ACADEMIC, RESEARCHER & EXPERT-MEDIA/SOCIAL MEDIA
• From September 2024: Researcher and Cara/SRF Fellow at Cambridge University (UK)
• Since 2020: Dean of Faculty of Mass Communication and Languages, Gaza University (Palestine)
• Assistant Professor of Media & Discourse Studies, Gaza University (Palestine)
• MESA Global Academy Fellow (USA)
• 2023-2024: Guest researcher, Hans-Bredow- Institute (Germany)
• April - June 2024: Researcher at GIGA Institute - Hamburg (Germany)
• 2021-2022: Former Researcher at Harvard University and Fulbright Scholar (USA)
• 2021: Research Fellow, American Research foundation (USA)
• Founder and First Chair of the Middle East Chapter, Marie Curie Alumni Association
Background and Education:
Dr. Wesam Amer has always been driven by a profound interest in the interplay between language, communication, and politics. He earned his Ph.D. in Media and Communication from Hamburg University, Germany, completing his doctoral studies between 2011 and 2015. Prior to this, he obtained his M.A. from Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, UK, during the 2008-2009 academic year.
Career Overview:
Currently, Dr. Amer is a visiting researcher at the Hans Bredow Institute in Hamburg, a role he has undertaken since November 2023.
Additionally, he serves as the Dean of the Faculty of Communication and Languages at Gaza University in Palestine, a position he has held since 2020.
His career includes a stint as a visiting fellow at the GIGA Institute in Hamburg in 2023 and as a Fulbright scholar at Harvard University's Centre for Middle Eastern Studies in 2022, where he focused on social media communication and politics related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
From 2017 to 2020, Dr. Amer was a Marie Curie fellow and post-doctoral researcher at Newcastle University in the UK.
Dr. Amer's research and teaching interests are rooted in political communication, conflicts, warfare, and contemporary geopolitics, with a particular emphasis on terrorism, security, and radicalization, especially in the Middle East. He has made significant contributions to these fields, publishing numerous papers on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Islamist movements, and Islamophobia. His work has been recognized with several awards, including first place in the Data-Driven Research Award in the Middle East and North Africa, which honors excellence in computational research for social sciences and humanities.
Some notable research projects include:
Dr. Amer is committed to enhancing the understanding of mass communication and digital discourses through innovative teaching methods and research. His professional philosophy centers on addressing contemporary political issues, conflicts, and the media’s role in shaping public perception and policy. Looking ahead, he plans to continue his research on the representation of social actors in international news, refugee discourse on social media, and the mobilization tactics of radical groups online.