Clemencia Rodriguez

Dr. Clemencia Rodríguez is Professor in the Department of Media Studies and Production, Klein College of Media and Communication, Temple University. In her book titled Fissures in the Mediascape: An International Study of Citizens’ Media (2001), Rodríguez developed her "citizens' media theory," a ground-breaking approach to understanding the role of community/alternative media in our societies. Currently she continues to explore how people living in the shadow of armed groups use community radio, television, video, digital photography, and the Internet, to shield their communities from armed violence's negative impacts. This has involved fieldwork in regions of Colombia where leftist guerillas, right-wing paramilitary groups, the army, and drug traffickers made their presence felt in the lives of unarmed civilians. In her book, Citizens' Media Against Armed Conflict: Disrupting Violence in Colombia (University of Minnesota Press, 2011) she reports many of her findings. More recently she explores how citizens' media in Philadelphia engage with issues such as gentrification, public education, and urban green spaces. She continues to teach in the areas of international communication, Latinx Media, and citizens' media. She goes back home to her native Colombia any chance she gets.