Dr. Mohammad Ala-Uddin is a Lecturer and Graduate Instructor in the School of Communication Studies at James Madison University. He received his Ph.D. in Media and Communication from Bowling Green State University. He has an M.A. in International Affairs, majoring in Communication and Development Studies at Ohio University. Dr. Ala-Uddin earned his B.A. in Islamic History and Culture with minors in sociology and political science. Before moving to the U.S., he had worked in several journalism and communication roles, including as a feature writer, sub-editor, community organizer, social media manager, and global outreach coordinator. Previously, Ala-Uddin completed a summer graduate program in Media Studies at Oslo University (Norway) and a master’s in Journalism, Media and Communication at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. He was granted a NORAD fellowship for his master’s, which was taught with three foreign partner institutions—Oslo University College (now OsloMet University, Norway), University of the Punjab (Pakistan), and the College of Journalism and Mass Communication (Kathmandu, Nepal).
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His scholarship examines the communicative and cultural implications of digital media and public information and contributes to equity and justice. Ala-Uddin combines qualitative methods with computational techniques and studies the leading and marginalized discourses concerning digital media and social change, especially how these discourses are created, contested, and more importantly tied with the systems of power in transnational and global contexts. His research, well rooted in communication, also takes on a multidisciplinary approach, looking to media and cultural studies, political economy, feminist theory, subaltern studies, critical ethnography, critical data studies, and digital humanities.
He has co-authored a white paper, which turned into a $19m proposal. His work has been published in the Asia Pacific Media Educator, The Palgrave Handbook of International Communication and Sustainable Development, and the Handbook of Communication and Media in the Global South. Ala-Uddin presented at major professional conferences including at NCA, ICA, and IAMCR conventions, and participated in other international forums of exchange in Canada, Finland, Nepal, Norway, South Korea, Sweden, UK, and USA.
Ala-Uddin primarily teaches courses in cultural and health communication concentrations, including Intercultural Communication, Culture and Health Communication, New Media and Health, and Communication Research Methods. He also extensively taught general communication classes such as Fundamentals of Human Communication, Introduction to Public Speaking, and Journalism in Democratic Society.
Ala-Uddin contests the view that communication is just a means to an end. For him, communication is a basic human right, a significant resource for self- and community actualization, and a marker of empowerment and social justice. He believes that the right to free communication is as such primordial human struggle.
Difference Quote
Difference is of the essence of humanity. Difference is an accident of birth and it should therefore never be the source of hatred or conflict. The answer to difference is to respect it. Therein lies a most fundamental principle of peace: respect for diversity
John Hume
Mohammad Ala-Uddin 