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 * Highlights
 * Academics
 * Research
 * Student Life


A YEAR IN
REVIEW


NORTHWESTERN QATAR 2020-21 ANNUAL REPORT




HIGHLIGHTS


 * Highlights
 * Section 1
   A Year of Growth and Discovery with Dean Kraidy
 * Section 2
   A Forum for Global Learning and Intellectual Conversations
 * Section 3
   Hiwar Speaker Series
 * Section 4
   Foreign Policy/Buffett Institute Seminar on Fake News
 * Section 5
   Award-Winning Omani Author: Liberation Is Part of Literature


A YEAR OF GROWTH AND DISCOVERY WITH DEAN KRAIDY

With a focus on deepening and broadening scholarly research while also
empowering students to be more involved in knowledge production and intellectual
debates about pressing issues from the Global South, Northwestern Qatar’s Dean
Marwan M. Kraidy said he hopes Northwestern Qatar will be a “more contextually
resonant and impactful institution.”

On July 1, 2020, Dean Kraidy began his appointment at Northwestern Qatar, tasked
with the challenging role of leading an academic institution through a global
pandemic. Dean Kraidy focused on building and enhancing connections within the
community and identifying areas for future growth and development for the
institution.

Throughout the year, students, faculty, and staff met with Dean Kraidy to hear
about schoolwide updates and developments, discuss challenges, and work
collectively to enhance the education and research opportunities for students
and faculty.

Dean Kraidy also appointed new academic leaders for Northwestern Qatar. Kathleen
Hewett-Smith was named senior associate dean and chief academic officer, and
Sami Hermez was appointed director of the Liberal Arts Program. Full-time
faculty appointments were also made for Professors Dana Atrach, João Queiroga,
and Marcela Pizarro.

On his research agenda, Dean Kraidy emphasized three central components: using
Qatar-based research as a prism on global affairs, fostering a culture of
interdisciplinarity, and ensuring that faculty grants and fellowships focus on
original contributions to knowledge and are only the beginning of “active and
engaged scholarship.”

Determined to uphold the school’s commitment to academic excellence and provide
students with access to a world of information and know-how despite the
disruptions of the pandemic, Dean Kraidy encouraged the community to look past
“how new and unprecedented” the year was and, instead, take advantage of the
positive aspects of changes that came because of the pandemic.

One of these advantages, he noted, was the expansion of virtual meetings, which
enabled a greater number of speakers to address the community, including
professor and authority on colonialism and slavery Eve Troutt Powell as the
inaugural speaker at the Dean’s Global Forum; Turkish writer and political
columnist Ece Temelkuran at the inaugural Hiwar Speaker Series; and Omani author
Jokha Alharthri, whose book Celestial Bodies was selected as this year’s One
Book.

With all the uncertainty that the pandemic brought, Kraidy noted one certainty
that has been affirmed: “Young people should consider careers in journalism and
communication now more than ever because they have unprecedented opportunities
to make positive and enduring contributions to the well-being of their
societies.”

“Young people should consider careers in journalism and communication now more
than ever because they have unprecedented opportunities to make positive and
enduring contributions to the well-being of their societies.”

Marwan M. Kraidy
Dean and CEO
Northwestern University in Qatar
 * Highlights
 * Section 1
   A Year of Growth and Discovery with Dean Kraidy
 * Section 2
   A Forum for Global Learning and Intellectual Conversations
 * Section 3
   Hiwar Speaker Series
 * Section 4
   Foreign Policy/Buffett Institute Seminar on Fake News
 * Section 5
   Award-Winning Omani Author: Liberation Is Part of Literature


A FORUM FOR GLOBAL LEARNING AND INTELLECTUAL CONVERSATIONS

A lecture series inaugurated this year was the Dean’s Global Forum, which will
feature leaders from academe, media, the arts, and public affairs in
conversation with the school’s dean, Marwan M. Kraidy. Speakers chosen will have
a deep understanding of enduring issues and pressing global matters—particularly
from the Global South—that includes history and race, climate change and public
policy, and current affairs.

“With a focus on the Global South, this initiative aligns with our mission to
promote interdisciplinary discussions on important topics and big ideas that are
shaping the narrative and future of the world today,” said Kraidy. “While, at
the same time, we will delve into how our speakers arrived at where they are
today—who and what influenced their career decisions?”

The inaugural lecture featured Eve Troutt Powell, an authority on colonialism
and slavery in the Ottoman Empire and the Nile Valley, who discussed “Race in
the Middle East and North Africa: From the Ottoman Empire to Black Lives
Matter.”

Troutt Powell discussed the historical relationship between slavery,
colonialism, and racism in the Arab world and its legacy today, focusing on the
prejudices and stereotypes that Black Arabs in the Middle East and North Africa
experienced as a result of the legacy of the region’s multicultural, multiethnic
slave trade during the Ottoman Empire in Egypt, Sudan, the Caucasus, and Western
Europe.

Troutt Powell pointed out that, while Arabs have historically associated
anti-Black racism, colonialism, and slavery with the Atlantic slave trade
experience, often dismissing them as issues in the West, the cultural impact of
the slave trade, she said, “continues to affect the lived experience of Black
Arabs in the Middle East today.”

She also noted the role that popular and mainstream media in the Middle East
continue to play in shaping the understanding of race and racism and warned
against the off-screen consequences of misrepresenting Black people in the
media.


