ABOUT

Brian Cogan, Ph.D., is a professor, author, media consultant, pop culture expert and musician. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communications at Molloy College in Rockville Centre, Long Island, NY. Professor Cogan received his Ph.D. from NYU in Media Ecology, and his specific areas of research interest are music (with a special emphasis on punk rock), comic books and graphic novels, and the intersection of politics and popular culture. Dr. Cogan also works as a consultant for branding companies. He has been interviewed by various media outlets, including NPR and Chicago Public Radio.

His most recent book, co-authored with Jeff Massey, Ph.D., and Chris Barsanti, is Monty Python FAQ, which follows on the heels of a previous book about the British comedy troupe, co-authored with Dr. Massey, entitled Everything I Ever Needed to Know About ________________, I Learned from Monty Python. He is the author of The Punk Rock Encyclopedia. Along with co-author with Dr. Tony Kelso, he wrote The Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, Media and Politics, and is co-editor with Dr. Kelso of Mosh the Polls: Youth Voters, Popular Culture, and Democratic Engagement, about youth culture and political involvement. He is the editor of a book about Baby Boomers and Popular Culture and also edited book of essays called Deconstructing "South Park". He has written numerous essays for academic journals and mainstream publications such as the New York Post, Chunklet, Go Metric, and Punknews.org.

Dr. Cogan is currently working on a 4-volume history of rock and roll (slated for publication in 2020), a book entitled "Nerd Core", about the history of satirical music, and several other projects. Stay tuned to the site for updates.

A native New Yorker, Cogan has been a drummer/vocalist in the pop-punk band, In-Crowd, since 1987. He also sings with his brothers in an Irish music group, The Cogan Brothers and Mark Farley.