Elena Block

Dr. Elena Block is Lecturer in Strategic Communication at the School of Communication and Arts at The University of Queensland currently investigating the links between populist communication and declining democracy. Elena completed her PhD also at The University of Queensland on Hugo Chavez’s populist political communication in Venezuela. Her thesis turned to book, entitled Political Communication and Leadership. Mimetisation, Hugo Chavez and the Construction of Power and Identity, was published by Routledge in August 2015. She is also interested in the mediatisation of politics, digital influencers, and online advocacy. Back in her native Venezuela, Elena lectured in Political Communication at the Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV) and worked as a journalist, media advisor, press secretary and corporate communications executive.

Publications

Book
• Block, E. (2015). Political Communication and Leadership. Mimetisation, Hugo Chavez and the Construction of Power and Identity. New York: Routledge.

Journal articles
• Block, E. Lovegrove, R. (2021). Discordant storytelling,‘honest fakery’, identity peddling: How uncanny CGI characters are jamming public relations and influencer practices. Public Relations Inquiry, 2046147X211026936
• Block, E. & Negrine, R. (2017). The Populist Communication Style: Toward a Critical Framework
International Journal of Communication 11, 178-197
• Block, E. (2013). A Culturalist Approach to the Concept of the Mediatization of Politics. Communication Theory, 23, 259-278. doi: 10.1111/comt.12016
• Block, E. (2010) Populism, Freedom of Expression and Citizenship. Communication: Venezuelan Studies of Communication. 35,149 (64-72)