Nahla Bendefaa
Biography
Nahla (she/her) is a scholar, communication practitioner, and multimedia storyteller. Originally from Kenitra, Morocco, Nahla has lived in the Atlas Mountains and in Northeast Ohio over the past decade. Nahla's work outside of academia spanned quasi-governmental organizations, public radio and non-profit journalism, and corporate communications. She also runs her own strategic communication and media project management consulting business. Within the academy, her research interests lay in the intersection of media ecology and critical cultural studies with a specific interest in West and North African contexts. Nahla spent part of her 2023 summer in Accra, Ghana, as part of the Media in Ghana program, interviewing Ghanaian journalists for an ongoing research project.
Nahla is one of the JCGSA co-presidents for the 2023-2024 academic year.
Current GE assignments (Winter 2024)
Teaching Assistant in J314 Introduction to Media Studies and J461 Newspaper Editing
Previous GE assignments
Fall 2023 | J387 Media History TA; RA to Dean Juan-Carlos Molleda and Dr. Kuy Ho Youm
Summer 2023 | J213 Fact or Fiction Instructor of Record
Spring 2023 | J213 Fact or Fiction TA; RA to Dr. Alex Segre Cohen
Winter 2023 | J212 Writing for Communicators
Fall 2022 | J201 Media & Society
Education
Ph.D. in Communication and Media Studies, 2022 - Present
University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
School of Journalism and Communication
Master of Arts in Communication Studies, 2017 - 2019
Kent State University, Kent, OH
Emphasis: Global Communication
Advisor: Dr. Tewodros Workneh
Independent Research Project: “The biggest loser of them all:” The interplay of intersectionality and hybridity in season 4 of SKAM
Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies, 2012 - 2016
Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco
Concentration: Media Studies
Minor: Human Resource Development
Capstone: Framing analysis of the news coverage of the Syrian refugee crisis by the BBC, Euronews, and Al Jazeera English
Committee: Dr. Bouziane Zaid (supervisor), Pr. Timothy Pearson
Honors and Awards:
- 2023 Anderson Family Fellowship, School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon ($10,000)
- 2022-2026 Columbia Scholarship, School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon ($1000/year)
- 2022 Promising Scholar Award, Division of Graduate Studies, University of Oregon ($6000)
- 2019 Presentation Award Winner, Graduate Research Symposium, Kent State University ($200)
- 2018 Domestic Travel Award, Graduate Student Senate, Kent State University ($415)
- 2018 Dr. Dominic A. Infante Communication Scholarship, Kent State University ($2,000)
- 2018 The D. Ray and Susanne E. Heisey Endowed International Scholarship Fund, Kent State University ($2,000)