 * Highlights
 * Section 1
   A Year of Growth and Discovery with Dean Kraidy
 * Section 2
   A Forum for Global Learning and Intellectual Conversations
 * Section 3
   Hiwar Speaker Series
 * Section 4
   Foreign Policy/Buffett Institute Seminar on Fake News
 * Section 5
   Award-Winning Omani Author: Liberation Is Part of Literature


HIWAR SPEAKER SERIES

From media consumption habits to the perceived trajectory of freedoms in the
world, a lot has changed—and continues to change—since Northwestern Qatar was
established in 2008. When Dean Kraidy assumed the stewardship of Northwestern
Qatar in 2020, a year defined by the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and the
shadow of global politics and activism, interest in a platform that amplifies
diverse perspectives and practical solutions to humanity’s challenges grew among
faculty, staff, and students.



To build a better understanding of these issues, Northwestern Qatar launched the
Hiwar Speaker Series, a platform for the Northwestern Qatar community to engage
directly with academics, global experts, and thought leaders and to explore and
wrestle with topics related to pressing global challenges.

Northwestern Qatar hosted award-winning Turkish novelist and political
commentator Ece Temelkuran as the inaugural Hiwar speaker in a conversation with
Professor Banu Akdenizli on authoritarianism and the future of democracy.
Temelkuran, whose journalism has appeared in The Guardian, The New York Times,
New Statesman, Frankfurter Allgemeine, and Der Spiegel, highlighted the common
global patterns of right-wing populist movements and shared insights from her
award-winning book—How to Lose a Country: The 7 Steps from Democracy to
Dictatorship—on the process of rebuilding democracy through determination.



When asked about the emotional toll of living under authoritarianism, Temelkuran
said, “What I have noticed in the last several years ... it’s not that we don’t
have anger enough ... it’s not that we don’t have real reasons to act against
authoritarian regimes ... and it’s not the fact we are afraid of something; it
is that we don’t have faith to change the world anymore.”

In the second Hiwar session, speakers Winston Mano and viola c. milton, editors
of the Routledge Handbook of African Media and Communication Studies, made a
case to reclaim the continent’s indigenous voices in academia. They explained
how legacy colonial forces continue to shape academic curricula in postcolonial
Africa and called for an Africa-centric approach to media and communication
scholarship.

“What I have noticed in the last several years… it’s not that we don’t have
anger enough… it’s not that we don’t have real reasons to act against
authoritarian regimes… and it’s not the fact we are afraid of something; it is
that we don’t have faith to change the world anymore.”

Ece Temelkuran
Journalist, Novelist, and Political Commentator
Hiwar Inaugural Speaker
 * Highlights
 * Section 1
   A Year of Growth and Discovery with Dean Kraidy
 * Section 2
   A Forum for Global Learning and Intellectual Conversations
 * Section 3
   Hiwar Speaker Series
 * Section 4
   Foreign Policy/Buffett Institute Seminar on Fake News
 * Section 5
   Award-Winning Omani Author: Liberation Is Part of Literature


FOREIGN POLICY/BUFFETT INSTITUTE SEMINAR ON FAKE NEWS

In times when the internet has made access to information virtually unlimited,
the rapid proliferation of misinformation and fake news in social media has been
a concern not only for social media users and tech companies but also for
politicians, policymakers, and academics around the world.



Northwestern Qatar Dean Marwan M. Kraidy joined Northwestern Buffett Executive
Director, Annelise Riles, along with leaders from government, industry, and
academia, including European Commission Vice-President of Transparency and
Values, Věra Jourová; Facebook’s Head of Misinformation Policy, Justine Isola;
and Stopfake.org Co-founder Olga Yurkova in a conversation on the future of
information, free speech, and governance of our digital public spheres.

The virtual dialogue session—“How to Stop Fake News”—was hosted by Northwestern
University’s Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Foreign Policy magazine
and addressed the impact of misinformation on politics and society around the
world and solutions to mitigate the spread of fake news.

Dean Kraidy, who shared insights on the issue of misinformation from the Global
South, also explained how actors in the region have weaponized emotions and
negative content to spread misinformation, highlighting the significance of
understanding the emotional and social contexts and the need for solutions that
“are broader than just the classroom or the seminar.”

The panel discussion was one of Foreign Policy magazine’s most widely attended
virtual events produced, with attendees from more than 40 countries, 31
universities, and 1,230 organizations worldwide.


 * Highlights
 * Section 1
   A Year of Growth and Discovery with Dean Kraidy
 * Section 2
   A Forum for Global Learning and Intellectual Conversations
 * Section 3
   Hiwar Speaker Series
 * Section 4
   Foreign Policy/Buffett Institute Seminar on Fake News
 * Section 5
   Award-Winning Omani Author: Liberation Is Part of Literature


AWARD-WINNING OMANI AUTHOR: LIBERATION IS PART OF LITERATURE

The Northwestern Qatar community came together to hear from Jokha Alharthi,
author of the award-winning novel Celestial Bodies, which was Northwestern
Qatar’s One Book selection this year. Alharthi’s novel tells the story of three
generations of an Omani family over a century and illustrates how Oman has
changed and developed from a traditional society in the late 19th century into
an oil-rich modern country that is multicultural and diverse.

Jokha Alharthi

Alharthi said she wrote the novel “to celebrate Omani culture” and to “break
stereotypes about women in the Gulf region.” She was able to do this through her
writing, she said, because literature invites readers to engage in conversations
and ideas that are thought-provoking and new through the voices and experiences
of imagined characters who are inspired by reality.

