NU-Q Year In Review 2018 - Northwestern University in Qatar
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NU-Q Year In Review 2018
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
Letter from the Dean 2
HIGHLIGHTS
NU-Q Opens Robotic Newsroom 6
Qatar Emir Visits NU-Q 7
Visitors and Events 8
ACADEMICS AND RESEARCH
Academics 18
Equipping Industry Leaders 19
Storytelling in a Digital World 21
Research 22
Faculty Research 24
Student Research 27
Faculty Appointments 28
STUDENT LIFE
Student Life 32
Pushing Boundaries Through Film 33
Global Media Experience: Witnessing the World of Media 35
Broadway Producers and NU Alums Work with NU-Q Students 37
Student Recognition 38
Convocation 39
Graduation 40
OUTREACH
NU-Q Evanston Partnership
Evanston Visitors 2017–18 45
Media Coverage 46
Community Outreach
Partnerships 48
APPENDICES
Appendix 1
Joint Advisory Board 54
Leadership 54
Faculty 55
Staff 56
Appendix 2: Scholarly Activities
Books and Other Monographs 58
Book Chapters 58
Journal Articles 59
Conference Papers 60
Appendix 3: Creative Work
Communication Program 64
Journalism and Strategic Communication Program 65
Liberal Arts Program 65
INTRODUCTION
LETTER FROM THE DEAN
Settling In, Stretching Our Wings, Moving Ahead
Just over seven months after moving into its new scholars, journalists, and public officials, including from government, industry, and education came Program. Outreach activities were many, including
building, the NU-Q community returned to begin His Excellency Sheikh Saif Al Thani, director of to propose new collaborative programs, television participation in two DFI film festivals and a special
the 2017–18 academic year and to witness the the Government Information Office; Al Jazeera productions, and various joint efforts, some now session of the Qatar Media Industry Forum with
delivery of a dramatic three-story media wall and journalists and executives; and others helped engage in the planning. Our first-ever executive education panels at the school and in West Bay, Doha featuring
the opening of a robotic newsroom as a 500-seat a continuing conversation where the blockade’s program, led by Professor Craig LaMay, was journalists from Time, Buzzfeed, and local media.
events hall was also completed. What had been a consequences were debated and discussed. What launched this year on a pilot basis with seminars on As always, there were two sessions of the Al Jazeera
mostly-empty space at the time of move-in was was a threat months earlier, to the country and the Sport, Media, and Business wherein leading experts lecture series.
utterly transformed into a lively, engaged, and school, became a creative challenge for expression from our faculty and outside authorities engaged
energetic community fulfilling our architect’s and scholarship. participants from media industries, strategic This report offers images and detailed information
promise that the building was “an instrument communication, and sports management. Later in rendering a portrait of NU-Q in 2017–18, a year
to be played.” What a propitious way to begin In early fall, we witnessed an electrifying visit to the the year, we recruited a director of executive and of new beginnings, discovery, and continuity. As
our 10th year of operations. NU-Q welcomed its school by the Emir of Qatar, His Highness Tamim graduate education. dean, I have an expansive and appreciative view
largest freshman class to date while the overall bin Hamad Al Thani, who arrived with a crew of these multifaceted activities, and I am grateful
student body grew by a healthy 17.7 percent with from the CBS 60 Minutes program. The Emir’s visit It was a time to assess and appreciate longstanding to our leadership, faculty, and staff on the home
53 percent being Qatari citizens and others hailing and several by Her Excellency Sheikha Hind bint NU-Q programs, including the Journalism and campus at Northwestern University whose efforts
from 25 countries. As the student body grew, new Hamad Al Thani, CEO of the Qatar Foundation, Strategic Communication Residencies (JRs) benefit us greatly. Likewise, we greatly appreciate
positions were added to the faculty and staff, heralded several hundred other guests, visitors, that take junior journalism majors to 10-week the indispensable vision, leadership, and support
both to serve the academic programs and to meet and delegations from across the globe. Famed internships at some of the world’s leading media of the Qatar Foundation. Within NU-Q, our
building operation needs. Constrained in borrowed broadcaster Fareed Zakaria engaged in a public and communications companies while a group Joint Advisory Board (JAB) plays a pivotal role.
space in the Carnegie Mellon in Qatar building for interview while Oscar and Emmy-winner Sharmeen of top communication students have two-quarter And also important is the collective work of our
eight years, the school could now stretch its wings, Obaid-Chinoy addressed the graduating class. academic residencies under the Evanston Exchange NU-Q leadership team, faculty, staff, and outside
grow, and move ahead. Central to the way forward Adding continuity were addresses by Middle East program. Other students go to the home campus advisers. Most of all we exist because of and for our
was nurturing, supporting, and advancing the work analyst and commentator Rami Khouri and futurist for the annual Undergraduate Research and Arts students, who are highly motivated, engaged, and
of the people of NU-Q while transitioning from one Jeffrey Cole, frequent visitors to the school, as well Exposition and the Global Engagement Studies productive women and men. As we completed the
venue to another in a coherent, supportive way. A as workshops conducted by the Pulitzer Center, and Institute program among others. The Global Media academic year, there was much to celebrate, much to
raft of faculty-staff and student committees, part of other programs ranging from the NU-Q Institute Experience led students to top media firms and sites contemplate, and a chance to reflect on the decade
the school’s shared governance, took on challenges for faculty and staff as well as Wildcat Welcome, in New York City for the fifth consecutive year. of effort from fall 2008 through spring 2018 as our
ranging from community building, outreach, Wildcat Week, Research Week, and the annual Service learning programs took students to Phnom transformational school has grown and prospered.
innovation/futures lab, and pedagogy/teaching, Provost’s Delegation. Other special visitors included Penh, Cambodia, as others did independent study, This sets the stage for 2018-19, when we will fully
adding a dynamic human “moving in” element the Medill School’s national advisory committee language study, and research projects in Sri Lanka, celebrate and critically assess these very good years.
