Dr. Maria Bou Zeid, Associate Professor and Chairperson at the Faculty of Humanities at NDU was selected among 18 international scholars to participate in the 2021 Study of the United States Institutes (SUSI) – Scholars Program / Journalism and Media section. The coordination efforts took place with the support of the Office of International Relations at NDU, currently headed by Dr. Ghazi Asmar, Assistant Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies (AVPRGS), who shared his delight following the selection of Dr. Bou Zeid for the program.
This program is sponsored by the US Department of State, and its lead partner is the University of Montana (UM) while the Arizona State University (ASU) is the hosting organization. The institute sheds light on the recent developments in the field of journalism with special focus on the current challenges in the fast-evolving media landscape. This year, the program adopted an asynchronous format that included a combination of online sessions followed by an in-person visit.
The virtual modules took place from June 14 to July 2 during which the scholars examined the role of journalism as a means of civic conversation as well as a wide variety of topics such as misinformation and disinformation, the power of pedagogy, and immersive journalism among others.
A subsequent in-person study tour will take place early Spring 2022 and will include site visits to diverse local communities and other extracurricular cultural and academic activities.
In the frame of the fellowship, Dr.Bou Zeid will be working on an independent project aiming at enhancing trauma literacy among media professionals in the country. The aim is to launch and promote coping strategies to the emotional distress in journalists who bear witness to all sorts of human tragedies especially in Lebanon. In her first blog post describing the SUSI program experience, Bou Zeid highlighted the important role the scholars are playing as agents of change in their countries to improve the media literacy, best practices, and pedagogical styles back home. You can read the full blog here.