The prevalent themes of liberation and freedom expressed throughout the book,
she added, are inspired by experiences she read about and witnessed throughout
her life. “Freedom is not just one notion—it doesn’t have a universal
definition. I enjoy observing how people respond to it—it is an essential pillar
in society, especially one that is trying to be modern, but still trying to
maintain its own traditions and culture, which is not a very easy task to do.”



Alharthi’s novel received critical praise and recognition but was also
criticized for its liberal approach to controversial topics in Omani culture,
particularly on social media. “I had to learn to detach myself from negative
opinions of my work,” she said. “Freedom in writing is very important to me—I
would never be true to my story or write about something I believe in without
learning to let go. It is very important to be brave when it comes to writing
... and to be open to criticism.”

Celestial Bodies was translated to English by Marilyn Booth. In 2019, it became
the first novel written in Arabic to be awarded the Man Booker International
Prize. Alharthi has published 10 books, including novels, short stories,
children’s books, and academic studies. She is an associate professor at Sultan
Qaboos University in Muscat, Oman.


ACADEMICS


 * Academics
 * Section 1
   New Academic Leaders
 * Section 2
   An Epitome of Academic Resilience—Learning and Creativity during COVID-19
 * Section 3
   Rana Kazkaz—Buffett Visiting Professor
 * Section 4
   Dean Kraidy Joins Panel on Arab Spring—Middle East Center at the University
   of Pennsylvania
 * Section 5
   Students Find New Creative Outlets
 * Section 6
   Faculty Documentary at Hot Docs
 * Section 7
   Northwestern Qatar Graduates First MA Student


NEW ACADEMIC LEADERS

Northwestern Qatar Dean Marwan M. Kraidy announced the appointment of Kathleen
Hewett-Smith as senior associate dean and chief academic officer and Sami Hermez
as director of the Liberal Arts Program.

Kathleen Hewett-Smith

As the senior associate dean and chief academic officer, Hewett-Smith has a
broad purview over all academic facets of Northwestern Qatar and coordinates
collaboration efforts with other universities in Education City while also
serving as a key liaison with Northwestern University’s Evanston campus.

An internationalist and institution builder, Hewett-Smith has had several
leadership roles in higher education, including associate director and dean at
the Institute for International Liberal Education at Bard College; dean of arts,
humanities, and social sciences at the Asian University for Women in Chittagong,
Bangladesh; and head of the department of English at the American University of
Sharjah in the UAE. She began her career as a faculty member in the department
of English at the University of Richmond.

A scholar of the history of international education and of the politics and
aesthetics of the postcolonial novel, Hewett-Smith received her MA and PhD in
English from the University of California, Irvine, and her BA in English from
the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Sami Hermez

Prior to joining Northwestern Qatar, where he has served as a professor of
anthropology, Hermez was a visiting scholar in the department of anthropology at
Harvard University, visiting professor of contemporary international issues at
the University of Pittsburgh, visiting professor of anthropology at Mount
Holyoke College, and postdoctoral fellow at the Centre for Lebanese Studies, St.
Antony’s College, University of Oxford. His book, War Is Coming: Between Past
and Future Violence in Lebanon, published in 2017 with University of
Pennsylvania Press, focuses on the everyday life of political violence in
Lebanon and how people come to recollect and anticipate this violence.

A scholar of political violence, social movements, the state, memory, security,
and human rights in the Arab World, Hermez obtained his doctorate from the
department of anthropology at Princeton University.


 * Academics
 * Section 1
   New Academic Leaders
 * Section 2
   An Epitome of Academic Resilience—Learning and Creativity during COVID-19
 * Section 3
   Rana Kazkaz—Buffett Visiting Professor
 * Section 4
   Dean Kraidy Joins Panel on Arab Spring—Middle East Center at the University
   of Pennsylvania
 * Section 5
   Students Find New Creative Outlets
 * Section 6
   Faculty Documentary at Hot Docs
 * Section 7
   Northwestern Qatar Graduates First MA Student


AN EPITOME OF ACADEMIC RESILIENCE—LEARNING AND CREATIVITY DURING COVID-19

In a year unlike any other, Northwestern University in Qatar had to work quickly
and creatively to respond to the restrictions and challenges of the COVID-19
pandemic.

Virtual learning spaces and online gatherings enabled students, faculty, and
staff to connect while working or studying from home. Northwestern Qatar
students showed resiliency by adjusting to the change swiftly and continuing to
produce extraordinary work.

Despite the setbacks, faculty research also continued with new books, chapters,
and articles published on topics that include The Tijaniyaa in North Africa,
media pluralism and democracy in Latin America, the effect of sports campaigns
on migrant workers in Qatar, and the public opinion on U.S. foreign policy in
Turkey. Films about the Syrian civil war and the brutal reality of diamond
mining in Africa, produced by Northwestern Qatar faculty, were also selected for
screening and awards at top international film festivals.

New student research projects, including a class project that involved the
updating and drafting of new Wikipedia entries on social, cultural, and
political topics related to the Global South, were activated. Northwestern Qatar
Professor Banu Akdenizli teaches the course and said that the project is “an
attempt to decolonize Wikipedia” by contributing content on regions that have
historically suffered from a lack of representation in academia, media, and the
online world.

