Middle East political communication expert elected as next President of BRISMES
Professor Dina Matar, Chair of the SOAS Department of Media Studies, and Professor of Political Communication and Arab Media at SOAS, has been elected President of The British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (BRISMES).
Her research and teaching focuses on the intersection of politics and communication, looking at critical non-colonial perspectives on media and society, media and war, digital activist cultures, cultural politics, memory cultures and diasporas across the Middle East, areas also taught in the MA Global Media and Digital Communications programme at SOAS.
The critical study of the Middle East and North Africa is as important as ever, and even more so given the persistence misunderstandings of the region and its people
Professor Matar said: “The critical study of the Middle East and North Africa is as important as ever, and even more so given the persistence misunderstandings of the region and its people, a relic of colonial imaginaries that persist today, and even with more dire consequences for the people of the region. BRISMES has already taken a leading role in enhancing the study of the region through its focus on academic freedom and knowledge production from the region itself.
"I hope to continue with that effort and encourage truly anti-colonial perspectives through opening more spaces for scholars and students from the region whose situated knowledges are never as important as during this critical moment of flux, uncertainty and imperial interventions.”
Founded in 1973, BRISMES (The British Society for Middle Eastern Studies) is an organisation that works to encourage and promote the interest and study of the Middle East, from not only the standpoint of modern culture across the region, but in furthering the understanding of Middle Eastern history.
BRISMES also supports research and learning about the region, by sharing information and encouraging collaboration among academics and others interested in Middle Eastern studies.
Professor Matar will serve as President-elect until June 2027, and President thereafter.