that has pushed the school forward on a dynamic and a delegation of visiting journalists and think- Cyprus, and Morocco. Others benefited from The year ahead will witness the opening of our
trajectory. tank analysts. Colleagues and students from across international travel grants. long-awaited Media Majlis at NU-Q, Qatar’s first
Education City visited the building as we hosted a university museum, and other activities, programs,
The year will be remembered, of course, for session for Education City’s Teaching Week and a Within the community, the faculty, staff, and and innovations. The challenge continues and our
navigating the Gulf crisis, the blockade of Qatar, pilot taping of the new Doha Debates series as well students have never been more engaged with new excitement abounds.
which was met with resilience and resolve both as a gathering of health and medical officials and curricular offerings, research projects, and colloquia.
within the school, across Education City, and experts who convened to learn about NU-Q’s health Major support came from the Qatar National
throughout the country. In the midst of this national communication research. Visitors from the home Research Fund, Doha Film Institute (DFI), NU-Q
solidarity, we were determined that the blockade campus were many, including President Morton internal research fund, and others. Grants funded
with all its challenges not interfere with NU-Q’s Schapiro, who led the graduation delegation, as an innovative summer course in media ethics. Our
journey forward. The growth of the student body, a well our new Provost Jonathan Holloway, who Media Use in the Middle East longitudinal research
new admissions recruitment strategy, stable faculty made no fewer than three trips, bringing with project across seven countries produced its fifth
and staff, and successful searches for new positions him other university leaders. Faculty members published study and interactive website. We also
are evidence we were not deterred. The blockade, from the Schools of Communication, Medill, and published a Five-Year Retrospective in May, released
which put NU-Q at the crossroads of geopolitics Weinberg also graced our precincts as did visiting during our annual Qatar in Evanston week, a time
and higher education, was also a stimulus for a students. Such events as the Creative Media Festival, when we showcase the work of the school on the
curricular response in the classroom, where it was inspired and led by two Northwestern graduates, home campus. Faculty and student grants numbered
an instant case study. It inspired both faculty and one a Broadway producer, resulted in multiple 27 while faculty research productivity numbered
student research efforts—and was the subject of projects and activities while the annual Studio 188 including books, monographs, articles, films,
the school’s first Creative Media Festival, whose 20Q film night played to a full house of 500 in and other deliverables. A book on Global Media
theme was “Borders and Boundaries.” It also the Events Hall. An original theatrical showcase Disruptions in the Gulf was also produced by
stimulated thoughtful storytelling in the form of led by Professor Ann Woodworth garnered an Northwestern, NU-Q, Qatar University, and Rutgers Everette E. Dennis
student journalism and documentary films. Many overflow crowd in the Black Box theater. Others colleagues as part of the National Priority Research Dean and CEO
2 3
HIGHLIGHTS
HIGHLIGHTS
NU-Q OPENS ROBOTIC NEWSROOM
At the dedication ceremony of NU-Q’s Newsroom, The Newsroom features four main areas—news
a live, choreographed show was presented to desk, social media set, modular video wall, and
guests, including Her Excellency Sheikha Hind an area for a talk show.
bint Hamad Al Thani, vice chairperson and
CEO of Qatar Foundation; Jonathan Holloway, The news desk is a glass table that can seat up
Northwestern University provost; and fellow to three presenters and features an interactive
members of the university’s Joint Advisory Board. backdrop displaying a variety of content. The
social media set has a screen that displays live
Using robotic cameras, live feeds from different feeds from multiple social media platforms, such
locations, smart data visualization, and modular as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat.
reporting, the demonstration portrayed how the
Newsroom’s different areas work as one unit to The 18-screen multipurpose video wall streams
run a complete show. news channels, weather reports, graphics, data
visualizations, maps, and live feed coverage
“The real story here is not simply the physical from events. And the talk show area serves as
properties of this extraordinary space, perhaps an informal area where students can practice
the most advanced newsroom of its kind in the interviewing multiple guests in a contemporary
world today,” said Everette E. Dennis, dean and setting.
CEO. “It is the work that is and will occur here,
the instruction that takes place, the people who
are educated and trained—and what they do with
the resources here in their future careers.”
QATAR EMIR VISITS NU-Q
His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani
visited Northwestern University in Qatar in
connection with an interview being conducted for
the CBS program 60 Minutes.
The interview, which began in a car driven by
the Emir, continued when they arrived at NU-Q,
where they were met by students, faculty, and
staff. Accompanied by the CBS film crew, the Emir
toured the building, including the Newsroom,
which had opened a week earlier.
During his visit, His Highness met with students,
faculty, and staff, who shared their thoughts on
the new building, the programs offered, and their
future aspirations and ambitions as the CBS team
filmed the encounters.
6 7
HIGHLIGHTS
VISITORS AND EVENTS
Analyzing International Coverage of the Gulf Blockade
This year’s Qatar Media Industries Forum— own countries, they also believe that there had
International Media and the Blockade—had been biased reporting of the blockade from other Innovation at MIT’s Media Lab
local and international journalists analyzing the GCC countries.
blockade imposed on Qatar. The founder and chairman emeritus of MIT’s “The one thing I realized throughout the years is
Al-Mudahka suggested that trust in media has Media Lab, Nicholas Negroponte, an inventor, that the telecommunications industry does not
Due to the interest in the topic, the forum was fallen and that national newspapers, in particular, thinker, and angel investor who has pushed the work in the interest of people,” said Negroponte,
held at two locations, in Doha’s business center are guilty of focusing only on positive news when boundaries of connectivity and communication, “yet we are reaching a time when I believe
and on the NU-Q campus. The panel included their readers would actually benefit more from shared his thoughts on the evolving world of connectivity should be a human right.”