The pandemic was also a source of inspiration to some faculty, including
Professors Spencer Striker and Anto Mohsin, who received grants to produce a
mobile game that explores contact tracing and how diseases spread, as well as
Professor Hasan Mahmud, who is looking into the impact of COVID-19 on
front-liners in Qatar.

Students were also quick to find ways to cultivate artistic engagement,
producing multiple podcasts: Decoding Qatar to promote life and tourism in
Qatar; Qatar in Quotes to feature inspirational stories from successful
entrepreneurs and influencers; and The Science Journal to zero-in on topics at
the crux of science and journalism. Students also published their first-ever
online literary journal—Wisteria—that will publish the students writing in
poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and art.

Several student clubs also took their events online, hosting an array of virtual
discussions and lectures on topics that included the aftermath of the Beirut
explosion, the impact of occupation on education in Palestine, and the
significance of researching African history.


 * Academics
 * Section 1
   New Academic Leaders
 * Section 2
   An Epitome of Academic Resilience—Learning and Creativity during COVID-19
 * Section 3
   Rana Kazkaz—Buffett Visiting Professor
 * Section 4
   Dean Kraidy Joins Panel on Arab Spring—Middle East Center at the University
   of Pennsylvania
 * Section 5
   Students Find New Creative Outlets
 * Section 6
   Faculty Documentary at Hot Docs
 * Section 7
   Northwestern Qatar Graduates First MA Student


RANA KAZKAZ—BUFFETT VISITING PROFESSOR

Northwestern Qatar Professor Rana Kazkaz was named the Roberta Buffett Visiting
Professor of International Studies in the Program of Middle Eastern and North
African Studies for the fall 2021 quarter.

Rana Kazkaz

Kazkaz’s appointment to this prestigious professorship enhances Northwestern
Qatar’s growing collaboration with the Northwestern Buffett Institute for Global
Affairs and highlights the value of Northwestern Qatar faculty’s contributions
to quality teaching and knowledge production—both in Qatar and beyond.

Throughout her career, Kazkaz has produced several award-winning films focusing
on the impact of conflicts in Syria and the Middle East, including Mare Nostrum
(2016), which was featured in over 90 international film festivals and won more
than 30 global awards.

“Kazkaz’s groundbreaking work as a filmmaker and storyteller is the perfect
catalyst for interdisciplinary dialogue and collaboration across the
university,” said Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences Dean Adrian Randolph.
“Both students and faculty alike will have so much to gain from her presence on
campus this fall.”

“The appointment of an NU-Q professor to this prestigious professorship
underscores the distinctive quality of NU-Q faculty and their important
contributions to the Northwestern universe beyond Doha,” said Marwan M. Kraidy,
dean and CEO at Northwestern Qatar.

“Kazkaz’s groundbreaking work as a filmmaker and storyteller is the perfect
catalyst for interdisciplinary dialogue and collaboration across the university.
Both students and faculty alike will have so much to gain from her presence on
campus this fall.”

Adrian Randolph
Dean, Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences
Northwestern University
 * Academics
 * Section 1
   New Academic Leaders
 * Section 2
   An Epitome of Academic Resilience—Learning and Creativity during COVID-19
 * Section 3
   Rana Kazkaz—Buffett Visiting Professor
 * Section 4
   Dean Kraidy Joins Panel on Arab Spring—Middle East Center at the University
   of Pennsylvania
 * Section 5
   Students Find New Creative Outlets
 * Section 6
   Faculty Documentary at Hot Docs
 * Section 7
   Northwestern Qatar Graduates First MA Student


DEAN KRAIDY JOINS PANEL ON ARAB SPRING—MIDDLE EAST CENTER AT THE UNIVERSITY OF
PENNSYLVANIA

Ten years since the initial outbreak of the mass popular uprisings in the Arab
world, a lot seems to have changed in the geopolitical map, and global debates
about the future of media and technology in the region continue to draw the
attention of scholars, activists, and journalists.

To reflect on the legacy of the Arab Spring and the current state of the region,
Dean Kraidy joined “The Arab Spring: Ten Years Later,” a webinar hosted by the
Middle East Center at the University of Pennsylvania, featuring Bahraini human
rights activist Maryam al-Khawaja, Egyptian journalist Lina Attalah, political
analyst Marwan Bishara, and Tunisian activist Jawhara Tiss on the panel.



Kraidy, who highlighted research on revolutions in world history, noted that
closer examination of the far-reaching transformations that the region witnessed
over the past 10 years reveals that the Arab Spring is far from over, arguing
that a decade is a “blip in the deep time of revolutions.”

He added, however, that while the Arab Spring may not be over, he concurred with
the other panelists that the future of change and the region’s political
stability is dependent on the outcomes of the Abraham Accords and Gulf
reconciliation.


 * Academics
 * Section 1
   New Academic Leaders
 * Section 2
   An Epitome of Academic Resilience—Learning and Creativity during COVID-19
 * Section 3
   Rana Kazkaz—Buffett Visiting Professor
 * Section 4
   Dean Kraidy Joins Panel on Arab Spring—Middle East Center at the University
   of Pennsylvania
 * Section 5
   Students Find New Creative Outlets
 * Section 6
   Faculty Documentary at Hot Docs
 * Section 7
   Northwestern Qatar Graduates First MA Student


STUDENTS FIND NEW CREATIVE OUTLETS

Throughout the year, Northwestern Qatar students worked actively to promote
creative thought and explore new forms of media, including podcasts and digital
publications.

