of her communication studies, Meg bragged about her wonderful husband, cute cats and her new co-worker who also happens to be her mom, situated right down the hall from Meg’s office.

What/who inspires Meg to teach?

“I had no idea I wanted to teach until I was in my senior year here.”

Meg’s love for teaching began during her Undergraduate years at Belmont. During our talk, Meg told me about a story when she presented at the annual Humanities Symposium on a paper she wrote in Dr. Suzanne Lindsey’s class. The topic of her paper was on the 90s TV series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” Meg shared with the audience how this show was one of the first ever online fandom communities and also described how the fan feedback greatly influenced the progression of the show. After Meg presented, someone said to her “Thanks, Buffy,” which sparked her interest in teaching. Through this, Meg realized that she loved talking about television but more importantly, that people enjoyed listening to her.

What are Meg’s favorite communication topics?

Meg studies everything pop-culture. She is so passionate about this topic that both of her communication classes are pop-culture themed. Within pop-culture, Meg’s true specialty is comedy– specifically, women’s comedy. She also loves rom-coms and talking about all the toxic stuff we absorb when we watch this genre.

What does she love about communication studies?

When asked about this, she described how she loves how communication is about everyday life, including interpersonal and romantic communication. She also included how she loves that we can study communication from so many different perspectives, everything from “how psychics work” to “how political leaders convince you to do things.”

What does Meg want Belmont to know about her?

“I’m an alum so I feel like Belmont knows too much about me.”

Meg Tully wants Belmont to know that she calls her class “shenanigans.” She calls her class this because her classroom follows a nontraditional style, consisting of a wide range of interesting activities and topics. Meg said, “We do that because COM lets you do that… I’m proud of my class being called shenanigans.”