Biography

Keywords

Community/radical/citizens’ media, Communication and Social Change, Citizens’ Journalism, Media in Latin America, War, Peace and Media, Representations of Gender, Class, Race in the Media, Environmental Communication

Dr. Clemencia Rodríguez is a Professor in the Department of Media Studies and Production at Temple University. In her book Fissures in the Mediascape: An International Study of Citizens’ Media (2001), Rodríguez developed her "citizens' media theory," a groundbreaking approach to understanding the role of community/alternative media in our societies. Based on fieldwork in regions of Colombia where leftist guerillas, right-wing paramilitary groups, the army, and drug traffickers make their presence felt in the lives of unarmed civilians she wrote Citizens' Media Against Armed Conflict: Disrupting Violence in Colombia (University of Minnesota Press, 2011). In this book she explored how people living in the shadow of armed groups use community radio, television, video, digital photography, and the Internet to shield their communities from the negative impacts of armed violence. Currently she divides her time between Colombia and Philadelphia. In Colombia, her research centers on citizens’ media in post-conflict Colombia, with a new focus on environmental communication and how grassroots communities address the climate crisis with media and communication. In Philadelphia she explores the rich history and development of local community media, activist media, and youth initiatives that involve media, arts, and digital platforms. She teaches in the areas of media studies, communication and social change, and media in Latin America. As a member of the board of directors of the Independence Public Media Foundation she supports various community media initiatives in the greater Philadelphia region.

