Maha Taki
Background and
Research
Maha Taki started her PhD
in September 2007 at the University of Westminster, where she was
awarded a three-year doctoral scholarship by the Communication and
Media Research Institute. She completed her MA in Communication at
the University of Westminster with a Distinction in her graduating
dissertation ‘Weblogs and bloggers in Lebanon, Syria and
Jordan’.
Her undergraduate studies were completed at the American University
of Beirut, Lebanon where she received a Bachelors of Arts.
Previously, she worked as analyst and editor at
Mideastwire.com, a daily email
newsletter of concise briefs covering some of the key political,
cultural, economic and opinion pieces appearing in the Middle
Eastern media.
Her PhD research explores
how the Internet in general and weblogs in particular are being
used in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. She is looking at the structural
and cultural variables that determine how a person may use a
technology and how the Internet plays a part in his/her everyday
life. She is also interested in representations and identities
online.
Research Interests:
Digital Divide, New Media Research Methods, Virtual Ethnography,
Technologies for Development, Online Cultures and Identities
Supervisors:
Dr Naomi Sakr
Prof Colin Sparks
Current Academic
activities:
PhD research
Arab Media Centre
(organizing conferences, guest lectures and workshops, maintaining
website)
Visiting lecturer (Fall
2007)
Seminar leader: Social
theory and the Media (2MED424)
Seminar leader: Media
Consumption and Creativity (2MED630)
Talks, Symposia
and Conference papers
Talk:
‘Beyond utopias and dystopias: Internet in the Arab
world’
Conference on: Middle
Eastern Conflicts in the Media – Censorship and Representation
Organizers: Friedrich
Ebert Stiftung; Institute Français du Proche-Orient; German-Orient
Institute
Beirut: November 2007
Talk:
‘The Internet in the Arab world: opportunities & threats’
Conference on: Islam &
the Western world: the role of the media
Organizers: European
Journalism Observatory (EJO)
Switzerland: April
2007
Talk & chapter
publication: ‘The state of the blogosphere in Lebanon,
Syria and Jordan’
Conference on: ‘On-line
Journalism: Realities & challenges’
Organizers: University of
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates:
November 2005
Publication: ‘Weblogs,
bloggers and the blogosphere in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan: an
exploration’ in Ali Awad (ed), Proceedings of the Conference:
On-line Journalism in the Arab world – Realities &
challenges,(2006) ISBN 9948-10-031-X pp 60-79
Joint Doctoral
symposia with LSE, Goldsmiths and City University.
Papers given:
March 2007 – ‘An
exploration of bloggers and Weblogs in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan –
an overview of the research’
November 2007 – ‘Access to
the Net in the Arab world’
Contact
details:
Email: mahataki@gmail.com
takim@wmin.ac.uk
University
Address
Communication and Media
Research Institute (CAMRI)
School of Media, Arts and Design
Watford Road, Northwick Park
Harrow, HA1 3TP
United Kingdom