Gulf Times Editor-in-Chief Faisal Abdulhameed how different organizations and individuals are digital information with students, faculty, and
al-Mudahka; Borzou Daragahi, Middle East adapting to new challenges. staff at Northwestern University in Qatar. A combination of serendipity and years of
correspondent for BuzzFeed; and Vivienne Walt, hard work gave Negroponte a chance to pitch
foreign correspondent for TIME magazine, with Al-Mudahka also discussed the demand by the MIT’s Media Lab, which helped drive the multi- this concept to the Pope, who became an avid
NU-Q Professor Banu Akdenizli moderating the blockading countries that Qatar close the Al media revolution, was established by Negroponte supporter and partner. With the Pope’s support,
discussion. Jazeera network. as a center for research and innovation, and the the United Nations Security Council may vote to
intersection of art, science, and technology. Since change the international rights regarding access
During the discussion, the panel explored “Al Jazeera will never close,” he said, “It is our soft then, the lab has developed hundreds of original to Internet connectivity.
whether the media has the responsibility to help power. If you close Al Jazeera, you close Qatar.” ideas and produced research on new technology,
improve communications between opposing including touch-screen sensitivity and flat panels, “My hope, and this is truly a hope, is that there is
factions during such a crisis like the blockade. As part of the forum, NU-Q published a report, long before they were introduced to the market. a 50 percent chance that the UN might declare
International Coverage of Qatar During the connectivity as a human right in a resolution,
“It would be better,” Daragahi said, “if the tech- Blockade, featuring coverage of Qatar beginning Negroponte, known for his philanthropic work, which will be interesting because human rights
nology platforms take a little bit more responsi- the week of May 21, 2017, when the Qatar News founded the One Laptop Per Child organization, are free and all you have to do to qualify is be
bility. Whether you are talking about the realm of Agency was hacked and distributed false quotes which designs, develops, and distributes low-cost human, and that really does change the landscape.”
civic, governmental, or corporate responsibility, from the country’s Emir, and ending the week laptops for children around the world, with a
in all cases, there is a compelling argument to of September 25, 2017, following the United mission to empower them through education.
be made that there is a measure of responsibility Nations General Assembly in New York.
that needs to be measured up to.”
With the intent to inject hard data into a sometimes
The panel discussed recent findings from NU-Q’s subjective discussion, the study analyzed
annual Media Use in the Middle East survey, articles from 20 of the largest English-language
which reported that while the majority of people publications based in the United States, the
in the Middle East region trust the media in their United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates.
8 9
HIGHLIGHTS
Covering Climate Change Fresh News Platforms for
NU-Q welcomes journalists from the Pulitzer “Generation Z”
Center on Crisis Reporting each year—with As part of the Al Jazeera Speaker Series, project
a different issue highlighted. This year, three leaders for the program “Sadeem” gave students,
journalists presented their experiences reporting faculty, and staff a preview of the online reality
Unique Challenges in the on climate change issues worldwide. show that is designed to tap into the young
Futuristic Storytelling
Business of Sports generation of Arab digital influencers. Through VR
Eli Kintisch, a contributing correspondent for
The connection between business, law, and media Science magazine and author of Hack the Planet: A second Al Jazeera startup—Contrast VR—was
Through a series of weekly challenges, contestants
was the topic of discussion with author of The Science’s Best Hope—or Worst Nightmare—for also showcased to the NU-Q community as part
build on their digital presence and compete to
Business of Sports and professor at Fordham Averting Climate Catastrophe, discussed his of the Al Jazeera Speaker series. The initiative
develop engaging content for multiple platforms
University Mark Conrad. Examining the elements work covering the Arctic; Ako Salemi, an award- is focused on bringing attention to stories from
and vie for the title of the region’s next “digital
that make the sports industry unique, Conrad winning photojournalist from Iran, spoke about remote and underreported areas through the
superstar.” They also receive mentorship from a
listed several reasons, including its talent-oriented the impact of climate change on Iran’s desert use of immersive technology including VR and
panel of judges, including Egyptian motivational
nature, exclusive governance through leagues or landscape and the region surrounding; and Janice 360-degree cameras.
speaker Kareem Esmail, Algerian popular online
federations, exclusive broadcasting rights, and Cantieri shared details about the impact of rising satirist Zarouta Youcef, and Kuwaiti fashion
strong relations with governments. sea levels in Kiribati, an island in the South Pacific. Zahra Rasool, editorial lead for Contrast VR,
blogger Ascia Al Faraj.
and Ousama Itani, project lead, shared their most
An additional area which sets sports organizations “The dilemma of climate change is that it is recent work from the network’s newly launched
Mohamad Zaoud, head of digital growth and
apart is the loyalty formed between audiences/ caused primarily by first world countries, but immersive media studio. Showcasing the future of
business development for Europe, the Middle
viewers and their team, which he said also makes disproportionately affects the developing world, storytelling—using cutting-edge technology and
East, and Africa, along with NU-Q alumna
the industry more powerful. “Sports fans will and as a result, the people of Kiribati have been techniques—they presented a recent 360-degree
Omaima Es-samaali, associate producer for
root for their team year in and year out, no matter victimized as climate refugees,” Cantieri said. documentary I am Rohingya, which centered
engagement at Al Jazeera, explained how they
how bad it will be, hoping it will be better next on the day-to-day experience of refugees in
expect “Sadeem” to be the biggest digital contest
time,” he said. Accompanying the journalists was Tom Hundley, Bangladesh.
in the Arab world.
Pulitzer Center senior editor, who has almost four
Conrad also deliberated about media law in the decades of experience as a foreign correspondent “Our mission,” Rasool told the group, “is to
“The new generation of digital news consumers
coverage of sports, pointing to new trends in for the Chicago Tribune. take viewers directly to the front lines of real,
are native storytellers—they use their personal
sports coverage disseminated over the internet, pressing news stories through the development of
accounts to create stories about their daily
as well as the increasing media attention to social immersive media content and 3D technology.”
experiences,” said Zaoun. The program will
issues attached to sporting events. During his
move away from politics and news and explore
visit, the professor also conducted workshops for Those attending the session also experienced VR
a new territory of communication that will bring
students. storytelling through live demonstrations using
together youth from across the region who have
Google headsets. “The immersive content really
the talent and creativity to create engaging visual
brings a story to life and increases the effect it
content and stories.
has on the viewer,” said Amal Barakat, an NU-Q
student.