Education

Publications

• Rodríguez, Clemencia. (2020) Citizens’ Media in Latin America. In Ana Cristina Pertierra and Juan Francisco Salazar (eds) Media Cultures in Latin America. Key Concepts and New Debates, 68 – 89. New York and London: Routledge.
• Rodríguez, Clemencia. (2020) Alterando el Enfoque: Cómo se usan los medios ciudadanos en contextos de conflicto. In John Sanchez Castiblando and Lorena Cantillo Turbay, Sentidos Locales. Reflexiones sobre Colectivos de Comunicación en Colombia. Bogotá: Ministerio de Cultura.
• Rodríguez, Clemencia. (2019) Introduction to the Latin American Communication Theory section. In, Hilde C. Stephansen and Emiliano Treré (eds.) Citizens’ Media and Practice: Currents, Connections, Challenges, 37 - 41. New York and London: Routledge.
• Anderson, Heather and Rodríguez, Clemencia. 2019. Is Community Radio in Crisis in the Global North?: Lessons from Australia and the United States. Journal of Alternative and Community Media 4(4): 1 – 15.
• Clemencia Rodríguez and Andrew Iliadis. (2019) The MacBride Report legacy and media democracy today. Media Development 3: 17 – 24.
• Beltrán Claudia, Romero Martha C, Rodríguez, Clemencia, et al. (2019) Prácticas, Memorias y Corotos: Los Objectos como Portales de la Memoria. In Laura Fonseca et al. (eds) Lugares, Recorridos y Sentidos de la Memoria Histórica, 77 – 105. Bogotá: Universidad de La Sabana.
• Murphy Patrick D. and Rodríguez, Clemencia. (2019) Voices in the Garden: Designing Social Change at the Intersection of Green Radicalism and Participatory Media. In Takahashi, Bruno and Rosenthal, Sony (eds.) Environmental Communication Among Minority Populations. New York: Routledge.
• Couldry, Nick; Rodríguez, Clemencia, et al. (2018) Inequality and Communicative Strugges in Digital Times. A Global Report on Communication for Social Porgress. Philadelphia: CARG, University of Pennsylvania.
• Clemencia Rodríguez, Ingrid Volkmer and Gerard Goggin (guest editors of a special issue).  (2018) “Communication and the struggle for social progress.” Global Media and Communication, 14 (2).
• Couldry, N., Rodriguez, C., Bolin, et al. (2018) Media and Communications. In IPSP (ed.), Rethinking Society for the 21st Century: Report of the International Panel on Social Progress, 523-562. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Orley Durán and Clemencia Rodríguez. (2018) “Rural social movements in contexts of war. The Colombian Agrarian Strike of 2013.” Journalism & Communication Monographs 20(2): 149 - 160.
• Rodríguez, Clemencia. (2017) “Studying Media at the Margins. Lessons from the Field.” In Pickard, Victor and Yang, Guobin (eds.), Media Activism: Charting an Evolving Field of Research, 49 – 61. New York: Routledge.
• Rodríguez, Clemencia. (2016) “Human agency and media praxis: Re-centering alternative and community media research.” Journal of Alternative and Community Media, 1, 36 - 38.
• Pérez Quintero Camilo, Ramírez, Christian, and Rodríguez, Clemencia. (2015) “Cameras and Stories to Dis-Arm Wars: Performative Communication in Alternative Media.” In Atton, Chris (ed.), Alternative Media Companion, 123 - 133. London: Routledge.
• Rodríguez, Clemencia. (2015) “Community Media as Performers of Peace.” In Hoffman, Julia and Hawkins, Virgil (eds.), Communication for Peace: Charting an Emerging Field, 289 - 302. New York: Routledge.
• Bohórquez Farfán, Ledis; Quijano Triana, Melba; Rodríguez, Clemencia. (2015) Lucho Arango. El Defensor de la Pesca Artesanal. Bucaramanga: Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana Seccional Bucaramanga and Bogotá: Centro de Memoria Histórica.
• Rincón, Omar and Rodríguez Clemencia. (2015) “How Can We Tell the Story of the Colombian War?: Bastardized Narratives and Citizen Celebrities.” Popular Communication: The International Journal of Media and Culture, 13:2, 170-182.
• Rodríguez, Clemencia; Ferron, Benjamin; Shamas, Kristin. (2014) “Four Challenges in the Field of Alternative, Radical and Citizens’ Media Research.” Media, Culture and Society 36(2), 150-166.
• Rodríguez, Clemencia. (2014) “A Latin American Approach to Citizen Journalism.” In Allan, Stuart and Thorsen, Einar (eds.), Citizen Journalism: Global Perspectives, Volume Two, 199 - 209. New York: Peter Lang Publishing.
• Rodríguez, Clemencia and Miralles, Ana María. (2014) “Citizens’ Media ,Public Journalism and Citizens’ Journalism: Shifting public spheres from elites to citizens.” In Wilkins Karin, Tufte, Thomas and Obregón, Rafael (eds.), The Handbook of Development Communication and Social Change, 393 – 410. London: Sage (IAMCR Series).
• Rodríguez, Clemencia and Quijano, Melba. (2014) “Cinco Experiencias de Comunicación Alternativa o para el Desarrollo.” Revista Mediaciones, 12: 77 – 87.
• Rodríguez, Clemencia. (2011) Citizens’ Media against Armed Conflict: Disrupting Violence in Colombia. Minneapolis: The University of Minnesota Press.
• Rodríguez, Clemencia; Kidd, Dorothy; and Stein, Laura (eds.). (2010) Creating New Communication Spaces.  Volume I of “Making Our Media: Global Initiatives Toward a Democratic Public Sphere.” Cresskill, NJ: Euricom Monographs, Hampton Press.
• Stein, Laura; Kidd, Dorothy; and Rodríguez, Clemencia. (eds.) (2009). National and Global Movements for Democratic Communication. Volume II of “Making Our Media: Global Initiatives Toward a Democratic Public Sphere.” Cresskill, NJ: Euricom Monographs, Hampton Press.
• Rodríguez, Clemencia. (ed.) (2008). Lo Que le Vamos Quitando a la Guerra. Medios Ciudadanos en Contextos de Conflicto Armado en Colombia. [What we are Stealing from War. Citizens’ Media in Contexts of Armed Conflict in Colombia]. Bogotá, Colombia: Centro de Competencias en Comunicación, Fundación Friedrich Ebert.
• Rodríguez, Clemencia and El-Gazi, Jeanine. (2007) “The Poetics of Indigenous Radio in Colombia.” Media, Culture, and Society 29(3): 449-468.
• Rodríguez, Clemencia and Gonzáles, Alirio. (2007) “Tecnologías de Información y Comunicación para Construir Lugares de No Miedo. Aprendiendo de la Gente.” Dia-logos de la Comunicación, 75.
• Murphy, Patrick and Clemencia Rodríguez (guest editors of a special issue). (2006) “Mass Communication and the Question of Culture in Latin America.” Global Media and Communication 2 (3)
• Murphy, Patrick D. and Clemencia Rodríguez. (2006) “Introduction: Between Macondo and McWorld: Communication and culture studies in Latin America.” Global Media and Communication 2(3): 267-277.
• Rodríguez, Clemencia. (2001). Fissures in the Mediascape: An International Study of Citizens’ Media. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.
• Rodríguez, Clemencia. (2001) “Shattering Butterflies and Amazons. Women and Gender in a Colombian Development Project.” Communication Theory 11(4): 472-494.
• Rodríguez, Clemencia. (2001) “Sociedad Civil y Medios Ciudadanos: Arquitectos de Paz para el Nuevo Milenio.” [The role of community media in war torn societies]. Revista de Estudios Sociales (Bogotá, Colombia), 8:73-82.
• Rodríguez, Clemencia and Patrick Murphy. (1997) “The Study of Communication and Culture in Latin America: From Laggards and the Oppressed to Resistance and Hybrid Cultures.” The Journal of International Communication 4(2): 24-45.
• Rodríguez, Clemencia and Patricia Tellez. (1989).  La Telenovela en Colombia: Mucho más que Amor y Lágrimas. [Colombian Telenovelas: Much more than Love and Tears]. Bogotá, Colombia: CINEP.

Courses Taught