Schedule
Global Fusion 2025 | OCT 16–19, 2025 | Carbondale, IL
The Critical Path In Disorienting Times: Explorations, Practices, and Solidarities
Global Fusion 2025 will open with a Thursday evening reception on October 16 and run thru late-morning Sunday October 19.
Draft Program
(times may change so check the website frequently)
Thursday, October 16th
Registration & evening reception 7pm
Friday, October 17th
Registration & light breakfast 8-9am
FRIDAY OCTOBER 17
SESSION 1 - 9-10:30am
Social media - help or harm?
Echoes of Dehumanization?: A Thematic Analysis of Waz Mahfil Reels on Facebook Toward Religious Minorities in Bangladesh - Madhab Chandra Das, Temple University
#BigNyash #SmallNyash: Oppressive YouTube algorithmic signals and commodification politics in Nigerian sketch humor - Victor Kalalanda, Colorado State University
Social media, Money, and Messaging: Understanding Political Polarization in U.S. Elections from 2012 to 2024 - Kazi Mehedi Hasan, Southern Illinois University
Charting a Critical Path to Strategic Communication: Social Media Analytics Governance in Ghanaian Organizations - Paul Badasu, Ghana Institute of Journalism & Prof. Mavis Amo-Mensah, University of Education, Winneba
AI Panel 1: Applied AI in education/pedagogy, design, & business
AI in Higher Education: An Analysis of Academic Influencers’ Endorsement of AI-Based Tools on Instagram - Nikhil Reddy Kondam, Ohio University & Sonali Jha, Ohio University
Artificial Intelligence in Architecture Pedagogy: Possibilities, Restrictions, and Implications - Eric Farr, Southern Illinois University & Poorang Piroozfar, University of Brighton
Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Marketing and Advertising: Predicting the Future of Consumer Engagement - Kavita Karan, Southern Illinois University, Ebru Bodur, Southern Illinois University & Bakina Wellars, Southern Illinois University
Toward Human-Centered Building Systems: Artificial Intelligence-Driven Dynamic Thermal Comfort Management and Control Using Natural Language Processing and Internet of Things - Farshad Kheiri, Southern Illinois University, Eric P Farr, Southern Illinois University & Amos Kalua, Southern Illinois University
Examining Patient Attitudes Toward AI Applications in Disease Assessment and Treatment - Jiangxue (Ashley) Han, Appalachian State University & Shanshan Lou, Appalachian State University
Communication for Social Change Panel 1: Development and social change 'stakeholders’
Communication for Social Change: Addressing HPV Vaccine Hesitancy in Nigeria through Inclusive Stakeholder Engagement/submissions for the competition - Anu Olagunju, Temple University & Samira Galadima
Celebrity Humanitarianism and Dignified Storytelling: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Viral Fundraising Videos in Global North and South Contexts - Rosie Nguyen, Cornell University
Stakeholder engagement and participation in the cycle of development project: a study of the USAID-funded RING II project in Ghana - Bismark Odum-Sackey, Ohio University
Using Photovoice to Address Development in the Penda Community, Ghana: A Participatory Research Approach - Joshua W. Kampim, Ohio University
10:30-10:45 BREAK
SESSION 2 - 10:45am - noon
Community media and local autonomy
The Coverage of Community Issues as Non-Negotiable Principle: Investigating the Programming of Rwanda Community Radio Stations - Wellars Bakina, Southern Illinois University
Forging Critical Paths Audience Gatekeeping, Algorithmic Visibility, and Journalistic Autonomy in Turkish Independent Media - Sumeyya Akdilek, Texas Tech University
Negotiating Gender, Capital, and Globalization: Women’s Media Training at the Bophana Center in Ratanakiri Province - Minsoo Lee, Temple University
Humanitarian and disaster communication: Government and community-driven solutions
Institutional Approaches to Disaster Communication: Government and Nonprofit Use of Instagram During the 2025 Los Angeles Wildfires - Eirene Binabiba, Ohio University & Ama Boatemaa Ofori-Birikorang, Ohio University
Data Ethics in Humanitarianism: The Politics of Data Collection and Representation in Crisis Response - Eirene Binabiba, Ohio University