10 11
HIGHLIGHTS
Qatar’s Communication Exploring the World
Strategy Through VR
His Excellency Sheikh Saif bin Ahmed Al Thani The only way to know the truth is to see it
called for principled communications, greater with your own eyes. That is what Julia Leeb, a
government transparency, and willingness to cope filmmaker and photographer, said as she shared
with external scrutiny during a forum at NU-Q. U.S. Muslims Struggling Building Bloomberg News her experiences working in some of the most
in Trump Era Identifying gaps in financial reporting was what dangerous places in the world.
As the director of Qatar’s Government Commu- led to the creation of Bloomberg News, its co-
Award-winning journalist and author Lawrence
nication Office since it was established in 2015, founder and emeritus editor-in-chief Matthew Leeb has documented political upheaval in the
Pintak addressed the rise of violence and hate
Saif is at the forefront of Qatar’s efforts to craft a Winkler said in a special conversation at NU-Q. Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Syria,
crimes towards American Muslims, the increase
modern strategy for communication based on the Winkler shared how his career at The Wall Street Libya, and Afghanistan, and produced virtual
in skewed media coverage, and the shift to the
free flow of information, while respecting local Journal primed him for the future of financial data. reality and 360-degree content about remote
far-right in American governance.
values and traditions. regions, including Transnistria in Moldova, and
With a small team of reporters, Bloomberg the Nuba Mountains in Sudan. Photographs from
He spoke in particular about the effect of 2016
“Sticking to our principles is most important to competed against media organizations that had her visits to North Korea were published in her
United States presidential elections on minority
us,” he said. “Put simply, the office’s role is to hundreds of staff reporters and solid reputations book North Korea: Anonymous Country.
groups. “American Muslims have pushed back
coordinate communication strategies across each in the market to produce a combination of
against the negative narrative for many years . . .
ministry and communicate the facts and engage market news, company updates, and other news “I identify stories that are not trending,” explained
however, the rise of Donald Trump and the rise
externally whether in Qatar or elsewhere.” stories. It quickly became an indispensable source Leeb. “Through 360-degree technology, I can
of ISIS was in many ways the perfect storm,”
for business news. “We were the internet before bring other people’s reality to life so anyone
said Pintak, who has written about Muslims in
Saif added that since the blockade, a focus on there was an internet, because we were 24/7, real around the world can see what it is like, without
America since 1980. There is some good news,
engagement and dialogue have been the key time, and we did everything. We did the shortest being manipulated.”
however. “People are speaking out about the
to moving forward. He said that while other stories and the longest stories,” said Winkler.
discrimination they have faced, and as a result,
ministries “continue to intensively engage with As one of ELLE magazine’s top 80 international
there has been a groundswell of support for
media, we remain clear that we do not fear the He also shared the attributes that he thinks characters and Refinery29’s most inspiring
American Muslims,” he said. Statistics from a
boycott, and we are willing to sit at the table and makes a news source trustworthy. Calling it women in Germany, Leeb gave students advice
recent study showed a rise in tolerance among
build a dialogue.” the “Five Fs,” he said that to “stay in the news on the challenges she faced as a woman in
Americans toward Islam as a religion.
business you want to be the first word, the fastest hostile environments and as an outsider trying to
word, the factual word, the final word, and the connect with complete strangers.
Pintak is a member of the Content Advisory
Board for the Media Majlis at Northwestern future word.”
University in Qatar and the founding dean and
professor of the Edward R. Murrow College of
Communication at Washington State University.
12 13
HIGHLIGHTS
Fighting Fake News
International columnist and commentator, Fareed
Zakaria, discussed implications of a post-fact
world, fake news, and the role of social media in
shaping opinions and influencing news consump-
tion, during a public conversation at NU-Q. U.S. Foreign Policy
Myths Debunked
“There’s a great danger that we are entering a
world enabled by all these technologies that we In a lecture designed to complement NU-Q’s
love . . . technologies that make no real distinction minor in Middle East Studies, Elizabeth
between truth and falsehood. In fact, it is easier for Shakman Hurd, a Northwestern professor of
a falsehood to go viral than a truth, because what political science and religious studies, said U.S.
virality is really dependent on is the sensational intervention on foreign soil involves bringing
nature of the news. And, by definition, a lie is economic, religious, and political change to align
more sensational than the truth,” Zakaria said. the countries with U.S. interests. She refuted three
myths on how U.S. foreign policy intersects with
He also underscored the importance of an ed- religious interventionism.
ucation in the liberal arts to help in evaluating
the truth, saying that it “teaches students how to On promoting free religion, Hurd explained that
think and it teaches them how to write. These are the U.S.’s intervention in religious freedom is
two extremely important skills for personal and used to shape the political and economic fields
career development, and you would be surprised in other countries. On the second myth, Hurd
at how many people don’t know how to think explained that the idea of requiring a “flourishing
logically—to build constructive arguments and free religion” to liberate societies is rooted in U.S.
influence people.” international relations to get countries to support
American objectives. The final myth—using
religion to predict political behavior—Hurd said
“does not predict political behavior. It is absolutely
sociologically untenable to make this claim.”
In concluding her lecture, Hurd pointed out the
importance of understanding how these myths
are affecting people’s understanding of religious
freedom, and the ways in which they are shaping
political agendas worldwide.
