About the lecture

Based on ethnographic work conducted in the Fall of 2019, this presentation explores PhillyCAM, a renowed community media initiative in Philadelphia. Dr. Rodriguez will explore local media issues within her presentation, including hyperlocal media-making, diversity in media, youth media and citizen journalism. 

About the speaker

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). 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 of local community media, activist media and youth initiatives that involve media, arts and digital platforms.