The phenomenon of "quarry kids": Exploring parent and community perspectives on children engaged in quarry activities in Ghana - Ama Dufie Ofori-Birikorang, Ohio University
Cinema, race and labor
Between Dreams and Nightmares: A Textual Analysis of Black Horror and Afrofuturistic Works - Dajonea Robinson, Southern Illinois University
Locating Survivance in African American Films: A Journey to the Source - Damilola Adeleye Ojeyemi, Southern Illinois University
The Psyche, The Corporation and The Worker: Identity and the (Non) Self in Possessor (2020) - Sagar Krishna, Southern Illinois University
12-1 LUNCH
OPENING PLENARY PANEL – 1pm-2:30pm
Critical path-making: Reframing critical communication through encounter, play and generative connectivity
Opening remarks- Dr. Hong Cheng, Dean, College of Arts and Media, Southern Illinois University
Medicine on the Breath, Magic in the Making: Drawing from de-colonial processes for storytelling as path-making. Allen Turner, Assistant Professor of Game Development, Interactive Media, School of Design, DePaul University
The Dymaxion Boat: River travel as a critical path to connection in a hyper-mediated world - Joseph Underhill. Director Human Rights Foundation, Augsburg University, Environmental Studies Director, Associate Professor
A Critical Path Crossroads: Navigating a way forward through the artifacts of Buckminster Fuller - Elizabeth Donaghue, Assistant Director, University Honors Program, SIUC and Board President, Fuller Dome Home; Benjamin Lowder, artist, curator, Director, Fuller Dome (Geoscope), SIU Edwardsville and Fuller Dome Home board member
2:30-2:45 BREAK
SESSION 3 - 2:45-4:00pm
Food narratives as pedagogies for cultural resistance
Comidas del Alma at Regis University - Camilo Perez, Regis University
The Soul Food Initiative at Slippery Rock University - Franklyn Charles, Slippery Rock University
Narrativas al Pie del Fogón - Jennifer Marsiglia
Media, Anti-capitalist Resistance and Environmental Politics
Learning to press the “off” button: What a small French rural community can teach us about environmental and anti-capitalist resistance - Fabienne Darling-Wolf, Temple University
From ecocide to genocide: Greta Thunberg as decolonial celebrity - Patrick D. Murphy, Temple University
Navigating crisis through comics: Mighty Joo as a path to environmental resistance in Ghana - Emmanuel Septime Sessou, Merrimack College
Global Climate change and sustainability negotiations
A Perspectival Report on the Just Transition Negotiations: Different Meanings of "Just" and "Transition" in the UN Climate Change Talks - Tom Duncanson
Understanding Sustainable Development Goals: The Communication Strategies Used in Ghana - Francis Ametepey, Ohio University
Reclaiming Voices through Festival for Development: Decolonizing Community Empowerment in Woarabeba - Bismark Odum-Sackey, Ohio University, Godfred Asare Yeboah, Ohio University & Saumya Pant, Ohio University
4:00-4:15 BREAK
SESSION 4 - 4:15-5:45pm
The Uneven Globalization of Four U.S. Streaming Giants: Economic Challenges, Inconsistent Strategies, Resurgence and Decline
Amazon Prime Video: From Silicon Valley to Hollywood Studios - Silvia DalBen Furtado, University of Texas-Austin
Disney+: The Struggle between Strategic Diversification, Localization, and Market Shock - Joe Straubhaar, University of Texas, Austin
“Indigenizing the Global:” The case of Reliance subsuming Disney+ in India - Swapnil Rai, University of Michigan
The Costs and Benefits of Vertical Integration in Netflix's Transnational Production and Distribution Circuit - Stuart Davis, City University of New York--Baruch College
Managing Brands and Mergers: WarnerBros Discovery’s Road to Max - Melissa Santillana, Texas Tech University
Journalism Panel 1: Precarity and changing journalistic norms
Performing the news: How news influencers enact journalistic roles on Instagram - Alejandro Hernandez, University of Texas at Austin
Journalism at risk: Authoritarian threats against local and exiled journalists in Costa Rica -Celeste González de Bustamante, Silvia DalBen Furtado, Gustavo Fucks, University of Texas at Austin