14 15
ACADEMICS AND RESEARCH
ACADEMICS AND RESEARCH
ACADEMICS
A refined curriculum, revamped course offerings, themselves to become more adaptable in newsroom
and the inauguration of an executive education environments,” said Mary Dedinsky, director of the
program are among this year’s outcomes Journalism and Strategic Communication Program.
stemming from NU-Q’s commitment to develop
and support a burgeoning regional media industry. Short five- and nine-week courses experimented
with the top-of-the-line equipment, which
Northwestern has provided media-focused includes robotic cameras, live-feeds, smart data
undergraduate programs on its Qatar campus visualization, and modular reporting—learning
since 2008. Each year, it refines and improves to incorporate these advanced tools in their
its programming through updated curriculum reporting. The classes introduced students to the
programs and new course offerings. This year latest platforms of journalistic content including
incoming students were required to take a set of shooting and editing 360-video, producing audio
courses that provided them with a comprehensive content for podcast packages, developing media
Northwestern University Professor Candy Lee speaks at an executive education session.
introduction to the industry. Some courses design and graphic features, writing sports copy,
examined the impact of media on institution, and conducting news assessment.
culture, audiences, and communities, while other
courses provided insights into storytelling principles. Another new course this year that equips
students to stand at the forefront of a changing
Similarly, sophomores were required to take a industry is a three-part studio class, Media EQUIPPING INDUSTRY LEADERS
cornerstone course, Ways of Knowing, which Performance Technologies. The course was
challenged students to question how knowledge designed by Northwestern University Professors Building on its expertise in the area of strategic “With media mega-events like the World Cup and
is constructed. The course focuses on one topic Eric Patrick, Stephan Moore, and Chaz Evans, communication and media, NU-Q inaugurated the Olympics moving their competitions from
with faculty from various disciplines including who teach animation, sound design, and media its Executive Education Program this year North America and Europe to Asia, including
science and technology, history, political science, entertainment in the School of Communication’s with three masterclasses, all focusing on sport Qatar, these changes have also changed the job
and narrative design, demonstrating the methods Department of Radio/Television/Film. communication. of sport journalists, and given rise to new and
by which their respective fields address the issue. critical forms of sports journalism that don’t keep
Drawing upon their expertise, they demonstrated NU-Q’s executive education programming score, but rather cover the role sports play in
This year the students compiled and analyzed to students in Doha how new technology can is in response to an expressed need that has social and economic development, and in shaping
evidence on the topic of climate change. “The produce modern works of art. In three studios been relayed to the University over the past international human and civil rights norms,”
purpose of this course is to prompt students and an audio edit suite fitted with fully- several years. The development of the sport LaMay said.
to question their assumptions and investigate professional consoles, students delivered final communication masterclasses is the result of
numerous areas of research in their effort to projects that featured image mapping, bio sensors, extensive contacts between NU-Q and leaders in At the second session, Fordham University
collect conclusive evidence,” said Hariclea and cutting-edge audio production. the media industry and government officials in Professor Mark Conrad analyzed legal concepts
Zengos, senior associate dean and director of Qatar, as well as a market study, commissioned that govern international sports on issues such as
the Liberal Arts Program. “I often say, not jokingly, that the computer by NU-Q. transparency, corruption, doping, athlete’s rights,
keyboard is the 21st century folk instrument. and anticorruption by engaging with interactive
Further elevating its efforts to produce well- What we produce in these classes comes directly To launch its executive education program, NU-Q case studies which inspired discussion and debate.
equipped students, NU-Q capitalized on the out of the capabilities of digital technology,” said offered three industry-specific masterclasses
cutting-edge features of its new building. A fully- Moore, who instructed sessions in interactive focusing on sport media, marketing, and law. The final session of the program was led by
automated Newsroom was opened in a ceremony sound for live events using Ableton Live, a Northwestern Professor Candy Lee, an expert
attended by Her Excellency Sheikha Hind bint software music sequencer and digital audio The first session began with an introduction in sport marketing, event management, and
Hamad Al Thani, vice chairperson and CEO of workstation. to media sport and its evolution in the promotion.
Qatar Foundation, and other members of the modern world with NU-Q Professor Craig
university’s Joint Advisory Board. Widening its offerings to the community outside LaMay, a Northwestern University scholar, The classes also featured local guest speakers
of the Education City campus, NU-Q opened its who is currently on leave from his position as including falconry expert Laura Wrede, general
“The space opened up new opportunities for doors to Qatar-based professionals seeking to associate professor at Northwestern’s Medill secretary of the Qatar Football Association
students to be prepared, more than ever, for begin or enhance their careers—a first step in its School. The masterclasses are part of a broader Mansour Al-Ansari, and from Oola Sport, its
the media’s digital future. Students now have goal to offer more executive education courses. NU-Q program on sport, communication, and design and product development director, Amina
the opportunity to experiment with the latest A series of masterclasses—grouped under a leadership that LaMay is designing. Ahmadi.
emerging technology in the industry and challenge certificate program, “The Changing Business of
18 19ACADEMICS AND RESEARCH
STORYTELLING IN A DIGITAL WORLD
Deeply embedded in the culture of Northwestern’s The site—Q-Taa’leam—provides viewers
Medill School of Journalism is the philosophy with information on educational reforms, sex
of learning by doing. While this is felt in education, the ratification of degrees, the
every course where students produce practical country’s performance on international tests,
applications for knowledge acquired within the and special needs education. It provides content
classroom, it is best put into practice through through informative videos, statistics, articles,
the journalism and strategic communication and infographics.
residency program.
“Students learn how to adapt vast, complicated
The 10-week residency places Journalism and topics into easy-to-understand, accessible
Strategic Communication Program juniors multimedia pieces, like broadcast news reports,
alongside industry professionals at top media AJ+ style videos, and data animation graphics,”
organizations to learn real world lessons in media said Paschyn. “It’s all about how to convey the
production. Students at NU-Q have interned at information in a way that is compelling to the
USA Today, The Washington Post, AJ+, Forbes reader/viewer, textually and visually.”
