Ruth Defoster

Ruth DeFoster is an Assistant Professor at the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota, where she teaches courses on advertising, journalism and popular culture. She is the author of the book The Fear Knot: How Science, History and Culture Shape Our Fears, and How to Get Unstuck (2025), Catholic Horror on Television: Haunting Faith (2024) and Terrorizing the Masses: Identity, Mass Shootings and the Media Construction of 'Terror' (2017).