jms-welcomes-seasoned-bilingual-journalism-professor-this-fall
May 4, 2020
The SDSU School of Journalism and Media Studies welcomes Lourdes Cueva Chacón to the faculty line up this fall. Cueva Chacón, who will defend her Ph.D. dissertation in late May, will join the School of JMS as an assistant professor. She has been teaching in different positions at The University of Texas at El Paso and The University of Texas at Austin for the past nine years, and brings years of bicultural multimedia journalism experience to the table. Drawn to the diversity at SDSU, not only in ethnicity but in language, Cueva Chacón is eager to incorporate her experiences into her teaching.
“I was born in Perú and have lived in the U.S. for 15 years,” Cueva Chacón begins. “I am thrilled that I will be able to teach about Spanish-language media in my native language.”
The origin of her passion for teaching coincides with her research, and centers around the importance of the Fourth Estate and challenging traditional media paradigms. Recently, her research about disparities among on-camera journalists was highlighted in The Washington Post in discussion regarding the box office hit “Bombshell.”
“I enjoy discussing the importance of quality journalism that is committed to the welfare of its community,” says Cueva Chacón. “One of the most rewarding aspects of teaching for me is giving students the technical skills to write or film great stories while at the same time, training their critical thinking to identify abuses of power.”
Helping the next generation develop innovative journalism and critical thinking skills has been at the forefront of Cueva Chacón’s career for years. From 2008-2014, she was the designer and digital content manager for Borderzine.com, an online digital platform and innovative journalism education initiative, with the goal of preparing young bilingual and bicultural journalists for jobs in 21st Century news media.
Her passion for teaching extends beyond undergraduate courses, and into training academies for professionals. For the past 10 years, Cueva Chacón has been an instructor for the Dow Jones Multimedia Academy, a week-long summer workshop for journalism instructors. The workshop is designed to train educators from Hispanic-serving institutions so they can integrate digital reporting skills into their course curriculum.
Adding to her global perspective, Cueva Chacón has recently worked as a teaching assistant for a study abroad program where students were tasked with creating short documentaries about immigrant communities in London. Cueva Chacón has also presented her research at the 2018 International Communication Association (ICA) Annual Conference in Prague, Czech Republic.
Cueva Chacón’s varied experience and dedication to multicultural education will no doubt be a great asset to the University. Please join us in welcoming her to the School and the College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts.
The content within this article has been edited by Lizbeth Persons.
