TEACHING
Graduate Courses
Qualitative Research Methods
Qualitative approaches to research, conceptualizations of problems, questions, and methodologies for the field of communication. Emphasis on, interpretive, feminist, critical, and cultural approaches. Introduction to methodological specialties of departmental faculty. Required of all Communication graduate students.
Techno Imaginaries & the Global South
Combines close examinations of primary sources from film, literature, art, etc. with theoretical readings on temporality, globalization, (post/de) colonialism, social construction of technology, among others to interrogate how ideas and ideologies about technological artifacts are integral to dreaming up futures. Primary focus is on people and places outside the United States and Western Europe, particularly postcolonial Africa and Asia.
Students
I work with and mentor a number of fabulous students both on my campus and beyond. Those listed below are those I work with in one formal capacity or the other.
Undergraduate:
Neo Nyoni (Northeastern University)
Graduate:
Alkim Yalin (Umass, Amherst)
Lizhen Zhao (UMass, Amherst)
Diana Kasem (UMass, Amherst)
Ifat Gazia (UMass, Amherst)
Jacquelin Kataneksza (The New School)
Alev Coban (Goethe University Frankfurt)
Till Straube (Goethe University Frankfurt)
Alums
Emaan Tariq (UMass, Amherst)
Undergraduate Courses
Communication, Technology, and Work
This course examines the different ways that communication and digital technologies are shaping notions of work and labor. Students engage with ongoing debates on topics such as the sharing economy (e.g. Uber/Lyft driving), microwork (e.g. Amazon Mechanical Turk), microcelebrity (e.g. YouTube stars and Instagram influencers), tech entrepreneurship both in Silicon Valley and other parts of the world, as well as the work that goes into making popular consumer technologies like the iPhone. By the end of the course, students should have a critical understanding of the economic and social forces underlying shifts in digital labor, communication, technology, and work. Coursework includes digital assignments, reading responses, and a research paper.
Global Media Flows
From Hollywood to Bollywood, Korean Dramas to Netflix Originals, media finds transnational and diasporic audiences around the world and are remade, re-used, and remixed. This course unpacks theories of globalization and other processes facilitating the cross-border flow of various media. Case studies and assignments focus on the production, distribution, and reception of entertainment media from different parts of the world. In addition to reading responses and a midterm paper, students complete a group project on a country and media product of their choice.