School of Journalism and Communication:
PhD in Communication
My research has to do with how insurgent groups like ISIS, al Shabaab, and al Qaeda recruit Western audiences through their online texts. So I’m looking at how they format or rebrand those messages for English-speaking audiences.
I studied Inspire magazine, an online English language publication, to look at the different rhetorical strategies such groups used to make their movement appealing. It would often involve things like making themselves more of a social justice type movement or branding themselves as having an anti-globalization countercultural purpose. I wanted to expand more on that for my PhD.
My supervisor, Communication Studies Professor Karim Karim, is an expert in media and Islam, which has been invaluable. I’ve also had guidance from Communication Studies Professor Merlyna Lim, who studies social movements and how they communicate with different audiences, and Professor Jez Littlewood from Carleton’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, who focuses on issues of counter-terrorism and foreign fighting.
Also, there’s a great advantage to being in Canada’s Capital. I’ve had access to a lot of different events and talks regarding counter-terrorism. That’s really helped to enrich my research.
Friday, September 9, 2016 in Communication and Media Studies, FPA Voices, Media, People
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