Dr. Sonali Kudva

B.A., B.C.J., Fergusson College, University of Pune; M.A., M.A., Ph.D., Kent State University

Bio:

Sonali Kudva is an Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Communication, Composition, and Rhetoric in the area of Media Studies. She is an interdisciplinary academic whose research and teaching are informed by her prior and current practice as journalist and editor. Her teaching is primarily in courses that look at the relationships between mass media and society; technology use and effects; journalistic ethics; and information law, policy, ethics and literacy.  

Kudva has had her work published in the popular media, including the Times of India, Sakaal Times, trade publications and Brown Girl Magazine. She considers herself an accidental academic and is now an interdisciplinary researcher in journalism, information science, film and popular culture, following the critical-cultural perspective.

One of her early co-authored publications, “Ebooks vs. Print Books: Readers’ Choices and Preferences Across Contexts,” continues to be widely cited, including in textbooks. Kudva’s doctoral dissertation was on contemporary Indian cinema (or Bollywood), examines it as an information ecology, placing it in traditional narrative and cultural contexts.

As someone who has travelled widely and moved around on four continents at various times in her life, Kudva feels strongly about matters of equity, access and transparency in communication and policy, has worked on clearing up these issues for international students and faculty.

Kudva is a reviewer and member of several professional and academic associations. She also continues to take on editorial projects that come her way.