Sport and Sport Communications”—responded like the 2022 FIFA World Cup—the local media magazine, Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting,
to a growing national sports sector in Qatar, sector will have to transform as well. NU-Q plans Ogilvy & Mather and Al Jazeera English The students shot and edited video stories,
with an increased need for strategic media and to be at the forefront of good sports media by (London), Brookings Institute, and Teneo Blue conducted reporting for feature articles, created
marketing expertise by offering masterclasses in educating journalists on media law and ethics in Rubicon. visual elements, and designed a communications
the areas of media, marketing, and law. the region,” said LaMay. strategy to promote the website.
Before leaving for their residencies, students take
The classes were led by scholars in their respective As NU-Q approaches its 10th year anniversary, five-week courses that strengthen their ability “Our results showed that there has been a
fields: Craig LaMay, NU-Q associate professor; the school continues to provide a rigorous to work under strict deadlines in a newsroom significant amount of progress in the education
Mark Conrad, an associate professor at Fordham academic experience, equip students for an ever- or corporate communications setting. For the sector, but they also shed light on the lingering
University’s Gabelli School of Business; and Candy changing industry, and extend its reach within students enrolled in the Advanced Online obstacles and issues that need to be improved,”
Lee, a Northwestern University professor in the the region. Its operations throughout the year are Storytelling course, this means developing and said NU-Q junior Ghalya Al Thani, who
Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated driven by the demand for continuous growth and designing a website. completed her residency at the New York office
Marketing Communications. improvement in the industry and have resulted of the Permanent Mission of the State of Qatar to
in a confident new generation of leaders at the In preparing for the class, Professor Christina the United Nations.
“Part of Qatar’s sport strategy is to situate itself as forefront of a changing media landscape. Paschyn combs through local news reports to
a major player in global sports governance. The find a topic that becomes the issue students Students interested in working in broadcast news
country realizes that with such decisions—like investigate over the five weeks. The website that environments attended a similar course focused
making beIN Sports one of the largest sports students developed this year addresses concerns on the techniques of electronic news gathering,
media operators or hosting large-scale events surrounding Qatar’s educational system. in-house package production, and reporting.
20 21ACADEMICS AND RESEARCH
RESEARCH
Northwestern University in Qatar continued to Also produced this year was a five-year retro-
build on its research eminence this year. Research spective of the study, providing valuable insight
conducted by the institution, faculty, and students on the media landscape in the Middle East from
are providing valuable insights and data for 2013 to 2018.
future scholarly work.
Another institutional study, “Health Information
NU-Q launched its fifth annual survey of media and Monitoring Among Qatari Adolescents,”
use and public opinion, Media Use in the provided in-depth analysis of how Qatari youth
Middle East 2017, illuminating the evolving acquire health information and monitor their
communication platforms in the region. The own lifestyles using digital platforms. The study
longitudinal study drew from interviews with assessed results from interviews with more than
more than 7,000 subjects residing across 1,100 Qatari teenagers, aged 13–20 years.
seven nations and investigated attitudes and
opinions about issues such as free speech, online Klaus Schoenbach, lead researcher, NU-Q
privacy, bias, and credibility. Its findings were professor, and former senior associate dean,
cited by numerous publications and media collaborated with George Anghelcev, associate
outlets including Fast Company, Radio France professor in residence at NU-Q; Ellen Wartella,
Internationale, Al Jazeera English, Forbes Middle Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Professor
East, and Al-Fanar Media among others. of Communication, professor of psychology
and professor of human development and social
“At a challenging time in the region and around policy at Northwestern University; and Salma
the world, we offer these findings as impartial data Mawfek Khaled, assistant professor and survey
for use in much-needed, considered discussion and researcher at Qatar University’s Social and
understanding of the current media environment,” Economic Survey Research Institute.
said Everette E. Dennis, dean and CEO of NU-Q.
“Our study found that Qatari teens are turning academics from neighboring world-class
to the internet to find solutions, cures, and universities on campus: Virginia Commonwealth
understand symptoms; however, the judgment University in Qatar, Texas A&M University
and skills are often lacking to know how to assess at Qatar, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar,
and deal with the abundance of information they Georgetown University in Qatar, Weill Cornell
come across online,” said Schoenbach. Medicine-Qatar, University College London
Qatar, and Hamad Bin Khalifa University.
Research colloquia and workshops are held
frequently throughout the year at NU-Q to The Annual Research Conference, the Qatar
provide a platform for exchanging ideas and Foundation’s flagship research event built to
equipping faculty with support. Research in the advance the nation’s ambitious research agenda,
topics of digital diplomacy, American gothic also showcased NU-Q student and faculty work
literature, the effects of innovation in Hollywood, in its presentations, poster sessions, and panels.
philosophical arguments for open immigration
policies, political narratives surrounding natural By empowering faculty and students to conduct
disasters, and journalism ethics were presented investigations into their own interests, NU-Q is
on a monthly basis. adding a diverse range of statistical and empirical
data to research in the field. A major pillar of the
Research from the school also contributes school’s mission, research at NU-Q strengthens
to Qatar Foundation’s efforts in the area by its connections to Qatar, empowers the Qatar
participating in the Qatar Faculty Forum, an Foundation’s mission, and continues to carry
Education City wide seminar that convenes Northwestern University’s research mission.
