Saif Shahin, PH.D.

Profile:

My research looks at the interplay of race and coloniality in mediated discourses and how they shape social phenomena ranging from technological change to global power politics. My recent work examines the production of racialized identities on online social networks such as Twitter. I also study how techno-euphoric discourses enable social control and legitimize hegemonic practices such as mass surveillance. I use qualitative, quantitative, and algorithmic or “big data” methods, including machine learning and social network analysis. I lead the Algorithms, Big Data, and Culture research group (abdconline.wordpress.com), where I work with graduate students on collaborative projects.

I have published articles in refereed journals such as Information, Communication & Society; The International Journal of Press/Politics; Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism; Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly; and Communication Methods and Measures. My JMCQ article was nominated among the Top Five Finalists for the journal’s 2016 Outstanding Research Article of the Year Award. I earlier worked as a journalist in India, England, and the Middle East, and continue to contribute news analyses and commentaries to publications worldwide.

Education:
Ph.D. in Journalism, University of Texas at Austin
M.Phil. in West Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India
M.A. in Online Journalism, University of Central Lancashire, UK
B.A. in Journalism, University of Delhi, India

Courses Taught:

Emerging Platforms, Emerging Journalism
Online Journalism
Multimedia Reporting Skills

Vitae in PDF

Select Representative Works:

Shahin, S. (2017). Facing up to Facebook: How digital activism, independent regulation, and mass media foiled a neoliberal threat to net neutrality. Information, Communication & Society. http://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2017.1340494

Shahin, S. (2017). Analysis of messy data. In J. Matthes (Eds.), International encyclopedia of communication research methods, (1-8). London: Wiley.

Smidi, A. & Shahin, S. (2017). Social media and social mobilization in the Middle East: A survey of research on the Arab Spring. India Quarterly, 73(2), 196-209. http://doi.org/10.1177/0974928417700798