Acosta-Alzuru

About: Carolina Acosta-Alzuru teaches public relations, cultural studies and qualitative methods. Scholarship foci: melodramas (telenovelas and Turkish dramas), culture and society.

View Curriculum Vitae

Education

Ph.D., Mass Communication, University of Georgia
M.A., Mass Communication, University of Georgia
B.S., Computer Science, Georgia Institute of Technology

Research Interests and Activities

Dr. Acosta-Alzuru specializes in critical and cultural studies, international communication and women’s studies. She is the author of the books Venezuela es una Telenovela (Alfa, 2007), La incandescencia de las cosas: Conversaciones con Leonardo Padrón (Alfa, 2013) and Telenovela Adentro (Alfa, 2015), and has authored or co-authored articles in Journalism and Mass Communication Monographs, The Journal of Communication, Critical Studies in Media Communication, Journal of Public Relations Research, Popular Communication, International Journal of Cultural Studies, Journal of Communication Inquiry, Mass Communication and Society, Learning to Teach: What you need to know to develop a successful career as a public relations educator, The Global Dynamic of News and The Women’s International Studies Encyclopedia. In addition, she has presented her work at numerous academic conferences and industry events.

Teaching Specialties

Dr. Acosta-Alzuru teaches public relations and cultural studies. She teaches an undergraduate course about telenovelas, culture and society.

Experience

A native of Caracas, Venezuela, Dr. Acosta-Alzuru taught previously at the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello in Caracas.

Grants

• 2000-2001 UGA Research Foundation junior faculty grant for: "Telenovelas: A Comprehensive Study of the World's Most Watched TV Genre"
• 2004-2005 Center for Humanities and Arts junior faculty grant for: "Producing and Consuming a Telenovela in a Time of Crisis: The Case of Cosita Rica"
• 2005-2006 Center for Humanities Research Fellowship
• 2008-2009 Grady College Faculty Support Grant "The production and local reception of a telenovela when global distribution matters more than local consumption"
• 2015 Fulbright Specialist Grant to teach at the Universidad de Chile in Santiago, Chile

Awards and Fellowships

• John Holliman Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award (2022).
• Grady Fellowship Recipient (2020).
• Ronald Page Teaching Award. Each year the graduate students of the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication select a faculty member who exemplifies the high standards of teaching and concern for students demonstrated by Roland Page (2018).
• Scripps Howard/AEJMC Journalism and Mass Communication Teacher of the Year (2015).
• National finalist, Scripps Howard Journalism and Mass Communication Teacher of the Year (2013, 2014).
• Grady Fellowship Recipient (2012).
•  Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professorship, University of Georgia’s highest teaching award (2010).
• University of Georgia’s Teaching Academy induction (2009)
• Top Two Faculty Paper, Cultural and Critical Studies division, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Chicago, IL (2008)
• Roland Page Teaching Award (2008).
• Darwin Davis Award Inaugural recipient. The award was established by an endowment from Dean Cully Clark and his wife, Mary, to annually recognize a member of the Grady College faculty or staff whose performance reflects those qualities of dedication and friendship that best capture the Grady Spirit (2007)
• Roland Page Teaching Award (2004).
• University of Georgia’s Richard B. Russell Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award (2003).
• Advertising/Public Relations Department Teacher of the Year (2003).
• Roland Page Teaching Award (2002).
• James E. Murphy Memorial Award, top faculty paper in the Cultural and Critical Studies division, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (2001).
• Top Faculty-Student Paper, Public Relations division, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (2001)
• Top Three Paper, Educators Academy, Public Relations Society of America (2001).
• Lilly Teaching Fellow. One of nine assistant professors selected to this prestigious university program. Participants are exceptional teachers who are interested in further developing the teaching and learning environment in the courses they teach (2001-2002).