22 23ACADEMICS AND RESEARCH
FACULTY RESEARCH
Individual Faculty Projects: A Selection Qatar National Research Fund: Research Grants
National Priorities Research Program (NPRP)
Media and Communication Issues in Islam
in MENA Countries Media use in the Arab Gulf: Content innovation strategies for mobile media
• 18th century reformism in the Muslim world
• New global media players in the Middle East • West-African Islamic intellectuals Qatar in a changing region in Qatar
• Digital diplomacy in the Arab Gulf • The rhetoric of the Sufi-Salafi controversy LPI: Everette E. Dennis LPI: John Pavlik (Rutgers University)
• Advertising, marketing, and strategic • “Political Islam” PIs: Justin Martin, Klaus Schoenbach PIs: Everette E. Dennis, Rachel Davis Mersey
communication in the Middle East Collaborating Institutions: Doha Film Institute, (NU-E), Justin Gengler (QU)
• Religious broadcasting Al Jazeera Media Network Collaborating Institutions: Northwestern
• Free speech in the Arab world Literature and Writing Studies
Status: Ongoing; February 2018–February 2021 University, Rutgers University, and Qatar
• Arab youth and alternative media • Pedagogy of writing University (SESRI)
• Turkish entertainment media and Arab Total Award: $453,000 (QNRF), $30,000 (DFI)
• Migration and displacement in world literature Status: Ongoing; October 2015–June 2019
audiences • American Great Plains Gothic literature
• Journalists’ use of user-generated content in Total Award: $726,407
Qatari Adolescents: How do they use digital
conflict areas
technologies for health information and health
• Sport media, marketing, and governance in Other Topics
monitoring? Media use in the Arab Gulf:
the Arab Gulf
• Global regulation of speech and press A longitudinal study
• Mobile Media Disruption LPI: Klaus Schoenbach
• Media law in the Middle East
PIs: George Anghelcev, Ellen Wartella (NU-E), LPI: Everette E. Dennis
• Everyday life of political violence in Lebanon
Salma Mawfek Khaled (QU) PIs: Justin Martin
Women, Media, and Communication • History of scientific and medical filmmaking
Collaborating institutions: Northwestern Collaborating Institutions: Doha Film Institute,
in MENA Countries • British imperial history
University-Evanston and Qatar University Al Jazeera Media Network
• Rentierism in the Arab Gulf
• Women’s meetings and the public sphere (SESRI) Status: Completed
• Sociology of migration in the Middle East
• Depiction of women in Gulf media Status: Completed
• Disaster science and technology studies Total Award: $849,601
• Girls’ media culture • Vinyl records as “analog artifacts” Total Award: $268,316
• Museum studies and non-Western curation in
the Arab Gulf
• Conceptualizations of power in understanding National museums and the public imagination:
oppression a longitudinal study of the National Museum
of Qatar
PIs: Jocelyn Mitchell
Submitting Institution: University College
London-Qatar
Status: Ongoing; August 2016–August 2019
Total Award: $17,102
24 25ACADEMICS AND RESEARCH
Undergraduate Research Experience Program (UREP) STUDENT RESEARCH
Hashtag blockade: Exploring the digital Helping oneself by helping who needs:
landscape of the Gulf crisis The discourses and practices of Qatari
foreign aid to developing countries
Primary Faculty Members: Jocelyn Mitchell,
Ibrahim N. Abusharif, Banu Akdenizli Primary Faculty Member: Hasan Mahmud Undergraduate Research Grant (URG)
Status: Beginning Fall 2018 Status: Completed
Bonded labor in Pakistan Archie to Riverdale adaption
Total Award: $30,000 Total Award: $13,483
Ammar Younas, Neha Rashid, and Zaki Hussain Achira Bhattacharyya
Assessing and improving migrant workers’ Cultivating a science-based community
access to and utilization of health information and scientific culture in Qatar Rohingya refugees’ integration into Malaysian
and resources society
Primary Faculty Member: Anto Mohsin
Primary Faculty Members: Susan Dun, Status: Completed Ibtesaam Moosa, Habibah Abass, and Xiran Liu
Amy Sanders
Total Award: $15,000
Status: Ongoing; May 2017–November 2018
Total Award: $29,993 Undergraduate Language Grant Recipients (ULG)
Abdulla Al-Hor (Spain) Hatim Rachdi (Germany)
Internal Scholarly Research Grants Sana Hussain (France)
The Gulf information war and the role of media The politics of legitimacy: Wealth, voice, and
and communication technologies nation in Qatar
NU-Q Entries at Northwestern’s Undergraduate
Ilhem Allagui and Banu Akdenizli Jocelyn Mitchell
Research & Arts Exposition
Chicago music from the 1940s to 2010: Girls talk back: Girls’ media, feminism, and Beyond the crisis: Integration of Rohingya Activism through street artists: A look at Banksy
Southside, Bronzeville, and beyond female youth in the women’s liberation era refugees in Malaysia
Anzish Mirza
Danielle Beverly Kirsten Pike Habibah Abass and Ibtesaam Moosa
Terima Kasih (film)
Caught between nations: Film and the Danish Privacy in the Middle East: Conflicting Support for internet content regulation among
Zaki Hussain and Noof Al-Sulaiti
expeditions to the Gulf states comparative approaches citizens of five MENA countries: Lebanon,
Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and the UAE
Scott Curtis Amy Kristin Sanders
Jueun Choi Kiln (film)
Neha Rashid, Ammar Younas, and Zaki Hussain
Worker health and sport in Qatar Legal protection for sustainable business
models: Could dicta save automated journalism
Susan Dun
Amy Sanders
Love-45 (feature film)
Eyes on the Prize: Revisited
Rana Kazkaz
Marco Williams
Youth generated media, movement in Arab
public life Presence of the Prophet: Eighteenth-century
Islamic renewal and the Muhammadan way of
Joe Khalil
Ahmad al-Tijani
Zachary Wright
26 27ACADEMICS AND RESEARCH
FACULTY APPOINTMENTS
New members of NU-Q’s leadership and faculty Before entering academe, he served as editor- James Hodapp
include a new senior associate dean, a director of in-chief of Venezuela’s Diario La Verdad,
James Hodapp was named assistant professor in Along with four years teaching experience in the
executive and graduate education, a new director and freelance writer/stringer for several
residence and will teach English literature and Middle East, his experience includes teaching
of the program in communication, and an addi- news organizations such as the United Press
courses in the first-year writing program. high school English in Hong Kong and serving as
tional liberal arts faculty member. International, Miami’s El Diario, and others in
a Peace Corps volunteer and English teacher in
Venezuela, Peru, and Colombia. Hodapp joins NU-Q from the American Lithuania.
