Marietta College

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Communication Studies professor shares research at International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry conference

by Tom Perry

Marietta, Ohio (05/23/2023) — Dr. Cody Clemens '13, Assistant Professor of Communication, recently presented research at the 19th annual International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry (ICQI) conference at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

The research was conducted during Clemens' trip to an abortion clinic during the summer of 2021.

"During this trip, I took undergraduate students who were minoring in Health Communication with me to understand what it is like to conduct field research," Clemens said. "Samantha Rubadue '22 and Felipe Cruz '22 assisted me by helping conduct interviews with clinic workers and volunteers, taking field notes, and observing the actions of protestors."

The title of the paper was "Birthing Persons Matter: An Autoethnography Reflecting on My Time at an Abortion Clinic."

"The conversations surrounding abortion in the United States have been contested for quite some time," Clemens said. "As a health communication scholar, I wanted to witness first-hand, and expose, the impact protestors had on the health and well-being of abortion clinic workers and volunteers."

Located in Marietta, Ohio, at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio rivers, Marietta College is a four-year liberal arts college. Tracing its roots to the Muskingum Academy back in 1797, the College was officially chartered in 1835. Today Marietta College serves a body of 1,200 full-time students. The College offers more than 50 majors and is consistently ranked as one of the top regional comprehensive colleges by U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review. Marietta was selected seventh in the nation according to the Brookings Institution's rankings of colleges by their highest value added, regardless of major.

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