Decoding Qatar, a podcast series produced by students, highlights the country’s
history, culture, language, tourist attractions, entertainment, and employment
and investment opportunities through interviews with residents in Qatar.

Students Marielle Aguelo Cortel, Xiruo Chen, and Rui Xin Oh had received a grant
from Northwestern University’s Office of Undergraduate Research to develop a
multimedia project on life in Qatar, focusing on residents and nationals’
perceptions of the country’s newfound wealth and rapid urban and social
development. Their initial plan was to create a documentary, but COVID-19
restrictions forced them to find alternative mediums to bring their stories to
life. While working remotely from China, Singapore, and Qatar, they decided the
best platform would be a podcast format coupled with animated visual elements.

“Qatar is a small country with a big ambition,” said João Queiroga, assistant
professor and advisor on the project. “Over the past two decades, it transformed
from a quiet, relatively unknown country, to one in a position of power in
international sports, education, and politics. Despite it being a cosmopolitan
and modern place to live, many people remain unaware of what it is actually like
to live here—our goal is to give its residents control of the narrative about
life in Doha.”

The pandemic also highlighted the need for trustworthy media coverage about
scientific issues as reports of unreliable and inaccurate scientific information
continued to surface. To address that concern, a group of Northwestern Qatar
students launched The Science Journal, a student-produced podcast to communicate
reliable information on various scientific topics and combat the “infodemic” of
false claims and inaccurate data around the COVID-19 pandemic.

Podcast producer Elissa Mefleh is one of five Northwestern Qatar students who
work under Professor Anto Mohsin’s mentorship to produce the podcast in its
various stages—from research and scriptwriting to production and publishing.

As skilled content creators and aspiring journalists, the team is capitalizing
on the global reach of new media to “democratize science” and make reliable
scientific knowledge easily communicated to audiences around the globe.

A digital literary journal, Wisteria, which publishes student writing in poetry,
fiction, creative nonfiction, and art also went online during the pandemic. A
group of students—working with Northwestern Qatar Professor Sam
Meekings—produced the online publication to promote the creativity and diversity
of the school’s student body.

According to Meekings, the project “promotes communication, connection,
creativity, and community. The journal is a celebration of our creative voices,”
he said, “which are particularly important right now as so many of these poems,
stories, and artwork highlight ways of finding strength and perseverance during
difficult times. I really believe that creative work has the ability to bring a
community together in conversation and discovery.”

The students plan to publish the magazine each semester. The pieces in the first
edition were written under the theme Silver Linings and Stormy Clouds—which
Meekings said was selected for its “relevance to the time we are living in, a
world swept by a global pandemic and uncertainty.”

“Sometimes it is during our darkest days that we produce some of our best work,”
Salma Al Delaimi, a submission manager on the project noted, adding that the
theme for this edition “showcases polarity and gives participants a chance to
share their stories and experiences during this turbulent time.”


 * Academics
 * Section 1
   New Academic Leaders
 * Section 2
   An Epitome of Academic Resilience—Learning and Creativity during COVID-19
 * Section 3
   Rana Kazkaz—Buffett Visiting Professor
 * Section 4
   Dean Kraidy Joins Panel on Arab Spring—Middle East Center at the University
   of Pennsylvania
 * Section 5
   Students Find New Creative Outlets
 * Section 6
   Faculty Documentary at Hot Docs
 * Section 7
   Northwestern Qatar Graduates First MA Student


FACULTY DOCUMENTARY AT HOT DOCS

A new documentary film about the grim reality of slavery and the diamond
industry in Africa, directed by Northwestern Qatar Professor João Queiroga, had
its world premiere at the Hot Docs International Documentary Festival in
Toronto.

João Queiroga

The film—Digging for Life—tells the true story of Adiang Assuoe Thomas Germain
(Tommy), who leaves his home in Cameroon for post-apartheid South Africa, hoping
to start a new chapter of his life but finds himself trapped as a slave digging
for diamonds in Angola.



Hot Docs International Documentary Festival is the largest documentary festival
in North America. Digging for Life premiered at the festival on April 29, 2021.
Queiroga and Germain, who produced and acted in the film, hope that by sharing
this story, they will give a voice to the many who remain enslaved and
invisible.

“As a filmmaker, it was particularly important to me to work collaboratively
with Tommy, to allow him to take ownership of his story and inherent film
depiction,” Queiroga said. “We combined my technical ability with his genuine
and authentic desire to share his story with the world to create a film that can
create actions, advocate ideals, and promote human rights.”

Creating the film was a grounding and profound experience for Queiroga, who said
he found himself reflecting on the repercussions of his Portuguese heritage on
the lives of Black Africans, “a heritage that planted the seeds of racism and
oppression in Angola. The making of this film is a reminder of the work that
remains to be done,” he said.

“Storytelling is a powerful tool that could inspire change and help one process
their healing individually and collectively.” He added, “While I’m not able to
speak for Tommy, I understand that the making of this film was a cathartic
experience for him that allows us to reconcile with our own pain. If Tommy is
able to free himself from his past, so can we!”

“Storytelling is a powerful tool that could inspire change and help one process
their healing individually and collectively.”

