Dr. Rhoda T.I. Patrick

Assistant Professor of Media and Communication Studies 


Phone: (905) 648-2139   Ext:4319

Email: rtpatrick@redeemer.ca

Office: 127B

Programs: Media Production , Media and Communication Studies

Education

PhD (2020), Media and Cultural Studies, University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Durban, South Africa.
Dissertation: The Role of Christian Music Use on Identity Construction among Black South Africans and Diasporic Nigerians and Congolese in Durban, South Africa

M.Sc. (2017), Media and Cultural Studies, University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Durban, South Africa.
Dissertation: Glocalisation within the Media Landscape: A Study of Selected Reality Television Franchises in South Africa and Transnational Broadcaster MultiChoice

BSSH. (2016), Media and Cultural Studies, University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Durban, South Africa.
Dissertation: Tourist/Visitor Perceptions and Marketing Strategies of the Durban Botanic Gardens.

BA (2008), Communication and Language Arts, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Dissertation: Influence of the English Language on the Usage of Mother Tongue in Group Communication

Courses

  • Introduction to Media and Communications (MCS-121)
  • The Language of Media (MCS-233)
  • Media Ethics (MCS-302)
  • Theories of Media, Art & Communication (MCS-311)
  • World Cinemas (MCS-361)
  • Cultural Studies and Criticism Seminar (MCS-403)
  • Studies in Religion & Media (MCS-405)

About

Rhoda T.I. Patrick joined Redeemer as an Assistant Professor in Media and Communication Studies in 2023. She earned her doctorate in 2020 from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), with a focus on Culture, Communication and Media Studies (CCMS). She is a versatile and interdisciplinary scholar, as evidenced by her research outputs, which is why she believes in knowledge co-production and the need to encourage more imaginative and nuanced ways of addressing complex matters.

Rhoda specializes in research that identifies and elaborates on intersections in media and identity studies, education and communication, and culture and gender studies. She contributes to methodological debates on reflexivity and ethnography as well as innovative and participatory communicative strategies. Other areas are media and cultural representations, African and diasporic studies, communication in education, participatory methodologies, and the political economy of the media.

Before joining Redeemer, she was a Visiting Professor in the Department of Communication Studies and Media Arts at McMaster University. Her collaboration with colleagues at McMaster University is still ongoing. Their project exemplifies the need for interactive and imaginative techniques to talk about and mitigate the impact of gender-based violence, in Canada and South Africa.

Rhoda Patrick’s ORCiD profile

Research Interests

  • African and diasporic studies
  • Communication in education
  • Curriculum development
  • Ethnomusicology
  • Identity studies
  • Media and cultural representations
  • Participatory methodologies

Current research

  • Migrant Women in the Atlantic World: Identity and Postpartum Bodies – South Africa and Canada. (Onuh, J.A and Patrick R).
  • Intersectionality in Climate Migration Resilience and Its Media Representations (Patrick, RTI, and Patrick, H.O). SSHRC EXPLORE.

Selected Research Publications

Visit the Research Publications page for selected publications by Dr. Rhoda T.I. Patrick.

View Dr. Rhoda T.I. Patrick’s Publications

Journal Articles

Patrick, Rhoda, Samuel Okunade, and Hosea Patrick. “Outlining the media framing of the Covid-19 Omicron variant and its consequences on Africa.” African Journal of Inter/Multidisciplinary Studies. 7, no. 2 (2025): 1-14.

Ramohai, Juliet, and Rhoda Patrick. “Creating spaces for gender-based violence conversations for male students in South African higher education.” Journal of Gender-Based Violence (published online ahead of print) (2025).

Abiolu, Rhoda T. I., and Hosea O. Patrick. “Tracing the position of the ‘new world’ African diaspora in Africa’s politics, commerce, and identity.” African Journal of Rhetoric (AJR) 16 (2024): ISSN 1998-2054.

Abiolu, Rhoda T. I., Hosea O. Patrick, and Oluremi A. Abiolu. “Covid-19 and the state of the Nigerian Nation: A Reflection on a Sleeping African Giant.” African Journal of Rhetoric (AJR) 15 (2023): 193-223.

Patrick, Rhoda T. I., and Nthuna J. Ramohai. “Coping with academic and family expectations during Covid-19: perspectives of selected Durban University of Technology female students.” African Journal of Gender, Society and Development (AJGSD) 12, no. 1 (2023): 229-247.

Patrick, Rhoda T. I., Nthuna J. Ramohai, and Hosea O. Patrick. “Espousing individual/social agency to tackle gender-based violence: reflections of Durban University of Technology students.” African Journal of Development Studies (AJDS) Special issue (2023): 7-27.

Book Chapters

Abiolu, Rhoda T. I., Oluremi A. Abiolu, and Hosea O. Patrick. “A systemic review of indigenous protest songs as a conduit for social mobilisation in South Africa.” In Indigenous Language for Development and Social Change Communication in the Global South, edited by Tshepang B. Molale, Abiodun Salawu, and Enrique Uribe-Jongbloed, 243-260. London: The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc, 2023.

Patrick, Rhoda T. I., and Hosea O. Patrick. “An assessment of glocal considerations in Big Brother Naija.” In Big Brother Naija and Popular Culture in Nigeria: A Critique of the Country’s Cultural and Economic Diplomacy, edited by Christopher Isike, Olusola Ogunnubi, and Ogochukwu Ukwueze, 43-64. Singapore. Palgrave Macmillan, 2023.

Abiolu, Rhoda T. I., Oluwatobi J. Alabi, Hosea O. Patrick, and Oluremi A. Abiolu. “Exploring the Value Systems Embedded in Indigenous Yorùbá Music Genres and Yorùbá Nursery Rhymes.“ In Indigenous African Popular Music, Volume 1. Pop Music, Culture and Identity, edited by Abiodun Salawu, and Israel A. Fadipe, 117-132. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2022.

Abiolu, Rhoda T. I. “Intercultural Relations in Church Music of Nigeria and South Africa.” In Ethnomusicology and cultural diplomacy, edited by David G. Hebert, and Jonathan McCollum, 255 – 276. The Lexington Series in Historical Ethnomusicology: Deep Soundings. London: Lexington Books, 2022.

Awards and Certificates 

  • Explore Grant for Summer Undergraduate Research Support (SSHRC Explore – URS) ($12, 500 CAD), 2026
  • South Africa’s DSI/ National Research Foundation (NRF) Innovation Postdoctoral Fellowship (R 305,000 per annum), 2021-2023
  • South Africa’s National Research Foundation (NRF) innovation master’s scholarship (R 80,000), 2016
  • Merit award for outstanding academic performance in Media in the Global World module in Culture, Communication and Media Studies, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa, 2016
  • Merit award for outstanding academic performance in the Research Methodology module in Culture, Communication and Media Studies, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa, 2016
  • State Recognition for meritorious service to the Editorial Board of NYSC by Osun State Coordinator, 2014
  • Best graduating Art Student at FUTA Staff Secondary School, Akure, 2007/2008
  • Ekiti State Undergraduate Scholarship Award by the State Scholarship Board

Professional memberships and associations

  • IAICS – International Association for Intercultural Communication Studies,  2022-present
  • TSA – Transatlantic Studies Association, 2025-2026
  • ISA – International Studies Association, 2022-2025
  • IAFOR – The International Academic Forum, 2022-2024
  • ANFASA – Academic and Non-Fiction Authors Association of South Africa,  2021-2022
  • IAMCR – International Association for Media and Communication Research,  2018-2021
  • WSSA – Western Social Science Association, 2018
  • SACOMM – The South African Communication Association, 2015-2017