| Feature Interview with ICD Member: Smeeta Mishra, Secretary
Get to know your fellow colleagues. ICD Members share their thoughts on their involvement in the organization and international communication. If you are interested in being a featured ICD member for the website, email aejmciicd@aejmcicd.org.
How long have you been a member of ICD? How long have you served in a chair capacity of ICD?
I have been a member since 2003. I am the secretary this year; but I hope to get more involved with the Division soon.
What aspects of international communication interest you the most?
I study media coverage of the Middle East. My areas of interest include feminist criticism and postcolonial discourses. Mediated representations of women, especially those of women in the Middle East and South Asia, fascinate me as a researcher.
What are your current research projects and pursuits?
I am studying perceptions of the hijab (head cover; modest clothing) and niqab (face veil) among American Muslims with Dr. Faegheh S. Shirazi, associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin. And I am working on a project that will combine real-life ethnography with cyberethnography with Dr. Radhika Gajjala, associate professor at Bowling Green State University. I am also in the process of getting my dissertation-related studies published. My dissertation analyzes media representations of Islam and democracy.
What international communication resources do you use that you would like to share with ICD members?
I use JSTOR and EBSCO a lot; these electronic databases give me access to many international journals. I also visit websites of international newspapers and magazines. Many have their own archives that can be used for research purposes. I also subscribe to online lists that have international researchers on them. But I must say that we need more access to journals published in the non-Western world.
What five trends do you see occurring in international communication scholarship today?
1) The non-Western world has become a site for theory building.
2) We are crossing borders. We are recognizing the value of interdisciplinary research.
3) We are not just examining mediated content; we are also noting who speaks, in which language, to whom, who listens, and what is not being said.
4) We are exploring the importance of online content and interaction.
5) We are not just analyzing the silencing of the Other; we are also recognizing multiple forms of resistance and assertion of agency.
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