Patricia Aufderheide

Patricia Aufderheide is University Professor in the School of Communication at American University in Washington, D.C. She is the co-author with Peter Jaszi of Reclaiming Fair Use: How to Put Balance Back in Copyright (University of Chicago Press, July 2018, 2d. ed.), and author of, among others, Kartemquin Films: Documentaries on the Frontlines of Democracy (University of California Press, 2024), Documentary: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford, 2007), The Daily Planet (University of Minnesota Press, 2000), and of Communications Policy in the Public Interest (Guilford Press, 1999). She has been a Fulbright and John Simon Guggenheim fellow and has served as a juror at the Sundance Film Festival among others. She has received numerous journalism and scholarly awards, including the Preservation and Scholarship award from the International Documentary Association, a career achievement award from the International Digital Media and Arts Association, the Woman of Vision Award from Women in Film and Video (DC), the Communication Scholarship as an Agent of Change award from International Communication Association, and the George Stoney Award from the Documentary division of the University Film and Video Association. Aufderheide has served on the board of directors of Kartemquin Films, a leading independent social documentary production company, on the advisory board of the National Gallery of Art, and on the editorial boards of a variety of publications, including Communication Law and Policy and In These Times newspaper. She serves on the board of directors of the Independent Television Service, which produces innovative television programming for underserved audiences under the umbrella of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. She received her Ph.D. in history from the University of Minnesota.