Krishnan Vasudevan

Krishnan Vasudevan, Ph.D., is a critical scholar, whose qualitative research and creative practice span the disciplines of media studies, platform studies and journalism studies. He became associate dean for research in September 2026.

In a forthcoming book, Vasudevan examines how the frictionless ethos of Silicon Valley erodes the frictions that are necessary for a functioning democracy. This book builds upon his ethnographic research of social movements and his critical qualitative analysis of technology platforms. 

He is the co-editor of "Platforms, Power and Friction" (Routledge, 2025), and his research on platforms, journalism and design have been published in top-tier publications such as New Media & Society; Information, Communication & Society; Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly; and Journalism Studies. 

Vasudevan co-leads the master's (M.A.) documentary concentration at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism and teaches the required visual theory course. Vasudevan's full-length documentary debut, “One Driver, One Mic,” premiered in 2022 and chronicles how a group of immigrant taxi drivers formed their own cooperative in Austin, Texas, to take on Uber, Lyft and the taxi industry. The film was an Official Selection at several film festivals: the 2023 Doc.London Documentary Film Festival, 2023 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, 2022 Chagrin Documentary Film Festival, 2022 Workers Unite Film Festival and 2022 Immigration Film Festival. It is distributed by Collective Eye Films. (Essay by Vasudevan on "One Driver, One Mic.") 

Prior to earning his doctorate, Vasudevan was a multimedia journalist with stints at The New York Times and Slate.

Prospective doctoral and master's students can email Vasudevan at kvasu@umd.edu. 

Krishnan Vasudevan’s CV

Degrees
B.A., College of William and Mary
M.A., New York University
Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin