Michael Palm
Michael Palm is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at UNC-Chapel Hill and Affiliated Faculty in the American Studies Program.
Biography
Michael Palm is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at UNC-Chapel Hill and Affiliated Faculty in the American Studies Program. Professor Palm’s teaching at the undergraduate level focuses on the history of everyday technology and the politics and economics of popular culture. His most recent graduate seminar was titled “Political Economies of Digital Media.” His book _Technologies of Consumer Labor: A History of Self-Service_ was published by Routledge in 2017. His current book project is a labor ethnography of the contemporary supply chain for vinyl records. He is also co-editor of _The University Against Itself: The NYU Strike and the Future of the Academic Workplace (Temple, 2008). He serves as diversity liaison for the Department of Communication and is on the editorial board of the Journal of Cultural Economy.Education
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PhD, American Studies, NYU, 2010
Areas of Research / Professional Expertise
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Michael Palm’s research focuses on the history of everyday technology and the political economy of popular culture.
Websites
Books
Articles
Then Press Enter: Digital Payment Technology and Telephone Interface
Published: Feb 13, 2018 by Cultural Studies
Authors: Michael Palm
In this essay I highlight the development of the touch-tone keypad as a transformative payment technology. I also describe a broader trajectory of digital naturalization, whereby telephone numbers have proliferated into a personal identification number, passwords and a plethora of personalized information.
Analog Backlog: Pressing Records during the Vinyl Revival
Published: Dec 19, 2017 by Journal of Popular Music Studies
Authors: Michael Palm
After sustained growth for over a decade among independent record labels and retail outlets, major labels and chain stores embraced vinyl records as a growth sector, and for the first time in half a century, demand began outpacing supply. In this essay, I analyze recent trends of vinyl traffic and describe how pressing plants and independent labels are coping with the surge in demand for vinyl records.