About Elaine Miller

Dr. Miller has intrigued and delighted a variety of audiences with her humorous and illuminating analysis of contemporary culture. Though not a cartoonist herself, Miller is an academic drawn to editorial cartoons as artistic and cultural expression. She has studied and analyzed editorial cartoons over several decades and her presentations and workshops draw from both this passionate involvement and her academic skills. She's expert at identifying the wealth of information and sometimes surprising cultural implications intrinsic in each cartoon.

Her background in folklore and popular culture was a fitting backdrop for her insightful analysis when, in 1984, Geraldine Ferraro became the first woman candidate, on a major party ticket, for Vice President of the United States.

“Having a woman on the ticket,” says Miller, “was a goldmine for the editorial cartoonists. Gender imagery was rampant - the jokes and cartoons started pouring in.” Miller adds, “I am drawn to editorial cartoons for their outspoken, often passionate, engagement with controversial issues, their approach to issues through humor, their artistry, and their use of metaphor as argument.”

Miller’s first video, "Running Mate: Gender and Politics in the Editorial Cartoons," focuses on how Ferraro was portrayed in these cartoons. One very common image was swapped gender identities, with Ferraro “wearing the pants” and Walter Mondale in feminine clothing. Another prominent woman in politics, Hillary Rodham Clinton, also provides fodder for the cartoonists. "Drawing Conclusions,” Miller’s second video, analyzes political cartoons drawn of Hillary Clinton when she was First Lady. These two videos offer compelling commentary on the evolving role of women in politics.

"Trailblazer," Miller’s third video, is about the work of Etta Hulme of the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, one of the very few women editorial cartoonists. While the first two videos focus on portrayals of prominent women, this video adds an in-depth perspective on how one woman cartoonist approaches her work. Click here to view a clip from Trailblazer.

In her distinguished career as a Women’s Studies and Foreign Language professor, Miller found editorial cartoons to be an excellent resource for learning, offering rich multi-dimensional opportunities for discussion and interpretation.

Miller’s other passions besides editorial cartoons are traveling – to “collect worlds” (as a character in Julia Glass' Three Junes describes it), and long distance bicycling – which has included a cross-country (California to Florida) tour in 1998 and, more recently, across Italy, Venice to Pisa; along the Camino de Santiago in Northwestern Spain; and from Prague, Czech Republic to Vienna. (Click here for more information and photos from the cross-country bike trip, and for information on her publication “Shifting Gears.”)

For more information or to schedule a Dr. Miller presentation for national or international organizations, graduate or undergraduate college courses, or community groups and organizations, please contact e k miller Productions.

Dr. Miller's resume.