Narratives of Political Identity Among East African Digital Diaspora Communities in the Gulf Region

Speaker

Téwodros Workneh

Téwodros Workneh is an associate professor of global communication in the School of Communication Studies at Kent State University. His research examines global media industries and media policy through critical political economy and postcolonial approaches, with particular attention to state–media relations in Ethiopia and among Ethiopian diaspora communities. His work also explores mediated representations of Africa in transnational cultural production, including recent scholarship on culinary travel television and the portrayal of African destinations and foodways.

Workneh’s writing has appeared in peer-reviewed journals including International Journal of Communication, Communication, Culture & Critique, Journalism Studies, Review of African Political Economy, Information, Communication & Society, and Media, Culture & Society. He has published multiple book chapters and is the co-editor of Counter-Terrorism Laws and Freedom of Expression: Global Perspectives.

As part of his fellowship at #IAS_NUQ, Workneh will develop Digital Diasporas, Homeland Politics: Remote Media Engagement Among East African Expatriates in the Gulf region, a project investigating how Ethiopian and Eritrean communities in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia use social media and online broadcasting platforms to construct political identities, circulate narratives, and engage in transnational activism connected to their countries of origin.