She was also a faculty fellow at the CUNY Graduate Center's Center for Place, Culture and Politics. An author and journalist, her books include Popcorn Venus: Women, Movies, and the American Dream, Boom Town: How Wal-Mart Transformed an All-American Town into an International Community, Mia and Woody: Love and Betrayal (with Kristi Groteké), and the novel What Nigel Knew (co-authored). A former editor at The New York Times Magazine and senior writer at People, Rosen has written for publications as varied as The Daily News, Film Comment, Glamour, Ms, and The New York Times.