B.J. Bullert is a communication scholar and a documentary filmmaker. Her current intellectual interests focus broadly on the arts of making media for social change. Her intellectual moorings rest in the qualitative sociology of Howard S. Becker and the historian Howard Zinn. She is the author of Public Television: Politics and the Battle Over Documentary Film (Rutgers University Press 1997) and a handful of scholarly articles about film and politics.

Bullert has taught communication at American University, Muhlenberg College and the University of Washington. She has served as a Research Fellow at the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University, where she studied the integral role of public relations professionals in shaping the sweatshop awareness movement.

Bullert maintains an ongoing career as a documentary filmmaker. Her company, Seattle Films, is dedicated to producing works about the Pacific Northwest. www.seattlefilms.org

Educational History

• BA, Philosophy, Boston University
• M Litt, Politics, St. Antony’s College, Oxford University
• PhD, Communication, University of Washington

Publications

• “Dancing Lives,” A half-hour documentary about the joy of non-competitive social dance. Seattle Channel broadcasts and available online, 2013.
• “Building Trust: A Decade of Trustworthy Computing,” 2012. An Educational Film Produced for Microsoft.
• “Everett DuPen: Sculptor,” half-hour portrait of the artist; Seattle International Film Festival premiere 2007; KCTS broadcasts 2008
• “Fishermen’s Terminal,” KCTS broadcast 2005
• “Chief Seattle,” KCTS broadcast 2001
• “Strategic Public Relations, Sweatshops and the Making of a Global Movement,” depts.washington.edu/ccce/assets/documents/bj_bullert/strategic_public_relations.pdf
• “Public Television: Politics and the Battle over Documentary Film” (Rutgers University Press, 1997)

To learn more about Bullert’s film work, please visit www.seattlefilms.org and www.fishermensterminal.net. Also, view excerpts from her movies on YouTube.

Professional Affiliations

• Senior Research Fellow, Center for Communication and Civic Engagement, University of Washington
• Board of Advisors, Center for Free Inquiry, Hanover College911 Media Arts Center
• Member, Cinema Seattle
• Member, Seattle Documentary Association
• Member, Northwest Dance Network