João Queiroga
Assistant Professor in Residence, Communication Program
Northwestern University in Qatar
 * Academics
 * Section 1
   New Academic Leaders
 * Section 2
   An Epitome of Academic Resilience—Learning and Creativity during COVID-19
 * Section 3
   Rana Kazkaz—Buffett Visiting Professor
 * Section 4
   Dean Kraidy Joins Panel on Arab Spring—Middle East Center at the University
   of Pennsylvania
 * Section 5
   Students Find New Creative Outlets
 * Section 6
   Faculty Documentary at Hot Docs
 * Section 7
   Northwestern Qatar Graduates First MA Student


NORTHWESTERN QATAR GRADUATES FIRST MA STUDENT

Ghaida Almarwani, a sports enthusiast and aspiring media professional, is the
first graduate student from Northwestern Qatar. Almarwani was awarded a Master
of Arts in Sports Administration through a program offered in partnership with
Northwestern University’s School of Professional Studies.

Ghaida Almarwani

Designed to educate the next generation of media professionals and leaders in
the sports industry, the program’s curriculum includes core courses on
operations, marketing, and sponsorship in sports. Additionally, students enroll
in a four-course program on Global Sports Communication that allows them to
specialize in communication, marketing, and promotional roles in the global
sports industry.

Commenting on her experience as part of the program’s inaugural class, Almarwani
said, “The program prepares students with the professional skills and knowledge
to thrive in a range of careers in the sports industry. With courses that range
from sports finance and budgeting to marketing, and social issues to technology,
I am confident that with this degree I will be an asset to any organization in
the sports industry.”

The courses are delivered by faculty with extensive professional and scholarly
expertise in the field of sports and sports management. Students can enroll in
an array of courses that include sports research methods, legal and ethical
issues, the technology of sports, and global sports communication.

Students in the program participate in workshops and get hands-on experience
working with the media and new technology. “During some of the elective courses,
I was able to be part of a press conference, design my own website, draw a
mock-up on my own mobile app, and plan a campaign from start to finish,”
Almarwani said.


RESEARCH


 * Research
 * Section 1
   Northwestern University Awards Research Grants to Northwestern Qatar Faculty
 * Section 2
   QNRF Grant—Anto Mohsin and Spencer Striker to Develop App on Contact Tracing
 * Section 3
   Media and Research Awards
 * Section 4
   DAMA Lab Hosts Symposium on Media and Technology in the Post-pandemic World
 * Section 5
   Students Contribute to Wikipedia Entries on Global South


NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY AWARDS RESEARCH GRANTS TO NORTHWESTERN QATAR FACULTY

Northwestern University has awarded three Northwestern Qatar faculty grants to
research the history of race through animation, create a virtual reality
experience of how humans survived pandemics throughout history, and explore what
social and cultural barriers impede students in Qatar from creative writing.

Northwestern’s Provost Grants for Research in Humanities, Social Sciences, and
the Arts are competitive grants that are designed to support scholarly and
creative work across a variety of disciplines.

Inspired by the global protests denouncing police brutality and discrimination
against the Black community, Marcela Pizarro will use her grant to highlight the
work of intellectuals who have contributed to the anti-racist struggle both in
the United States and beyond.

Marcella Pizarro

Pizarro explained that the research project— “Race Historicized: Epistemologies
of Color”—“reflects a spirit of epistemological decentering: if more than 90
percent of enslaved Africans were transported to South America and the
Caribbean, and India, then discussions on race should reflect the thought
produced in and on those continents.”

“It's both in terms of content and execution,” she continued, “that this project
seeks to honor the call for diversity and inclusion because this is a project
that will be written, directed, animated, and voiced by journalists, writers,
activists, and students from backgrounds that cross continents, race, gender,
and class.”

Spencer Striker

Building on his portfolio of immersive digital learning projects that focus on
world history, Spencer Striker will design and develop a playable prototype of
an original virtual reality (VR) program that educates students on how the world
responded to pandemics throughout history.

Striker’s project—“Surviving Pandemics in History—a Virtual Reality
Experience”—will bring to life five historical pandemic settings: the Plague of
Athens in 430 BCE, the Bubonic Plague of 14th-century Europe, Smallpox in
16th-century South America, Cholera in the mid-19th century in London, and the
Spanish Flu in Chicago in 1918.

“Through VR technology and narrative design, we will transport students through
space and time—for example to mid-14th-century European villages stricken with
the Black Death or mid-16th century Peruvian villages devastated by smallpox—and
use data overlay and interactive learning tools to explore and understand how
diseases spread,” Striker said.

Professor and novelist Sam Meekings’s project—“Barriers to Beginning: Local,
Cultural, and Colonial Impediments to Creative Writing in Qatar”—will attempt to
identify what social and cultural barriers affect how student writers in Qatar
approach creative writing, their thought process, and the influence of virtual
writing communities on their work. “Understanding these barriers,” he said, “are
essential to foster greater inclusivity and a diversity of approaches to
writing.”

Sam Meekings

“This research topic was inspired by the current work being done within the
field of Creative Writing to decolonize writing craft and ideas, and to
re-evaluate assumptions about how we write and what good writing looks like,”
said Meekings. “I think it's important to apply this work to local contexts.”


 * Research
 * Section 1
   Northwestern University Awards Research Grants to Northwestern Qatar Faculty
 * Section 2
   QNRF Grant—Anto Mohsin and Spencer Striker to Develop App on Contact Tracing
 * Section 3
   Media and Research Awards
 * Section 4
   DAMA Lab Hosts Symposium on Media and Technology in the Post-pandemic World
 * Section 5
   Students Contribute to Wikipedia Entries on Global South


QNRF GRANT—ANTO MOHSIN AND SPENCER STRIKER TO DEVELOP APP ON CONTACT TRACING

Despite the challenges it presented, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the
importance of research and stimulated the research sector to make further
innovations and discoveries. Researchers from Northwestern Qatar stepped into
the challenge and joined the global efforts to contain the spread of the virus.

