Associate Professor of Journalism and Media Studies Regina Marchi has been named a recipient of The Warren I. Susman Award for Excellence in Teaching. Awarded by Rutgers University, the award is “named to honor the memory of the noted historian and Rutgers University professor, Warren I. Susman. This award is given annually to tenured faculty members in recognition of outstanding service in stimulating and guiding the intellectual development of students at Rutgers University.” Marchi will receive a commemorative certificate and an honorarium.
Dean Jonathan Potter said, “SC&I is proud of the quality, engagement, and creativity of our teaching. Regina Marchi is one of the jewels in the crown of that excellence. I am delighted for her, and proud of what she demonstrates about us as a school and our societal commitments.”
Rutgers University President Jonathan Holloway and Executive Vice President Prabhas Moghe announced the recipients of the annual University wide Faculty Awards for 2020-2021 on November 16, 2021. This year 31 faculty members received awards.
“Each year these awards have honored outstanding members of the Rutgers community selected by their colleagues for exceptional contributions to teaching, research, or public service through a program of eight awards,” Holloway wrote in an email to Rutgers faculty and staff.
Marchi's research focuses on the intersections of media, culture, and politics. She is particularly interested in how traditionally disenfranchised communities, be they economically, linguistically, racially, ethnically, or politically marginalized, have been portrayed in the mainstream media over the decades and how these groups have utilized media to advocate for civil rights and fuller democratic participation. She has also written on community radio and social media.
Marchi's latest book "Young People and the Future of News: Social Media and the Rise of Connective Journalism" (Cambridge University Press: 2017) is co-authored with Lynn Schofield Clark and introduces the concept of "connective journalism." This refers to the social media practices through which youth share stories, links, photos, videos, and other "artifacts of engagement" that are precursors to civic participation. As youth share such artifacts to express their personal experiences, perspectives, and feelings on public issues, they create emotional engagement with current political events, hailing like-minded others into counterpublics that are capable of collective and connective action. Marchi's first book, "Day of the Dead in the USA: The Migration and Transformation of a Cultural Phenomenon," examines the ways in which Chicano and other Latino artists and activists have used public art, collective ritual, and other alternative forms of media to express cultural identity, create community and advocate for political rights. A new, fully revised 2nd edition of this book will be published by Rutgers University Press in August 2022.
More information about the Journalism and Media Studies Department at the Rutgers School of Communication and Information is on the website.
