Esteban del Rio, PhD
Professor, Communication
- PhD, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Communication
- BA, University of San Diego, History
Esteban del Río is professor of communication at the University of San Diego and serves as the director of the Frances G. Harpst Center for Catholic Thought & Culture. Prior appointments at USD include associate provost, advisor to the provost for faculty affairs, director of the Center for Inclusion & Diversity, and department chair.
del Río holds a PhD in communication from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His primary research is in Latino media studies. He currently teaches Introduction to Media Studies (COMM 130), Introduction to Changemaking (CHNG 101) and Communication Integration Experience(COMM 492).
Areas of Expertise
Media and Cultural Studies
Scholarly Work
I examine how human unity and difference operate in informational and entertainment culture. Pursuing a concept of difference “without guarantees,” my research contributes primarily to U.S. Latino media studies, problematizing the cultural, economic, and political formation of Latinidad. Essays appear in the Journal of Communication Inquiry, Communication Culture Critique, Participations: International Journal of Audience Research, Communication Yearbook, Metropolitan Universities Journal, and the Routledge Companion to Latina/o Media. My current research is about promotion, social media platforms, and authenticity; and the Catholic cultural roots of communication theory.
Areas of Interest
My interests include Audiences and Authenticity; Class, Consumption, and Labor; and Communication and Cultural Theory. These areas provide foci in my courses, which include Introduction to Media Studies (COMM 130), Communication Criticism (COMM 336), Media & Conflict (COMM 338), and Communication Integration Experience (COMM 492). I have also taught Film & Cultural Politics (COMM 432), International Media (COMM 380), and British Cultural Studies (480). Special topics courses (COMM 494) include Latina/o Moving Images, Acoustic Culture & Communication, and The Production of Consumption. I encourage students to raise critical questions about the constitutive role of communication in all social reality. In these discussions, communication is understood as the primary social process. My pedagogical goals include the development of solidarity and the realization of Jon Sobrino’s assertion that “everything - absolutely everything - turns on the exercise of mercy.” My teaching awards include the designation of Professor of the Year by three graduating classes and Professor of the Year award from Student Support Services on four occasions.
I have been involved with the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities and Collegium, a faculty development program exploring the Catholic Intellectual Tradition at Catholic colleges across North America. I served two terms on the Collegium Board of Directors, which included two years as chair. I have been a mentor at Collegium’s annual summer Colloquy on Faith and Intellectual Life on several occasions and have been awarded the Thomas M. Landy Award for Distinguished Serve to Collegium during gate 2022 Summer Colloquy.