Dr. Wunpini Fatimata Mohammed
About: Dr. Mohammed teaches courses in global media industries and entertainment. Her research focuses on Global South media industries, feminisms, decolonization and social movements.
Personal website: wunpini.com
Other Affiliations: African Studies Institute
Education
Ph.D., Mass Communications, the Pennsylvania State University
M.Sc., Rhetoric & Technical Communication, Michigan Technological University
B.A., English and Spanish, University of Ghana
Diploma, Spanish, la Universidad de Cienfuegos “Carlos Rafael Rodriguez,” Cuba
Research Interests and Activities
Dr. Mohammed is co-editor of the book, African Women in Digital Spaces: Redefining Social Movements on the Continent and in the Diaspora (Mkuki na Nyota, 2023). Her research employs qualitative methodologies by way of ethnography, interviews, focus groups, textual analysis etc. to interrogate and challenge power politics in media production, distribution and reception. Her research and teaching converge in ways that enable her to guide her students towards employing empathetic and ethical approaches to their work in media. She serves on the editorial board of the Communication, Culture & Critique and Feminist Media Studies journals.
Dr. Mohammed has presented her work at national and international conferences such as the International Communication Association (ICA), the International Public Relations Research Conference (IPRRC), the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR), the National Communication Association (NCA) conference, the National Women’s Studies Association (NWSA) Conference and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Conference (AEJMC).
She has worked as a radio journalist in Ghana for several years and has done some public scholarship on Al Jazeera, DW, The Guardian, The Washington Post, Dazed, The Financial Times, Global Voices, Okay Africa, and several Ghanaian media platforms including the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation.
Her research is published in peer reviewed journals such as Communication Theory, the Howard Journal of Communications, Feminist Media Studies among others. She has won top paper awards at the International Communication Association (ICA), the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) and other academic conferences.
Clark, M. K. & Wunpini F. Mohammed (editors) African Women in Digital Spaces: Redefining Social Movements on the Continent and in the Diaspora. Dar es Salaam: Mkuki na Nyota 2023. […]
Read MoreWunpini Fatimata Mohammed “African Women in Digital Spaces: Redefining Social Movements on the Continent and in the Diaspora,” Invited Keynote Speaker, University of Bayreuth (Germany), hosted by the Africa Multiple […]
Read MoreWunpini Fatimata Mohammed was named winner of the 2022 Paula Kantor Award for Excellence in Field Research by the International Center for Research on Women. She received $2500 for the […]
Read MoreWunpini Fatimata Mohammed, “Why we need intersectionality in Ghanaian feminist politics and discourses.” Feminist Media Studies, doi: 10.1080/14680777.2022.2098798 Abstract: Although there is some scholarship on intersectionality focusing on African feminist movements, more work needs […]
Read MoreWunpini Fatimata Mohammed, “Feminist accountability: deconstructing feminist praxes, solidarities and LGBTQI+ activisms in Ghana.” Communication, Culture & Critique, doi: 10.1093/ccc/tcac031 Abstract: This article examines how mainstream Ghanaian feminist organizations worked to support LGBTQI+ communities […]
Read MoreWunpini Fatimata Mohammed was selected as a University of Georgia Sarah H. Moss Fellowship recipient. She received a $10,000 award for her research project: “Media and Decolonization: Re-righting the Subaltern […]
Read MoreAbstract: Although there have been extensive discussions on decolonizing the field of media and communication(s), not much attention has been paid to the way that curricula reproduce colonialism, imperialism and racism […]
Read MoreAbstract: Despite impressive strides toward proper health education about the pandemic, in resource-limited contexts, health information dissemination occurs within a structural context that restricts the enactment of agency and leads to […]
Read MoreAbstract: Despite recent calls for decolonization in academia as a whole and the fields of communication studies and media studies in particular—with a focus on narratives such as #CommunicationSoWhite and […]
Read MoreAbstract: Although there have been extensive discussions on decolonizing the field of media and communication(s), not much attention has been paid to the way that curricula reproduce colonialism, imperialism and […]
Read MoreAbstract: This study examines the intricacies of the expanding music industry in Northern Ghana, focusing on the perspectives of artistes. The contemporary popular musicians of Tamale, one of Ghana’s biggest […]
Read MoreAbstract: In recent times, there have been calls for decolonization in academia as a whole and the field of communication and media studies with particular focus on narratives such as […]
Read MoreWunpini Fatimata Mohammed, Honorable Mention in the 2021 Stuart Hall Award at the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) Conference. “Why we need intersectionality in Ghanaian feminist politics and discourses” […]
Read MoreThis paper won First Place in the Faculty Paper Awards also known as the Robert L. Stevenson Open Paper Competition. It also won Best Paper in African Journalism Studies Award. Abstract: Drawing […]
Read MoreAbstract: Several African scholars have theorized about the evolution of feminist movements on the continent but there has been little focus on the importance of employing an intersectional feminist framework […]
Read MoreAbstract: This study examines the intricacies of the expanding music industry in Northern Ghana, centering the perspectives of artistes. We examine how artistes create and produce music, how they market […]
Read MoreAbstract: African Media Studies which is marginalized in the Global North academy lacks not only representation from African students/scholars but is also under-theorized. Employing a decolonial approach, this article presents […]
Read MoreAbstract: We used on-site interviews and roundtable conversations with practitioners to uncover original evidence of ways in which two variant South African communities activated citizens’ involvement in radio co-production of […]
Read MoreTeaching Specialties
In addition to teaching classes in global and international media, Dr. Mohammed has taught classes in qualitative research methods, public relations and feminist studies. Her teaching philosophy is creating excitement in the classroom and equipping students with the tools to succeed in their careers and to bring positive change to their communities.
Experience
Prior to pursuing a PhD, Dr. Mohammed worked as a radio journalist for 5 years. Her work has been published on various Ghanaian and international media platforms such as Al Jazeera, The Washington Post and Okay Africa. She brings these industry experiences to enrich her teaching in the classroom.
Awards and Fellowships
Awards
- Paula Kantor Award for Excellence in Field Research (2022). Awarded by the International Center for Research on Women.
- First Place in the Top Paper Awards also known as the Robert L. Stevenson Open Paper Competition in the International Communication Division at AEJMC (2021)
- Best Paper Award for African Journalism Studies, in the International Communication Division at AEJMC (2021)
- Honorable Mention in the 2021 Stuart Hall Award at the International Association for Media and Communication Research – IAMCR – (2021)
- Best Paper Award for African Journalism Studies, Global Communication and Social Change Division, ICA (2019)
- Top Student Paper Award for Ethnicity and Race in Communication Division, ICA (2019)
- Pansy E. Jacobs Jackson Top Student Paper Award (2018)
- Djung Yune Tchoi Memorial Excellence in Teaching Award, Penn State (2019)
Fellowships
- Visiting Faculty Fellow (2023) at the Center for Advanced Research in Global Communication (CARGC) at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.
- Sarah Moss Fellowship (2022-2023) Awarded by the University of Georgia.
- Lilly Teaching Fellow, 2021-2023, University of Georgia
- Kopenhaver Fellow, 2021: Sponsored by the AEJMC Commission on the Status of Women, the Lillian Lodge Kopenhaver Center for the Advancement of Women in Communication.
- Media & Islam in Africa Fellow, University of Florida’s Center for African Studies, the Center for Global Islamic Studies and the Department of Religion (Postponed due to COVID-19, 2020).
- PhDigital Bootcamp 2019 Fellow, a John S. and James L. Knight Foundation funded fellowship, Texas State University (2019)