The killer geography of ‘Tribal’ journalism: Existential threats to news labor in Pakistan’s troubled Pashtun periphery - Syed Irfan Ashraf, Peshawar University
The role of independent journalism in contemporary Turkish civil protests - Caitlin Marie Miles, University of Texas at Dallas
Resilience in the Face of Falsehoods: How Moldovans Navigate Disinformation - Adriana Bzovii, Southern Illinois University
Counter hegemonic Initiatives: A Discussion on Challenges and Opportunities in Disorienting Times
Voices in Youth: Gen Z, Press Freedom, and Democratic Resistance in Contemporary Turkey - Ebru Bodur, Southern Illinois University
Community Media as a Tool for Inclusive Voices: Hindrances and Opportunities - Bakina Wellars, Southern Illinois University
Resistance through Sufi Poetry and Music in Post 9/11 Cinema: A Close Reading of the Film Khuda kay liye (In the Name of God) - Pervez Khan, Southern Illinois University
The changing face of creative political resistance in Pakistan - Sheezah Taimouri, Southern Illinois University
Saturday, October 18th
8-9am - Light breakfast
SESSION 5 - 9-10:30am
Tracing Critical Paths in the Global South: Communication, Care, and Community Resilience in Disorienting Times
Chess Moves Social Change - Shalewa Babatayo, University of Central Florida
Community Organizing for Climate Change Resilience in Coastal Sierra Leone: A Critical Reflective Analysis of a Global South Community Driven Response to Climate Change Crisis - Usman Bah, University of Cincinnati
Reframing Mental Health Advocacy in Ghana - Victor Dei, University of Kentucky
Impact of Socio-Economic and Healthcare Barriers on Doctors’ Management and Prevention of Hepatitis B in Ghana - Mohammed Awal, Ohio University
This is fine: Mapping Climate Discourse Through Reddit Sh*tposting
Memeingful Action: A Semiotic Analysis of the Role of Digital Humor in Climate Activism and Community Building - Alejandro Hernandez, University of Texas at Austin
Understanding the manifestations of climate humor - Ailish F Elzy, University of Texas at Austin
Reddit as a climate community of in-groups and out-groups - Kellen Sharp, University of Texas at Austin
Semiotic approach to climate humor and community building - Carlo Byrd, University of Texas at Austin
Gender matters
Antifeminism as a winning political strategy: A case study of the 2022 Korean presidential election campaign - Munui Park, Temple University
Contested Memories and Conflicting Narratives: A Critical Discourse Analysis of the “Iron Chain Woman” Incident in China - Ziwei Xu, Temple University
Exploitation of women’s bodies through science: A critical analysis of ‘Our Father’ Netflix’s documentary - Rose Matlhohonolofatso Moremoholo, Ohio University
Media coverage of LBGTQ+ as discourses of “rupture”: Muting the voices of inclusion and diversity in Ghana - Ama Boatemaa Ofori-Birikorang, Ohio University
10:30-10:45 BREAK
SESSION 6 - 10:45 - noon
AI Panel 2: Ideological implications of AI and new technologies
AI, Politics, and Language: Comparing Linguistic Patterns in DeepSeek and OpenAI’s Political Ideology Discourses - Tasnuva Alam Ahona, University of Texas, Austin
Deepfakes as new frontiers of decolonization discourses in the recently formed Alliance of Sahel States - Emmanuel Septime Sessou, Merrimack College
Exploring Geographical Disparities in AI-Generated Images in the World's Largest Cities - Silvia DalBen Furtado, Celeste González de Bustamante, Tasnuva Ahona, Yanran Gong, Jiawen Yang, Carlo Byrd, Kellen Sharp, Shiv Ganesh, University of Texas at Austin
Communication for Social Change Panel 2: Participatory theater as a tool for social change
Collaborative Theatre Practices in Socially Sustainable Communities: Building Connectivity Through Collective Action in India and Ghana - Godfred Asare Yeboah, Ohio University
A Multifaceted Approach to Creating Stories that Reconnect Creators with Critical Paths in Disorienting Times: Photography, 360Video, and Theater of the Oppressed as Methods for Building Capacity and Indigenous Leadership in Amazonian Ecuador – Megan Westervelt, Ohio University & Jorge Castillo, Ohio University
