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The Africa Institute invites you to join our upcoming Faculty Seminar with Professor Jairo Alfonso Lugo-Ocando, Dean of the College of Communication at the University of Sharjah. The seminar, titled “News, Numbers and Race: How statistics racialized the scientific imagination,” will take place on Tuesday, May 23, 2023 (12:00 noon – 2:00 pm) at The Africa Institute library. (Location Map)
Statistics are often credited with providing objectivity and factual basis to news stories produced by journalists. However, upon closer examination, many of these numbers encapsulate histories and agendas that reflect social biases. For example, some of these statistics were developed by members of the Eugenic school, while others are the product of socially constructed conventions. As a result, statistics in the news can reinforce strategic narratives that reflect existing power structures, including concepts such as race, in various areas such as humanitarian assistance, crime, and science.
In this talk, Professor Jairo Lugo-Ocando explores how statistics in media narratives contribute to defining discourse regimes that, rather than challenging power, reinforce it.
Jairo Lugo-Ocando, Ph.D., is an esteemed academic and currently serves as the Professor and Dean of the College of Communication at the University of Sharjah, U.A.E. His academic career includes notable positions such as the Director (Assistant Dean) for Graduate Studies and Executive Education at Northwestern University in Qatar and Deputy Head of the School of Media and Communication at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom. Demonstrating his expertise and dedication, he has secured substantial external research grants totaling over US$ 1.2 million from prestigious institutions like the United Kingdom’s Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Qatar National Research Fund, Leverhulme Trust, and Carnegie Trust for the Universities in Scotland.
In recognition of his contributions, Jairo Lugo-Ocando was honored with the Theodore C. Sorensen Fellowship from the John F. Kennedy Library and served as a visiting fellow at the National University of Singapore. Prior to his academic pursuits, he established a successful career in journalism, working as a journalist, correspondent, and news editor for various media outlets in Latin America. His engagement with the mainstream news media continues to this day, as he serves as a regular commentator for Al-Jazeera and contributes as a columnist to several newspapers.
Furthermore, Jairo Lugo-Ocando is a co-founder and vice-president of Golfo Radio 98.3 FM in Qatar, the first free-to-air radio station in Spanish and Portuguese in the Middle East.
The seminar will be moderated by Binyam Sisay Mendisu, Associate Professor of African Languages and Linguistics and Associate Director of The Africa Institute. Read more.
Through these lectures and workshops, The Africa Institute reaffirms its mission as a center for the study and research of Africa and its diaspora, and its commitment to the training of a new generation of critical thinkers in African and African Diaspora studies.
The seminar will be in English.
The session is free and open to the public. Registration is mandatory, Click here to book your place.
The Africa Institute invites you to join our upcoming Faculty Seminar with Professor Jairo Alfonso Lugo-Ocando, Dean of the College of Communication at the University of Sharjah. The seminar, titled “News, Numbers and Race: How statistics racialized the scientific imagination,” will take place on Tuesday, May 23, 2023 (12:00 noon – 2:00 pm) at The Africa Institute library. (Location Map)
The Africa Institute invites you to join our upcoming Faculty Seminar with Professor Jairo Alfonso Lugo-Ocando, Dean of the College of Communication at the University of Sharjah. The seminar, titled “News, Numbers and Race: How statistics racialized the scientific imagination,” will take place on Tuesday, May 23, 2023 (12:00 noon – 2:00 pm) at The Africa Institute library. (Location Map)
Statistics are often credited with providing objectivity and factual basis to news stories produced by journalists. However, upon closer examination, many of these numbers encapsulate histories and agendas that reflect social biases. For example, some of these statistics were developed by members of the Eugenic school, while others are the product of socially constructed conventions. As a result, statistics in the news can reinforce strategic narratives that reflect existing power structures, including concepts such as race, in various areas such as humanitarian assistance, crime, and science.
In this talk, Professor Jairo Lugo-Ocando explores how statistics in media narratives contribute to defining discourse regimes that, rather than challenging power, reinforce it.
Jairo Lugo-Ocando, Ph.D., is an esteemed academic and currently serves as the Professor and Dean of the College of Communication at the University of Sharjah, U.A.E. His academic career includes notable positions such as the Director (Assistant Dean) for Graduate Studies and Executive Education at Northwestern University in Qatar and Deputy Head of the School of Media and Communication at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom. Demonstrating his expertise and dedication, he has secured substantial external research grants totaling over US$ 1.2 million from prestigious institutions like the United Kingdom’s Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Qatar National Research Fund, Leverhulme Trust, and Carnegie Trust for the Universities in Scotland.
In recognition of his contributions, Jairo Lugo-Ocando was honored with the Theodore C. Sorensen Fellowship from the John F. Kennedy Library and served as a visiting fellow at the National University of Singapore. Prior to his academic pursuits, he established a successful career in journalism, working as a journalist, correspondent, and news editor for various media outlets in Latin America. His engagement with the mainstream news media continues to this day, as he serves as a regular commentator for Al-Jazeera and contributes as a columnist to several newspapers.
Furthermore, Jairo Lugo-Ocando is a co-founder and vice-president of Golfo Radio 98.3 FM in Qatar, the first free-to-air radio station in Spanish and Portuguese in the Middle East.
The seminar will be moderated by Binyam Sisay Mendisu, Associate Professor of African Languages and Linguistics and Associate Director of The Africa Institute. Read more.
Through these lectures and workshops, The Africa Institute reaffirms its mission as a center for the study and research of Africa and its diaspora, and its commitment to the training of a new generation of critical thinkers in African and African Diaspora studies.
The seminar will be in English.
The session is free and open to the public. Registration is mandatory, Click here to book your place.
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