Adrienne L. McLean

Adrienne L. McLean

Professor
 
972-883-2755
JO5.606
Webpage
Tags: FILM VPAS

Professional Preparation

Ph.D. - Film Studies and American Studies
Emory University, Institute of the Liberal Arts - 1994
M.F.A. - Dance, Dance History
Southem Methodist University, Dallas, Texas - 1981
B.A. - Art History, minors in American History, Dance
Southem Methodist University, Dallas, Texas - 1979

Research Areas

Areas of Specialization
Film history and theory; women and film; classical narrative cinema and studio-era Hollywood; stars and star images; theatrical dance history

Publications

Adrienne L. McLean, All for Beauty: Makeup and Hairdressing in Hollywood’s Studio Era (Rutgers University Press, 2022). - publications
Adrienne L. McLean, “The Faces of Ginger: Beauty Makeup, Facial Acting and Hollywood Stardom.” In Faces on Screen: New Approaches, ed. Alice Maurice (Edinburgh University Press, 2022), 195-210. - publications
Adrienne L. McLean, «Le glamour et le corps dansant dans la comédie musicale hollywoodienne» [Glamour and the Dancing Body in the Hollywood Musical]. En Le Musical hollywoodien: Histoire, esthétique, création, dir. N. T. Binh et José Moure (Les Impressions Nouvelles/Éditions de la Sorbonne, 2021), 157-184.  - publications
Adrienne L. McLean, «“En toute impunité”: la Production Code Administration et le corps dansant» [“We Got Away with Murder: The Production Code Administration and the Dancing Body”]. En Politiques du musical hollywoodien, dir. Aurélie Ledoux et Pierre-Olivier Toulza (Presses de Paris Nanterre, 2020), 79-98.  - publications
Adrienne L. McLean, “‘Give Them a Good Breakfast Says Nancy Carroll’: Fan Magazine Advice Across Time.” In Star Attractions: Twentieth-Century Movie Magazines and Global Fandom, ed. Tamar Jeffers McDonald and Lies Lankman (University of Iowa Press, 2019), 11-28. - publications
Adrienne L. McLean, «Fred Astaire dansant, c’est tout» [“Fred Astaire: I Just Dance”]. En Comédies musicales: La Joie de vivre du cinéma [Musicals: What a Glorious Feeling], dir. N. T. Binh (Éditions de La Martinière, 2018), 96-105. - publications
Adrienne L. McLean, “Cary Grant in His Girl Friday.” In Close-up: Great Cinematic Performances, United States, ed. Murray Pomerance and Kyle Stevens (Edinburgh University Press, 2018), 36-46. - publications
Adrienne L. McLean, “Flirting with Terpsichore: Show Dancing in 1930s Hollywood Musicals.” In Perspectives on American Dance: The Twentieth Century (Volume I), ed. Jennifer Atkins, Sally Sommer, and Tricia Young (University Press of Florida, 2018), 115-139. - publications

Appointments

Professor
UTD [2008–Present]
School of Arts and Humanities
Visiting Professor
Hollins University, Roanoke, Virginia [2006–2018]
Associate Professor
UTD [2004–2008]
School of Arts and Humanities
Assistant Professor, tenure-track
UTD [1998–2004]
School of Arts and Humanities
Visiting Assistant Professor
Emory University [1995–1998]
Lecturer
Emory University [1994–1995]
Instructor
Georgia Institute of Technology [1994–1995]
Dean's Teaching Fellow
Emory University [1993–1994]
Teaching assistant and instructor
Emory University [1991–1993]
Instructor
Southern Methodist University [1977–1981]

Projects

Working on a monograph about the film dance of Eleanor Powell (1912-1982).

Presentations

“Making [It] Up: Cosmetics, Coiffures, and Self-reflexivity in Classical Hollywood Cinema.” London Metropolitan University virtual conference “Behind the Screen and Off the Stage: Film and Television Representations of American Entertainment,” 2021 (keynote address).
“Lady Be Gone: Eleanor Powell and the MGM Freed Unit Musical.” Society for Cinema and Media Studies Annual Conference, 2021.
“The Faces of Ginger: Makeup, Hairdressing, and Class in a Hollywood Star Image.” Modernist Studies Association Conference, Toronto, 2019.
“Better than Everybody: Eleanor Powell and the Quandaries of Female Authorship in the Hollywood Musical.” Society for Cinema and Media Studies Annual Conference, 2019.
“‘From Their Hats, to Their Toes, Up to Their Curls’: Costume, Make-up, and the Dancing Body.” Colloquium «Le Musical hollywoodien : création, esthétique, réception» [“The Hollywood Musical: Creation, Aesthetics, Reception”]. Université Panthéon Sorbonne and the Philharmonie de Paris, 2018 (invited speaker).

Additional Information

Personal Statement
 

Honors and Awards
  • Keynote address, “Making [It] Up: Cosmetics, Coiffures, and Self-reflexivity in Classical Hollywood Cinema.” London Metropolitan University virtual conference “Behind the Screen and Off the Stage: Film and Television Representations of American Entertainment,” 2021. 
  • Invited speaker, colloquium «Le Musical hollywoodien: création, esthétique, réception» [“The Hollywood Musical: Creation, Aesthetics, Reception”]. Université Panthéon Sorbonne and the Philharmonie de Paris, December 2018.
  • Invited speaker and participant, Labex «Musical MC²» ["The Hollywood Musical in Its Mediatic and Cultural Contexts"], December 2015-2017, Paris, France.
  • Robert De Niro Fellowship, Ransom Center, University of Texas, 2011-2012.
  • Victor Worsfold Award for Outstanding Teaching, School of Arts and Humanities, UTD, 2001.
  • Sigma Nu Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, Emory College, Emory University, 1997.
  • First Place, Society for Cinema Studies Student Writing Competition, 1992.
  • Ball Brothers Foundation Visiting Fellowship, Lilly Library, University of Indiana, 1992.
  • Algur H. Meadows Fellowship in Dance, Southern Methodist University, 1979-1981.

News Articles

Film Professor Chronicles Legacy of Classic Hollywood Musicals
A UT Dallas professor joined film scholars on a three-year project that focused on classic Hollywood musicals far from the spotlight of Tinseltown.

Dr. Adrienne McLean, professor of film studies in the School of Arts and Humanities, was part of Musical MC2: The Hollywood Film Musical in Its Mediatic and Cultural Context, a project that met twice a year at conferences in Paris, France. The participants — film scholars and students from the U.S., Great Britain and France — discussed topics such as “Stars of Hollywood Musicals,” “The Film Musical in the History of Technologies” and “The Politics of Hollywood Musicals.”
Film Studies Professor Competes in National Dog Show