Northwestern Qatar Professors Anto Mohsin and Spencer Stricker were awarded a
Hamad Bin Khalifa University research grant to develop an educational mobile
gaming platform that helps users to understand the spread of infectious
diseases.



The app—Dr. Sara: Disease Detective—will allow players to learn more about the
science of epidemiology, contact tracing, and the complex world of contagion
through a character-driven simulation. Throughout the game, players will assume
the role of a disease detective who is on a suspenseful adventure to control the
spread of a virus. As part of the game, they will solve puzzles and build a
narrative to understand the challenges of disease control.

“Great curricular design and great game design have a lot in common,” said
Mohsin. “Game-based learning incorporates interactivity, immersion, meaningful
choices, and emergent, unpredictable outcomes via exploration—which encourages
the most important goal of all education: curiosity and drive for lifelong
learning.”


 * Research
 * Section 1
   Northwestern University Awards Research Grants to Northwestern Qatar Faculty
 * Section 2
   QNRF Grant—Anto Mohsin and Spencer Striker to Develop App on Contact Tracing
 * Section 3
   Media and Research Awards
 * Section 4
   DAMA Lab Hosts Symposium on Media and Technology in the Post-pandemic World
 * Section 5
   Students Contribute to Wikipedia Entries on Global South


MEDIA AND RESEARCH AWARDS

Celebrating the creative and scholarly work of Northwestern Qatar students, the
annual Media and Research Awards recognized a record number of journalistic,
multimedia, and research projects.


Play Video: 2021 Media and Research Awards
Video: 2021 Media and Research Awards

With nearly 100 submissions, the 2021 Media and Research Awards included
projects in three categories—Written Word, Moving Image, and Co-curricular
Projects. The projects included two academic years—2019–20 and 2020–21—and
tackled issues such as sustainability, health, science, and politics.

From a film on a Yemeni refugee who found love in South Korea and news articles
on racism in the Arab World and social distancing to research projects on
digital diplomacy, education in Palestine, and the politics of climate change,
the journalistic and scholarly works of our students are addressing global
challenges and making an impact beyond the walls of Northwestern Qatar.

Shortlisted projects for this year’s awards were submitted and evaluated by a
panel of judges, which included Northwestern Qatar faculty and industry experts
from leading media organizations, including Al Jazeera, Doha Film Institute,
Ginger Camel, The Film House, I Love Qatar, Gulf Times, Memac Ogilvy, Al Kass
Sports Channels.


 * Research
 * Section 1
   Northwestern University Awards Research Grants to Northwestern Qatar Faculty
 * Section 2
   QNRF Grant—Anto Mohsin and Spencer Striker to Develop App on Contact Tracing
 * Section 3
   Media and Research Awards
 * Section 4
   DAMA Lab Hosts Symposium on Media and Technology in the Post-pandemic World
 * Section 5
   Students Contribute to Wikipedia Entries on Global South


DAMA LAB HOSTS SYMPOSIUM ON MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE POST-PANDEMIC WORLD

The Media Innovation Lab was rebranded and reinvented as the DAMA Lab (Digital
Advancement and Media Applications Lab) under the leadership of Eric Espig. The
lab will act as a space for designers, journalists, researchers, students, and
educators to work on experiments in storytelling and research while focusing on
three primary areas of collaboration: creative space and open lab; collaborative
course work; and research partnerships and sandbox.



According to Espig, the DAMA Lab has been redesigned to better support research
and classwork at Northwestern Qatar so that it is “more connected in helping and
sustaining digital and interactive projects that are happening throughout the
Journalism, Communication, and Liberal Arts Programs.”

In response to the coronavirus, the DAMA Lab hosted and invited international
media experts to speak at a Northwestern Qatar symposium on media disrupted by a
global pandemic. The panelists agreed that empathy, collaboration, and a focus
on digitization helped them respond to the changing landscape of media and
technology that resulted from the pandemic.

The panels addressed several issues including sports media, entrepreneurship,
marketing, journalism, and creative writing in the post-pandemic world.



Marwan M. Kraidy, dean and CEO of Northwestern Qatar, noted that the symposium
came at an important time during the pandemic as the industry has adapted to the
disruption and is now planning on a different future. “The symposium,” he said,
“served as a platform for intellectual debates and positive exchanges among
experts in media and communication on the outcomes and future challenges of an
unprecedented year that has redefined the future of media.”


 * Research
 * Section 1
   Northwestern University Awards Research Grants to Northwestern Qatar Faculty
 * Section 2
   QNRF Grant—Anto Mohsin and Spencer Striker to Develop App on Contact Tracing
 * Section 3
   Media and Research Awards
 * Section 4
   DAMA Lab Hosts Symposium on Media and Technology in the Post-pandemic World
 * Section 5
   Students Contribute to Wikipedia Entries on Global South


STUDENTS CONTRIBUTE TO WIKIPEDIA ENTRIES ON GLOBAL SOUTH

In the classroom, Northwestern Qatar students in a class on intercultural and
international communication stepped in to bridge the Global North-South divide
in Wikipedia by providing additional content on underrepresented people and
topics from the Global South.

