As a theoretician and historian of American film and television, Janet Staiger researches and has published on the following topics: authorship theory, various modes of production including classical Hollywood, "Indie" cinema, and world cinema, cultural and political issues of representation, especially involving gender, sexuality, and race/ethnicity, genre theory, the historical reception of cinema and television, and historiographical issues in writing media histories.

Janet has served on various national committees including the National Film Preservation Board of the U.S. Library of Congress (1992-96) and the jury for the American Film Institute's Television Awards (2010, 2012). She is past president of the Society for Cinema and Media Studies (1991-93) and has served on the Executive Committees of the Cultural Studies Association (U.S.) (2005-09) and the Reception Studies Society (2005-present). At The University of Texas at Austin, she was Director of the Center for Women’s and Gender Studies (2001-04) and Chair of the University’s Faculty Council (2009-10).