I am an Associate Professor of Global Communication at Kent State University. Before joining Kent State, I worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the School of Journalism and Communication at the University of Oregon.

I graduated with a Bachelor of Education in English from Dilla College of Teacher Education and Health Sciences in 2004 and earned a Master of Arts in Journalism and Communication from Addis Ababa University in 2007, both in my native Ethiopia. In 2014, I earned my doctoral degree in Media Studies with a concentration in global communication from the University of Oregon. At the University of Oregon, I taught several courses such as Media & Society, World Documentary, Development Communication and Social Change, The Arab World, Media & the West, Media, Globalization and Social Justice (School of Journalism & Communication), New Media & Global Activism, Sub-Saharan Africa Development and Social Change (Department of International Studies), and Lenses of Africa (African Studies Program). I taught courses such as International Communication, Communication Research Methods, Communication Theories, Intercultural Communication, Travel & Transmedia Storytelling, Media, Food, and Foodways since joining Kent State University in August 2016. I also several graduate seminars in different occasions, including Theories of Communication, Intercultural and International Communication, Communication in a Global Society, and Foundations of Communication & Information Inquiry.

My research agenda broadly looks at global media flows and the role of transnational media industries in the production, distribution and consumption of communication resources through critical political economy and postcolonial approaches. Specifically, my research has examined historical and contemporary tenets of state-media relations in Ethiopia and amongst the Ethiopian diaspora from policymaking, legislative, and regulatory standpoints. My most recent studies have interrogated culinary adventure reality television shows and the portrayal of African destinations and foodways. My articles have appeared on reputable peer-reviewed journals with interdisciplinary foci including The International Journal of Communication, Communication, Culture & Critique, Journalism Studies, and Review of African Political Economy, Information, Communication & Society, Media, Culture, & Society. I published several book chapters and co-edited a book under the title Counter-Terrorism Laws and Freedom of Expression: Global Perspectives (Rowman & Littlefield). The book examines how global counter-terrorism laws have conditioned communication patterns, especially as it pertains to individual and institutional political speech. Amidst an alarming retreat of the democratic order, the book offers a critical insight into how counter-terrorism laws have curtailed freedom of expression in various facets of mediated communication involving journalism practice, digital citizenship, privacy, surveillance as well as online activism.

In my spare time, I like to make t-shirt graphics, bake, and read about medieval Ethiopia. I love mountains, spicy food, and Tuareg music. If the life of academia is going to be gracious to me, I aspire to learn woodwork design and children book illustration.

Click here to view my faculty page at Kent State University and here to view my curriculum vitae.