Natalia Sokolova is Professor in the Department of Sociology of the University of Samara (Russia, the Volga region). She is the Director of the M.A programme ‘Digital Media and Internet’. She received her doctorate in Philosophy from the Moscow State University and she completed her post-doctoral research [doktorskaia dissertatsiia] at the University of Samara in 2010. Her research project was devoted to vernacular online practices and the transformation of popular culture under the influence of new media. Her research interests include critical theory of media, new media, cultural theory, visual studies and gender studies. Her publications in Russian include Popular Culture Web 2.0: Mapping Modern Media-landscape (Samara, 2009) and articles on aesthetics and the politics of popular and fan culture. She is currently researching Russian transmedia with a particular focus on the role of audiences in its production.
