Ph.D., University of Washington, 2002

CV

Dr. JODY KOENIG KELLAS, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR ,conducts research and teaches classes on interpersonal and family communication. Her main interest is on the ways in which people communicate to make sense of  relational identity and difficulty in order to understand the link between the quality of communication and the quality of life. With this interest, her scholarship focuses on relational narratives, storytelling, accounts, attributions, and memorable messages. She conducts observational research with couples and families in order to understand how communicated sense-making and perspective-taking predict individual and relational health. Her most recent research interests focus on health communication, specifically narrative interventions for helping families cope within the context of serious illness. Dr. Kellas' research has been published in Communication Monographs, Human Communication Research, Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Western Journal of Communication,Journal of Family Communication, Communication Quarterly, Narrative Inquiry, and several edited volumes.

REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS

Koenig Kellas, J. (Ed.) (2013). Family storytelling: Negotiating identities, teaching lessons, and making meaning. London: Routledge.

Koenig Kellas, J., & Trees, A. (Forthcoming, 2013). Family stories and storytelling: Windows into the family soul. In A. L. Vangelisti (Ed.) Handbook of Family Communication, 2nd ed. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Koenig Kellas, J., & Suter, E. (In press). Accounting for lesbian-headed families: Lesbian mothers' responses to discursive challenges. Communication Monographs.

Koenig Kellas, J., Trees, A. R., Schrodt, P., LeClair-Underberg, C., & Willer, E. (2010). Exploring links between well-being and interactional sense-making in married couples' jointly told stories of stress. Journal of Family Communication, 10, 174-193.

REPRESENTATIVE RESEARCH IN PROGRESS

Stories of hope: investigating the benefits and risks of hope for families in the context of serious illness. (With Alexis Waters and Kathy Castle).

Increasing narrative competencies, coping, and caregiving in families coping with illness.