Hariclea Zengos University in Beirut, where he served as assistant
Lugo-Ocando received his PhD from the
In April, Hariclea Zengos was appointed senior professor of English since 2014. He has also Hodapp has a PhD in English from the University
University of Sussex and an MA from Lancaster
associate dean, a role which focuses on NU-Q’s taught at the University of Maryland, Harold of Maryland, an MA in humanities from the
University in media studies and international
academic excellence and institutional improve- Washington College, and Wilbur Wright College. University of Chicago, and a bachelor’s degree
relations.
ment. Zengos succeeds Klaus Schoenbach, who in literature from American University in
now serves as distinguished adjunct professor to Washington, D.C.
Gregory Ferrell Lowe
the University.
Media management expert Gregory Ferrell Lowe
Zengos joined NU-Q in August 2017 from the was named professor of communication and
American College of Greece, where she served director of the Communication Program this year.
as associate dean for academic affairs in the
Office of the Provost. She previously served as Lowe taught at the University of Tampere in
associate dean in the School of Liberal Arts and Finland since 2008 and at George Washington
Sciences and the director of the English Language University. He has held visiting appointments
program and department head for English and at the Vienna University of Applied Sciences,
Modern Languages at the College. Jönköping International Business School, Texas
Tech University, The University of Texas at Austin,
Zengos holds a PhD in English from Tufts Tallinn University in Estonia, and the University
University and an MA in English from Clark of Westminster in London.
University. She also earned an MEd at Harvard
University’s Graduate School of Education, where For more than a decade he acted as senior
she studied higher education administration, and advisor for corporate strategy and development
has a BA in English from the American College at Yle Finland. His other industry service
in Greece. Prior to her appointments in Athens, includes that of president of the European Media
she was a lecturer in English at Clark University Management Association, continuity director of
in Worcester, Massachusetts, and also taught RIPE International Initiative for Public Service
English composition at Tufts while completing Development in Media, and deputy chairman of
her doctorate there. the World Media Economics and Management
Conference.
Jairo Lugo-Ocando His educational background includes a PhD
Jairo Lugo-Ocando was named director of exec- in Radio Television Film from The University
utive and graduate education and professor. He of Texas, Austin, and a master’s in mass
will oversee the conceptualization, development, communication from The Ohio State University,
and execution of executive and graduate educa- while his undergraduate degree in radio/television
tion programs at NU-Q. is from Abilene Christian University.
Lugo-Ocando was a tenured associate professor
at the School of Media and Communication
at the University of Leeds and has held
appointments as a lecturer in journalism at the
University of Sheffield and as head of the MA
Global Journalism program.
28 29STUDENT LIFE
STUDENT LIFE
STUDENT LIFE
PUSHING BOUNDARIES
THROUGH FILM
Studio 20Q is one of several student clubs at
NU-Q—and is also one of the most popular.
Members of the club host and participate in
frequent workshops, training sessions, and
networking events throughout the year.
While the club contributes to the growing film
culture in Doha, its main focus is to provide
funding and general support to students interested
in producing their own films. Whether they are
creating short narratives, documentaries, music
videos, animation, or experimental films, for most
of the students it’s their first opportunity to have
an immersive filmmaking experience outside the
classroom.
Using the grant provided at the beginning of
the year, the students bring their ideas to life
by shooting, editing, and producing the films
throughout the course of the year. At the end
of the Spring semester, they host a red carpet
‘premiere’ event showcasing their work.
This year five student films that explored identity,
mental illness, friendship, tradition, and the urgent
In addition to academia and research, student in Qatar’s local film culture, and regularly hosts need for societal change were screened at the event.
life on Northwestern’s Doha campus is vibrant workshops, training sessions, and networking
and alive through clubs, athletic teams, student events with local filmmakers. Members this year Where Are You Right Meow? is the first animated
housing, and international trips. learned how to submit grant applications, refine film to have been funded by Studio 20Q. In the
pitch strategies, how to work on a film set, and style of Japanese hand-drawn images, the story
Life for students at NU-Q begins with orientation, how to distribute films to festivals. explores the concept of what it means to be home.
where several Northwestern traditions are Terima Kasih follows a single mother and a schizo-
incorporated—including the “March Through “Studio 20Q is an allover good learning experience phrenic daughter in their household for a day and
the Arch”—on the Doha campus. In Qatar, because it supports meaningful ideas, engages exposes the realities of living with someone who
students, faculty, and staff line a passageway of with industry leaders, and allows students to build suffers with from a mental illness and the chal-
the building and welcome the freshman class with something from the ground up,” said Mariam lenges involved. 426 explores friendship through
cheers, whistles, and horns as they begin their Al-Dhubhani, board president of the club. The club the bond between two prisoners from different
undergraduate experience. offers competitive filmmaking grants to films that backgrounds, within the walls of their cells. Desert
present new ideas, represent overlooked causes, Bounty, a period piece set in the Arabian Peninsula
At the start of each year, all NU-Q students or tackle a new medium of storytelling. This year, in the early 20th century, centers on a father and
consider which of the student clubs they will join. eight films on the topics of mental illness, political daughter who have a mysterious encounter that
The clubs vary from music to debate, narrative violence, and cultural history were funded. leads to unexpected consequences. Finally, The Rat
writing to filmmaking. All are focused on Child confronts stigmas of physical disabilities and
providing students with the opportunity to apply Another popular club on campus is The Daily poverty through the tropes of Pakistani folklore.
what they are learning in the classroom to real-life Q, a student-run digital publication that covers
situations, as well as developing students’ social NU-Q and Education City through news stories, Studio 20Q produced-films have received
and emotional intelligence. features, op-eds, videos, photo slideshows, and national and international recognition through
social media content. Student writers and editors an international film festival, being broadcast on
One of the clubs—Studio 20Q—is one of the explore their interests and test their skills in a Al Jazeera, and being nominated for a Student
most popular. Studio 20Q provides its members realistic news setting, preparing them for fast- Academy Award.
with opportunities for filmmaking and immersion paced news environments.
32 33You can also read
