My research interests revolve around digital cultures and youth, political participation, digital inclusion, peacebuilding, post-genocide reconciliation, qualitative research methods, critical digital literacies, research impact and evaluation
RECENT PROJECTS
Youth, digital cultures and peacebuilding in Rwanda
My PhD thesis examines the digital practices of youth in Rwanda, exploring the convergence of youth digital cultures and peacebuilding processes. To investigate the potential benefits of transmedia practices for peace education and peacebuilding in the country, I conducted ethnographic research in 2019 in Kigali, Rwanda. The study involved five secondary schools, where I facilitated digital storytelling workshops with students, exposing them to nonfiction transmedia projects. I employed participant observation, focus group discussions, and interviews as research methods to gain a comprehensive understanding of the online activities and approaches to digital technologies and peacebuilding processes among these young Rwandans.
Work-on-demand and digital stories
I’ve been part of the “Work on Demand” (WOD) project that is funded by the Planetary Wellbeing Framework at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra-Barcelona and led by Dr. Fernanda Pires. The project studies the practices of on-demand workers and their stories on social media. As part of the project, we analyze what kind of stories are shared by and about on-demand workers on different social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. While analyzing the stories, narratives, and discourses, we aim to shed light on the social inequalities within on-demand working. We use a case study methodology with digital ethnography methods: online participant observation and semi-structured interviews.
Research impact and evaluation
Within the framework of the ERASME – Education & Research to Advance Societal Missions through Engagement at UPEC in France, this project aims to reflect on and respond to social issues and challenges by promoting impactful research and education for social justice. Currently, we are conducting a scoping review on how research impact and evaluation are discussed in academic publications. Within the scope of this project, I’m also collaborating with Management researchers in France, the UK, Italy, Denmark, Germany and Poland to investigate how researchers within these countries define the concepts of “impact” and “engagement.”
PUBLICATIONS
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLES
“Memetizing genocides and post-genocide peacebuilding: ambivalent implications of memes for youth participation and imaginaries in Rwanda.” Information, Communication & Society 26.16 (2023): 3157-3178. Available here
“Narratives of Rwandan youth on post-genocide reconciliation: contesting discourses and identities in the making.” Journal of Youth Studies 25.10 (2022): 1316-1333. Available here
“What is so funny about platform labour in Brazil? Ride-hailing drivers’ use of humour and memes on Facebook groups.” Convergence (2023): 13548565231160622 (with Fernanda Pires and Willian Fernandes Araujo). Available here
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
“Barış İnşa Süreçleri ile Dijital Kültürlerin Kesişimi” [The Intersection of Peacebuilding Processes and Digital Cultures] – UIK Panorama Soruyor “Dünya Barış Günü: Uluslararası İlişkilerde Barış Bir İllüzyon mu?” Available here
UPF-CAE Recommendations: Sources on alternative methods to replace vivisection. Barcelona: UPF-Centre for Animal Ethics (with Núria Almiron). Available here
UPCOMING PUBLICATIONS
“Youth and digital cultures in Rwanda” (For an edited book volume on the 1994 genocide in Rwanda by Erin Jessee, David Mwambari and Andrea Purdeková to be published by Routledge)
“Integrating transmedia storytelling into peace education” (For an edited book volume by Melis Cin and Faith Mkwananzi to be published by Routledge)
“Barış süreçlerinde dijital medya ve teknolojilerin kullanımı: Ruanda örneği” [The use of digital media and technologies in peacebuilding processes: The case of Rwanda] (For an edited book volume in Turkish by Cihan Dizdaroğlu and Esra Dilek: Eleştirel Barış Çalışmaları: Kavramlar, Aktörler ve Pratikler [Critical Peace Studies: Concepts, Actors and Practices]
“Critical digital literacy to counter genocide denial” (For an edited book volume by Catherine Gilbert, Paul Rukesha and Caroline Williamson Sinalo: Recognising and Responding to Genocide Denial: The Case of Rwanda)