Rogers, Edna

Emeritus Professor at the University of Utah (US), Edna Rogers (US, 1938) is one of the main authors in the development of interpersonal communication through theory of systems. She is also a precursor in the use of the ecological metaphor for the study of communication and information.

Rogers is recognized as one of the main historical figures in the field of communication, especially in the areas of interpersonal communication and interaction. She is a co-author, together with Richard Farace, of Relational Communication Theory, a theory that is still relevant in the field of interpersonal communication. Relational Communication Theory studies the aspects of control that appear when two people exchange messages, and it particularly focuses on symmetry, transience and complementarity.

Her scientific production shows her interest in codification and in the analysis of communicational interaction. She is one of the main authors, with Janet Beavin Bavelas, of interaction from a systemic theory approach. She has been interested in coding schemes present in interaction, a topic which she developed during her PhD studies, in the 70s.

Edna Rogers has been a president of one of the most prestigious associations in the discipline, the International Communication Association (ICA). She has been rewarded with a Woolbert Research Award from the National Communication Association, a CSCA Federation Prize Research Award or a Presidential Teaching Scholar Award. She has also received numerous recognitions for her teaching at Michigan State University, Cleveland State University, University of Utah and Ohio University.

Selected publications:

• Rogers, L.E. & Farace R. (1973). Analysis of relational communication in dyads: New measurement processes. Annual Conference of the International Communication Association, Montreal, 25-29 de abril de 1973. Available at: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED081033.pdf
• Conville, R., & Rogers, L.E. (1989) (Eds.). The meaning of relationship in interpersonal communication. Praeger.
• Rogers, L.E. (2001) Relational communication in the context of family. Journal of Family Communication, 1(1), 25-35.
• Rogers, L.E. (2006). Relational Communication Theory: An interactional family theory. In D.O. Braithwaite & L.A. Baxter (Eds.), Engaging theories in family communication: Multiple perspectives (pp. 115-129). Sage Publications.