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ATLANTA — For Corey Couch (M.A. '18, Ph.D. '25), earning a Ph.D. is "about gathering people and resources to take with me into life as I continue to work towards various goals: personal, political and communal." Along the way, Corey has built a community to read with, watch movies with, and hang out with. Read more below.
How would you describe your dissertation, and what inspired it?
My dissertation is an incomplete project that examines a neoliberal form of capitalist desire as translated into a cinematic formal structure. It was inspired by Professors Alessandra Raengo, Jennifer Barker and Angelo Restivo (Emeritus), my friends and family, and the many political forces that make possible more human-centered logics. It’s a collective project that began long before I did.
What brought you to pursue a Ph.D. at the School of Film, Media & Theatre?
I received my M.A. from FMT. Taking Professors Alessandra Raengo, Angelo Restivo, and Jennifer Barker’s classes for the first time offered a glimpse of a different way of sensing and knowing that felt so exciting, and I desperately wanted to step through those portal doors. I also love the city of Atlanta. I was excited to deepen my relationships here at GSU and in the city, both of which had come to feel like home.
Do you have a favorite memory from your time in the program?
My favorite memories are on deck: studying with the Liquid Blackness research group. I’m a bit excitable and scatterbrained but also passionate, creative, and hard-working. Alessandra, Daren, DJones, and Anna hold things down in a way I cannot, and in turn, I use this energy to keep the process moving and the mood light. Preparing food together in the kitchen to host a gathering of friends perfectly encapsulates why being together in study is so important and impactful for me. I never bring the recipes—though I will certainly stop for ingredients—but I can be sure someone there knows how to put it all together. And when it gets cold, we light a fire. Their support means everything to me.
What does earning a Ph.D. mean to you?
It means gathering people and resources to take with me in life as I continue to work towards various goals: personal, political, and communal. I’ve developed a less climactic form of political praxis—and of happiness—both of which are now more accessible in the present and persistent in day-to-day life. If slow revolution fails, I found a bunch of cool people to read, watch movies with, hang out with, and chat with. A shift in perspective was the goal of the Ph.D. process, and the GSU community certainly got me there.
What’s next for you?
I am employed as the Project Manager for Liquid Blackness, Limited, and the managing editor for liquid blackness: journal of aesthetics and black studies. I couldn’t be happier.