Max Kaplan is a PhD candidate in the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Communication Arts Department. His research focuses on the politics of audiovisual cultures and the re-circulation of popular music catalogs through sync licensing.
Education
- M.A. City University of New York Graduate Center, 2022
- B.S. University of Pittsburgh, 2015
Publications, Public Writing, and Book Reviews
- Book Review: “Automatic Artistry: Negotiating Musical Creativity in a Technological Age,” The Velvet Light Trap.
- “The Midwestern Accent as Comedic Trope: To Fargo and Beyond,” The Middle West Review (Forthcoming)
- “A24 Music: Reinventing Synergy Through Musical Paratexts,” Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies. https://doi.org/10.1177/13548565261422349
- “Transport is Arranged: A Travelogue,” Manifold @CUNY.
- “Television Curation in the Playlist Era,” Journal of Popular Television Vol. 11 (3). https://doi.org/10.1386/jptv_00106_1
- “Audiovisual Afterlives: The Soundtrack of Liberal Nostalgia,” Master’s Thesis, CUNY Graduate Center.
Conference Presentations
- 2026 “The Audiovisual Afterlives of Fleetwood Mac: Intertextual Value in the Age of Derivative Media,” Music and the Moving Image, New York City.
- 2026 “Describe your Song Here: Comparing Affordances and Value in Generative AI Music Services,” Society for Cinema and Media Studies, Chicago.
- 2025 “A24 Music: Reinventing Synergy Through Musical Paratexts,” Hollywood Conference, Los Angeles.
- 2025 “Nostalgia Mode At Play: Saltburn Club Nights and The Shaping of a Platformed Past,” International Association for the Study of Popular Music, Paris.
- 2025 “Nostalgia Mode At Play: Saltburn Club Nights and The Shaping of a Platformed Past,” Music and the Moving Image, New York City.
- 2024 “Audiovisual Remediation from the Y2K Film to the New Music Video,” Music and the Moving Image, New York City.
Courses (as Teaching Assistant)
- CA 100 Introduction to Speech Composition
- CA 313 Pop Music Cinema
- CA 351 Television Industries
Courses (as Lecturer)
- CA 351 Television Industries (Summer, 2026)
Service & Activities
- The Velvet Light Trap, Book Review Editor 2026
- Midwest Graduate Film and Media Studies Symposium, Board Member, 2026
- Telluride Film Festival FilmSCHOLAR, September 2025