From information about a local dialect in Western parts of Ukraine to Middle
Eastern cuisines, students used their research and fact-checking skills to
investigate existing entries about the region, synthesize the available
literature, and use verified sources to add meaningful contributions to
Wikipedia.

This class project is “an attempt to decolonize Wikipedia,” said Professor Banu
Akdenizli. “Not only are issues concerning the Global South not well addressed
on Wikipedia, but they are also in need of improvement,” stressing that
Northwestern Qatar students are uniquely positioned to lead on efforts to
introduce and translate content about the region as multilingual writers and
researchers from the region.

“I felt I needed to write about the Pokutia-Bukovyna dialect to give an insider
perspective on cultural specificities of the region,” said student contributor
Evghenia Scripnic, who was surprised to find limited information about the
dialect of her ancestors on the Wikipedia page, so she researched archives,
pictures, and maps to find verified sources and peer-reviewed articles.

The students’ Wikipedia contributions were part of the WikiEducator’s
initiative, a global initiative designed to promote cross-cultural collaboration
and exchange of information and expertise.


STUDENT LIFE


 * Student Life
 * Section 1
   New Student Leadership
 * Section 2
   Student Life at Northwestern Qatar Is Perpetually in Motion
 * Section 3
   Videos


NEW STUDENT LEADERSHIP

A Northwestern Qatar education is more than coursework. It is a unique
combination of world-class academic programming and vibrant student life that
forges the ground for our students to become skilled and passionate leaders who
embrace challenges and work across disciplines to find creative solutions to
today’s complex issues.

Under the stewardship of Dean Kraidy, Northwestern Qatar has taken a more
student-focused approach to improve the quality of the student experience and
integrate student life as part of the school’s academic mission. “We are seeking
to create an institution that is more student-focused with a vibrant student
life, academic excellence, and high-level undergraduate student research,” said
Kraidy.

To lead this transformation, Northwestern Qatar announced the appointment of new
student leadership, with Alex Schultes as the school’s assistant dean for the
student experience and Amira Hariri as its director of admissions.

Schultes, who has been with Northwestern Qatar since 2016 as the school’s
director of admissions, will ensure seamless integration of all elements of
student life—from clubs and extracurricular activities to career services,
health and well-being, and alumni affairs—to enrich student experience outside
academics.

Northwestern Qatar’s new approach to life on campus provides students with a
holistic undergraduate experience—from recruitment to graduation. As director of
admissions, Hariri will work with Schultes to attract the brightest students and
ensure they are immersed in Northwestern Qatar’s student life from their
recruitment.


 * Student Life
 * Section 1
   New Student Leadership
 * Section 2
   Student Life at Northwestern Qatar Is Perpetually in Motion
 * Section 3
   Videos


STUDENT LIFE AT NORTHWESTERN QATAR IS PERPETUALLY IN MOTION

Whether as part of a club, through university programs or grants, or
independently, students at Northwestern Qatar learn and grow beyond the
classroom in a vibrant campus full of opportunities. Student-led initiatives,
along with diverse university programs, encourage engagement in a way that
enables students to pursue their passions and aspirations and become deeply
involved with the community.

In November, Northwestern Qatar student Arham Khalid took it upon herself to
raise awareness about United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12 about
responsible consumption and production. She organized the first regionwide
virtual Model United Nations (MUN) conference, which included more than 200
participating high school students from Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and
the UAE discussing solutions to the issue.

As one of the largest student organizations on campus, Northwestern Qatar
Student Union’s programs this year included regular meetings with the student
body and the administration to evaluate support for students, discussing budget
allocations, addressing issues, establishing reliable communication with
faculty, and hosting a variety of community building initiatives to celebrate
purple pride.

This year, a new chess club at Northwestern Qatar gathers game enthusiasts from
across Education City in several training sessions and competitions organized in
collaboration with the Qatar Chess Federation, giving them the chance to develop
their chess skills and learn about strategy development and key political and
economic concepts.

Students at NU-Q are also offered opportunities outside of the classroom to
express their creative interests and bring their ideas and perspectives to life
through various media.

Workshops, training sessions, and networking events organized throughout the
year by Studio 20Q, one of the most established clubs on campus, helped student
screenwriters, producers, cinematographers, and animators refine their ongoing
creative projects. This year, the club also provided funding for four
student-led projects, including two short narratives, a documentary, and one
animation film.

With crew meetings held online, face masks on, and social distancing guidelines
followed on the film set, grant winners from the club were able to lead their
film crews and safely navigate the logistical and creative challenge of filming
during the pandemic.

Tony El Ghazal, director of Ibn El Ballad, says his belief in the power of
storytelling is what kept him moving forward. “In our current times, we know the
power of stories, and the important role of storytellers and the responsibility
in sharing impactful messages,” El Ghazal said.

“In our current times, we know the power of stories, and the important role of
storytellers and the responsibility in sharing impactful messages.”

Tony El Ghazal
Class of 2021
Northwestern University in Qatar
 * Student Life
 * Section 1
   New Student Leadership
 * Section 2
   Student Life at Northwestern Qatar Is Perpetually in Motion
 * Section 3
   Videos


VIDEOS

Play Video: 2021 Class Awards
Video: 2021 Class Awards

Play Video: Graduation Class of 2020
Video: Graduation Class of 2020

Play Video: Graduation Class of 2021
Video: Graduation Class of 2021
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