Research

Lamia Zia's new blog post for the USC Center on Public Diplomacy explores the power of public sphere through a reflection on espresso and cafes. Zia discusses coffee's diplomatic power and how it operates as an ambassador of culture in this intriguing read!

As Digital Cultures becomes the dominant term used by many across a variety of intellectual fields to describe the social, aesthetic, and political impact of digital media, it is necessary to provide a reference volume that specifies and defines the bounds of scholarly debates and curricular outlines for an otherwise amorphous interdisciplinary space.

This handbook provides a comprehensive reference for the varied methodologies, historical frames, and theoretical perspectives essential for the study of Digital Cultures today. In outlining these foundations, it serves as a practical guide for educators and students into the broad range of perspectives grouped together for the critical, historical, and social scientific study of digital media.

It also looks into the future and outlines an agenda for future research by examining not only the origins of the concept of Digital Culture, but emerging topics and themes still in development, such as the relation between digital technology and climate change, artificial intelligence and knowledge, sensation and aesthetics, and the rise of new infrastructures reinventing not only the built environment, but the boundaries of nations and sovereignty.

• The first handbook to provide the historical, theoretical, and methodological foundations for the study of Digital Culture
• Contributions by leading scholars in the field
• Discusses emerging themes and areas of research 

With the rapid advancements in technology over the past 2 decades, it has become crucial to understand people’s attitudes toward artificial intelligence (AI) adoption and its associated risks. Given the increasing access to the AI technologies, it is imperative to examine how young people in non-Western societies like Pakistan perceive AI risks and benefits. We conducted an online survey of 435 college students who had used AI technology in the past 6 months. The results of our study indicate that the majority of college students view AI technology positively and perceive it as an opportunity to enhance workplace productivity. In addition, most of the respondents are optimistic about the future applications of AI in their individual lives and society. This research contributes to the literature on how college students in Pakistan perceive AI in their daily lives and offer implications for future scholars interested in studying AI technology use in non-Western countries.

The work of Brazilian Black feminist Lélia Gonzalez challenges ideas of Latin America that privilege Europeanness by reimagining it as Améfrica Ladina. In this brief essay, I delve into Gonzalez’s interconnected concepts of amerifricanidade (Amefricanity) and Améfrica Ladina. Both notions defy Latinidad’s epistemological hegemony in rhetoric and communication studies at large by centering the colonial struggles and resulting knowledge of Indigenous people and Amefricans in the region. Lélia Gonzalez’s legacy could transform scholarship that invokes Latinidad, encouraging scholars to embrace instead our ladinidad as a vital step toward decolonizing the discipline.

Ghana’s lithium deal with Barari DV in 2023 sparked discussions among various stakeholders. The “sticky” nature of the agreement revived political conversations across many online platforms. Dr. Nana Kwame Osei Fordjour, Inusah Mohammed, and Anani Yao Kuwornu examined how users engaged in online discussions about the agreement through the lenses of deliberative discourses and incivility for Communicatio: “Uncivil Discourses, Online Comments, and Politics: A Case Study of Discussions Surrounding Ghana’s Lithium Deal.” 

Their research highlights the potential influence of online forums on shaping political dialogue and democratic participation in Africa, revealing both their strengths and drawbacks. 

Studies on strategic visual political communication on social media have taken various cultural turns globally. This chapter uses a visual rhetorical approach to analyze 277 photographs of the President of Ghana’s Facebook page (H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo) after he was sworn into office in 2021. Considering the thematic, conceptual, and thought-provoking implications of visual rhetoric, the findings indicated that the President of Ghana constructed national images of Ghana’s rich cultural heritage, its decorous political sphere, Ghana’s security preparedness, as well as its commitment to ethics, legal, and moral uprightness. The chapter discusses the finding’s broader implications for strategic communication and argues that visual rhetoric contributes to the praxis of strategic political communication. 

This book chronicles the transformative impact of CMOS sensor technology on the global DIY filmmaking community. Through the lens of an ethnographer and outsider filmmaker, the author explores how digital cameras have democratized the art of filmmaking, allowing amateurs to create professional-quality films on a shoestring budget. The journey begins with the author's own experience creating Aspirin for the Masses, a feature film shot for just $500, and extends into the broader world of no-budget filmmaking. Key concepts include the rise of the "Am-Auteur," the role of film festivals in identity creation, and the cultural capital of low-cost cinema. The book examines how digital technology has redefined notions of media dissolution and creation, offering new pathways for identity formation. It also delves into the performative aspects of film festivals, where outsider artists gain socio-cultural status. This book is essential for scholars, filmmakers, and anyone interested in the intersection of technology and art. It offers a unique perspective on how digital cameras have reshaped the filmmaking landscape, empowering a new generation of creators to challenge traditional norms and redefine what it means to be an auteur in the digital age.

The present study examines the factors influencing international students’ intentions to use generative artificial intelligence (GenAI). Our results showed that attitude toward GenAI use, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, enjoyment, subjective norms, novelty, trust in technology, perceived value, and AI literacy were positively associated with intention to use GenAI. Fear of plagiarism had a negative relationship with intention to use GenAI. Our mediation analysis suggested that trust in technology, perceived ease of use, fear of plagiarism, perceived usefulness, and AI literacy indirectly influenced GenAI usage intention via attitude and perceived value, underscoring both the appeal and concerns of GenAI in learning. This study contributed to the TPB, VAM, and TAM frameworks by incorporating fear of plagiarism, trust in technology, and AI literacy to demonstrate how cognitive, affective, and value-based factors collectively influence the adoption of GenAI technologies among international students.

The study examines local newspaper coverage of Afghan resettlement in the U.S. after the end of America’s ‘longest war’ in 2021. The papers are prominent news outlets of the counties where the military bases housing evacuees are located. We use a mixed-methods approach to examine news articles collected over an eighteen-month period. The study will analyze prominent sources, characteristics of evacuees, and themes in coverage. Themes were derived using both inductive and deductive methods. ‘America as land of opportunity’ and ‘moral obligation’ were dominant themes. Study results will provide a temporal marker that allows researchers to measure future changes in community attitudes towards evacuees. Thematic analysis demonstrates linkages between discourses such as moral obligation, migrants as threats, and process and how they help maintain U.S. power and hegemony. Rendering a critique of news coverage by analyzing how articles deployed and resisted these dominant themes, the study hopes to contribute towards a more nuanced approach towards media coverage of forced migration.

Instagram has become an essential platform for youth engagement and political campaign discourse. This study builds on this strand of knowledge by analyzing how the U.S. Vice President and the Democratic party’s presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, employed the platform during the 2024 campaigns over 5months by assessing the narratives as well as user fantasies. Findings indicated that the narratives emphasized her administration’s political achievements and positions, her commitment to amplifying every voice, her personal and social identity, as well as global voice and initiatives. These narratives generate two fantasy themes around her personalized leadership style, impact, and ideological positioning. Harris’s campaign discourse on Instagram conformed to the identity expectations of the American electorates and the youth-dominated platform dynamics, positioning her as an advocate for equity.