The Institute for Advanced Study in the Global South at Northwestern University in Qatar (#IAS_NUQ) has announced the appointment of three new #IAS_NUQ global postdoctoral scholars, selected from a competitive pool of applicants from around the globe.
Mariam Karim, Chafic Tony Najem, and Harsha Man Maharjan will begin their tenure in the fall, joining current global postdoctoral scholar, Yasemin Y. Celikkol, as well as sixteen #IAS_NUQ global undergraduate fellows. At #IAS_NUQ, they will work on their own research projects integrating primary sources and linguistic and regional expertise to produce theoretically inflected, historically informed, trans-local, and multimodal scholarship and mediamaking focused on the Global South.
“We are thrilled to welcome Mariam, Chafic, and Harsha to Northwestern Qatar and have them join our scholarly community,” said Marwan M. Kraidy, dean and CEO of Northwestern Qatar. “Their imaginative projects on Arab feminist digital archives, prisoners’ illicit use of digital technologies during incarceration in Lebanon, and critical approaches to smart cards in Nepal reflect the Institute’s emphasis on non-Western theories, sources, and contexts and contribute significantly to knowledge from and about the Global South.”
Mariam Karim, who is currently completing her PhD in information and gender studies at the University of Toronto, is the recipient of the Social Science and Humanities Research Council doctoral award and recently served as an inaugural graduate fellow at the Critical Digital Humanities Institute.
A scholar of Arabic mass media in the context of media imperialism and colonialism, she follows Arab women’s expansive mass media practices, contributions, and ideas from the twentieth century as central points of reference. Her interests focus on the intersections of multilingual media, information, gender, political theory, translation, infrastructure, historical, archival, visual, and literary studies.
Mariam Karim, Chafic Tony Najem, and Harsha Man Maharjan will begin their tenure in the fall, joining current global postdoctoral scholar, Yasemin Y. Celikkol, as well as sixteen #IAS_NUQ global undergraduate fellows. At #IAS_NUQ, they will work on their own research projects integrating primary sources and linguistic and regional expertise to produce theoretically inflected, historically informed, trans-local, and multimodal scholarship and mediamaking focused on the Global South.
“We are thrilled to welcome Mariam, Chafic, and Harsha to Northwestern Qatar and have them join our scholarly community,” said Marwan M. Kraidy, dean and CEO of Northwestern Qatar. “Their imaginative projects on Arab feminist digital archives, prisoners’ illicit use of digital technologies during incarceration in Lebanon, and critical approaches to smart cards in Nepal reflect the Institute’s emphasis on non-Western theories, sources, and contexts and contribute significantly to knowledge from and about the Global South.”
Mariam Karim, who is currently completing her PhD in information and gender studies at the University of Toronto, is the recipient of the Social Science and Humanities Research Council doctoral award and recently served as an inaugural graduate fellow at the Critical Digital Humanities Institute.
A scholar of Arabic mass media in the context of media imperialism and colonialism, she follows Arab women’s expansive mass media practices, contributions, and ideas from the twentieth century as central points of reference. Her interests focus on the intersections of multilingual media, information, gender, political theory, translation, infrastructure, historical, archival, visual, and literary studies.
“Their imaginative projects on Arab feminist digital archives, prisoners’ illicit use of digital technologies during incarceration in Lebanon, and critical approaches to smart cards in Nepal reflect the Institute’s emphasis on non-Western theories, sources, and contexts and contribute significantly to knowledge from and about the Global South”
- Marwan M. Kraidy, dean and CEO of Northwestern Qatar
Chafic Tony Najem studies prisoners' illicit media practices and the use of smuggled digital media technologies in carceral spaces, with a focus on Lebanon. He investigates the political and testimonial prospects of prisoner produced images and videos, modes of production, and digital materialities behind bars.
His research explores questions related to social movements and media mobilization, media witnessing, and vulnerability and resistance in relation to political and media practices in and from the Global South. His work is positioned within the field of media studies and aims to contribute to the fields of visual culture and documentary studies. Najem received his PhD from Stockholm University.
Najem’s postdoctoral position is funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York through the Institute’s Arab Media and Information Studies (AIMS) project. In keeping with the goals of AIMS, his work situates the study of Arab media practices in their broader political, social, and cultural contexts. In addition to pursuing his own research agenda, Najem will support program development connecting Arabophone, Francophone, and Anglophone scholarly communities during his appointment with the Institute.
Harsha Man Maharjan’s current research centers on the critical evaluation of the social, political, technological, and economic implications of smart cards in Nepal. His work on digital journalism, media, digital policies and practices, development communication, and media history has been published in various international and national journals and books.
He earned his PhD from Kyoto University in 2019 and served as the Academic/Research Head at Polygon College in Nepal from December 2020 to May 2023. He has worked as a senior researcher at Martin Chautari, a research institute in Kathmandu, and has co-authored two books and coedited three books in Nepali.
“#IAS_NUQ is a supportive and inclusive community of scholars working in and on the Global South,” noted Clovis Bergère, assistant director for research at #IAS_NUQ. “We are very fortunate to be adding these new scholars whose expertise will provide valuable mentorship opportunities to our undergraduate fellows and will contribute to our research themes of Southern Digitalities, Arab Media, Culture, and Politics, and Critical Security Studies.”
The Institute for Advanced Study in the Global South, the flagship initiative by Northwestern University in Qatar, produces and promotes evidence-based research and storytelling focused on the histories, cultures, societies, and media of the Global South. As a catalyst of academic excellence and collaboration, the Institute convenes teams of leading multidisciplinary scholars with expertise on the Global South through its different programs and events.
His research explores questions related to social movements and media mobilization, media witnessing, and vulnerability and resistance in relation to political and media practices in and from the Global South. His work is positioned within the field of media studies and aims to contribute to the fields of visual culture and documentary studies. Najem received his PhD from Stockholm University.
Najem’s postdoctoral position is funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York through the Institute’s Arab Media and Information Studies (AIMS) project. In keeping with the goals of AIMS, his work situates the study of Arab media practices in their broader political, social, and cultural contexts. In addition to pursuing his own research agenda, Najem will support program development connecting Arabophone, Francophone, and Anglophone scholarly communities during his appointment with the Institute.
Harsha Man Maharjan’s current research centers on the critical evaluation of the social, political, technological, and economic implications of smart cards in Nepal. His work on digital journalism, media, digital policies and practices, development communication, and media history has been published in various international and national journals and books.
He earned his PhD from Kyoto University in 2019 and served as the Academic/Research Head at Polygon College in Nepal from December 2020 to May 2023. He has worked as a senior researcher at Martin Chautari, a research institute in Kathmandu, and has co-authored two books and coedited three books in Nepali.
“#IAS_NUQ is a supportive and inclusive community of scholars working in and on the Global South,” noted Clovis Bergère, assistant director for research at #IAS_NUQ. “We are very fortunate to be adding these new scholars whose expertise will provide valuable mentorship opportunities to our undergraduate fellows and will contribute to our research themes of Southern Digitalities, Arab Media, Culture, and Politics, and Critical Security Studies.”
The Institute for Advanced Study in the Global South, the flagship initiative by Northwestern University in Qatar, produces and promotes evidence-based research and storytelling focused on the histories, cultures, societies, and media of the Global South. As a catalyst of academic excellence and collaboration, the Institute convenes teams of leading multidisciplinary scholars with expertise on the Global South through its different programs and events.
