Farah Afzal

PhD in Global Governance

Farah Afzal is a Ph.D. Candidate and a Doctoral Fellow at the Balsillie School of International Affairs. For PhD research, her investigation revolves around gender identity, its history in British colonial era to present, their advocacy campaigns, legislations and activism in South Asia.

Recently, she has completed her second master’s degree in Communication Studies from Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON, Canada. During this time, she has worked with faculty in the capacity of Instructor Assistant (IA) and Research Assistant (RA). For the final research project, she studied the visual representation of gender and its effects on the construction/ deconstruction of gender discourses and identities among societies.

Previously, Farah took her first master’s in Media & Communication studies and wrote her final thesis to analyze the role of Western media in creating Muslim discourses around the world. She has taught in various universities of Islamabad, Pakistan, including her alma mater as a visiting lecturer. She has taught courses related to media history, communication skills, and communication design.

She undertook her Bachelors (Hons) in Computer Arts (BCA) with majors in Graphic Design. During her undergraduate years, she has been involved in various social welfare campaigns addressing issues related to child education and public health. For her final thesis, she designed and promoted a project for Red Crescent Blood Donation campaign.

Apart from her academic interests, she enjoys the company of a good book, oil painting, gardening, and looks forward to every opportunity that involves outdoors and traveling.

Awards

  • Balsillie Doctoral Fellowship, 2019-2020
  • Wilfrid Laurier University International Student Bursary (MA), 2018-19
  • Vice Chancellor’s Undergraduate Scholarship, Fatima Jinnah Women University, 2007-09
  • Government’s Award for five outstanding primary school positions in the District, 1996

Select Publications

  • Afzal, F. (2014). Construction of Islam in Western Media. Saarbrücken: Lambart Academic Publishers.
  • Afzal, F. (2015). Construction of Muslims as Security Threat, Peace preventers and as Terrorists in the Western Media: The Discourse Analysis of Leading Articles in the Time and the Newsweek (2010-2011), Humdard Islamicus, Vol. XXXVI.

Education

  • MA Communication Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON, Canada (2019)
  • MS Media & Communication Studies (Specialization in International Communication), IIU, Islamabad, Pakistan (2012)
  • Bachelors in Computer Arts (Majors in Graphic Design), Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan (2009)
  • Bachelors in Education. AIOU, Islamabad, Pakistan (2012)
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