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University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Department of Communication Studies

Communication, Collaboration, Community

Kellas Photo

Dr. Jody Koenig Kellas

Assistant Professor of Communication Studies
Interpersonal Communication, Family Communication, and Narratives of Personal Relationships

428 Oldfather Hall
(402) 472-2079
jkellas2@unl.edu

Education

Ph.D. @ University of Washington (2002)
M.A. @ University of Washington (1999)
B.S. @ Northwestern University (1995)

Research Specialties

  • Communication in personal and family relationships
  • Narratives of personal relationships
  • Collaborative storytelling
  • Links between communication and well-being
  • Relationship dissolution and post-dissolutional communication
  • Attributions and accounts

Current Projects

  • Interactional sense-making, perspective-taking, and discrepancy in collaboratively constructed stories of marital difficulty
  • Mother-daughter memorable messages
  • Stepfamily origin stories
  • Lesbian parents & family accounts

Recent Activities

Sample Projects/Manuscripts in Process

  • Koenig Kellas, J., Trees, A.R., Schrodt, P., LeClair-Underberg, C., & Willer, E., Stories of marital stress: The impact of joint storytelling behaviors on individual and relational well-being.
  • Koenig Kellas, J., Trees, A.R., Schrodt, P., LeClair-Underberg, C., & Willer, E., "That's not what happened!" Spouses' perceptions of effective and ineffective behavorial perspective-taking during the joint telling of a difficulty story.
  • Koenig Kellas, J., Transmitting relational world views: The relationship between mother-dauther memorable messages and adult daughters' relational schemata.
  • Koenig Kellas, Bean, Cheng, Cunningham, & Stagg, The Ex-Files: Trajectories, turning points, and adjustment in the development of post-dissolutional relationships.
  • Koenig Kellas, J., LeClair-Underberg, C., & Lamb Normand, E., "Sometimes they matter and sometimes they don't." The use of address terms in stepfamily stories.
  • Baxter, L.A., Braithwaite, D.O., Koenig Kellas, J., LeClair-Underberg, C., Normand, E.L., Routsong, T.R., & Thatcher, M.S., Empty ritual: Young-adult stepchildren's perceptions of the remarriage ceremony.
  • Thorson, A., Rittenour, C., Koenig Kellas, J., &Trees, A.R., Utilizing multilevel modeling: Illuminating family communication intricacies during joint storytelling interactions.

Publications

  • Koenig Kellas, J., Bean, D., Cunningham, C., & Cheng, K. Y. (In Press). The ex files: Trajectories, turning points, and adjustment in the development of post-dissolutional relationships. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships.
  • Koenig Kellas, J. (In press). Narrative theories: Making sense of interpersonal communication. Invited chapter in L.A. Baxter, & D. O. Braithwaite (Eds.) Engaging theories in interpersonal communication. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
  • Koenig Kellas, J., & Trees, A. R. (2006). Finding meaning in difficult family experiences: Interaction processes during joint family storytelling. Journal of Family Communication, 6, 49-76.
  • Koenig Kellas, J. (2006). "The worst part is, we don't even talk anymore." The importance of post-dissolutional communication in break up stories. In K. M. Galvin, & P. J. Cooper (Eds.) Making connections: Readings in relational communication, 4th ed. (pp. 284-293). Los Angeles: Roxbury Publishing Company. (Originally published in the 3rd edition, 2003).
  • Braithwaite, D. O., Schrodt, P., & Koenig Kellas, J. (2006). Symbolic convergence theory: Communication, dramatizing messages, and rhetorical visions in families. In D. O. Braithwaite, & L. A. Baxter (Eds.) Engaging theories in family communication (pp. 146-161). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
  • Koenig Kellas, J. (2005). Family ties: Communicating identity through jointly told stories. Communication Monographs, 72, 365-389.
  • Braithwaite, D. O., & Koenig Kellas, J. (2006). Shopping for and with friends: Everyday communication at the shopping mall. In J. T. Wood, & S. Duck (Eds.) Composing relationships: Communication in everyday life (pp. 86-95). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
  • Koenig Kellas, J., & Trees, A. R. (2005). Rating interactional sense-making in the process of joint storytelling. In V. Manusov (Ed.) The sourcebook of nonverbal measures: Going beyond words (pp. 281-294). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
  • Keeley, M., & Koenig Kellas, J. (2005). Constructing life and death through final conversation narratives. In L. M. Harter, P. M. Japp, & C. S. Beck (Eds.) Narratives, health, and healing: Communication theory, research, and practice (pp. 365-390). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
  • Manusov, V., Koenig Kellas, J., & Trees, A. R. (2004). Do unto others? Conversational moves and perceptions of attentiveness toward other face in accounting sequences between friends. Human Communication Research, 30, 514-539.
  • Koenig Kellas, J., & Manusov, V. (2003). What's in a story? The relationship between narrative completeness and tellers' adjustment to relationship dissolution. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 20, 285-307.
  • Manusov, V., & Koenig, J. (2001). The content of attributions in couples' communication. In V. Manusov and J. H. Harvey (Eds.), Attribution, communication behavior, and close relationships (pp. 134-152). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Service/Administrative Activities

  • Vice Chair, Family Communication Division, National Communication Association
  • Past Chair, Interpersonal Communication Interest Group, Western States Communication Association
  • Past Secretary, Family Communication Division, National Communication Association
  • Past Secretary, Interpersonal Communication Division, Western States Communication Association

Undergraduate Classes Taught at UNL

  • Interpersonal Communication Theory
  • Family Communication
  • The Dark Side of Interpersonal Communication
  • Introduction to Research Methods in Communication Studies

Graduate Classes Taught at UNL