Exploring Solid Waste Disposal Practices Ghanaians at Ohio University: Using Theatre for Development as a Tool for Awareness, Leading to Social Change - Esther Afriyie, Ohio University
Surrogate Mothers Act their Way to Empowerment: Role of Participatory Theater in Uncovering Narratives of Resistance and Transformation in India - Saumya Pant, Ohio University & Joy Talemwa, Ohio University
Health, Agency, and Community: Narratives of Awareness, Barriers, and Advocacy
Breast Cancer Awareness an Agentic Perspective within the Social Cognitive Theory: An Analysis of Think Pink Malawi’s Walkathon - Jessie Gongolo, Ohio University
“When are you having another baby?”: Untold stories of traumatic experiences of women with childbirth and mothering - Rose Moremoholo, Ohio University
Mental health challenges in rural Uganda - Joy Talemwa, Ohio University
Investigating the impact of socio-economic and healthcare barriers on Hepatitis B prevalence in Ghana - Mohammed Awal, Ohio University
12-1 LUNCH
SESSION 7 – 1pm - 2:15pm
Precarity, networking and resistance
Social Media and Grassroots Political Activism: The Case of the Ethiopian #NoMore Movement - Mikias Sissay, Temple University
Resistance and Media in Southeast Asia: Lessons from counter-authoritarian messaging in Myanmar, Thailand and the Philippines – Lisa Brooten, Southern Illinois University
Gig Work/ers in Neoliberal India: Platform Economy and Digital Labour in Baaki Vannavar (The Leftovers, 2022) and Zwigato - Sagar Krishna, Southern Illinois University
Neutered Networks & the Politics of Digital Feminist Activism in Turkey - Caitlin Marie Miles, University of Texas at Dallas
Higher education in disorienting times
From Displacement to Opportunities: Exploring Afghan Refugee Women’s Access to Higher Education in the United States - Jamila Iqbal, Ohio University
Defining and Teaching Collaboration - Lucy Cashion, St Louis University
Exploring the Impact of U.S. Foreign Aid Suspension on International Students with Scholarships: A Creative Study - Kaung Latt, Ohio University
The Critical Path: Streaming Platforms, Social Change, and Stability
Debating the (South African) practice of polygamy in online audience discourses - Shelley Bradfield, Central College
Proximities Across Borders: Global TV Consumption, Identities and Intersections - Yesim Kaptan, Kent State University
From Television to the Internet: When a Rogue TV Detective Becomes a Real-life Mayor - Sebnem Baran, Smith College
2:15-2:30pm BREAK
KEYNOTE PLENARY - 2:30-3:30 pm
Academic immigrants in pursuit of a home and solidarity
Dr Dafna Lemish, Distinguished Professor, School of Communication and Information, Rutgers University
3:30-3:45 BREAK
SESSION 8 - 3:45-5:15pm
Journalism Panel 2: Strategies of media use
Somali Immigrants and Media Use for Political Integration in the United States - Abukar Sanei, Ohio University
Framing the Revolution: How News Media Constructed the July 2024 Uprising in Bangladesh - Didarul Islam Manik, Jahidul Islam Sarker & Tariqul Islam, Central New Mexico Community College
International Whiplash: Shifting Russia-Ukraine War Policies and the NATO-Ukraine Dilemma - Marcia P. Neeley
She Speaks Anyway: Women Experts' Engagement Strategies with the News Media in Ghana - Betty Kankam-Boadu, Ohio University
Developing Ethical Guidelines for Reporting Gender-Based Violence in Pakistan: Lessons from SPJ and VAWA - Zoya Fateh Muhammad, Ohio University
Global TV streaming, audiences and the state
Neoliberal, Patriarchal Fairytale of Marry My Husband - Sueen Kelsey, North Park University
Pop the balloon and find clout? SNL, Netflix and the hegemonic co-optation of a Black online dating show - Victor Kalalanda, Colorado State University
Netflix and Soft Nationalism: Korean popular culture goes global - Soo Hyung Kim, Temple University
Turkish Dramas in Iran: The State and Audiences - Mehdi Semati, Northern Illinois University & Azin Naderi Fasarani, Northern Illinois University
Identity, creativity, and signifyin’
Art, Activism and Authority: The Role of Folklore Artists in Civic Democratization in Kyrgyzstan - Chyntemir Kalbaev, Ohio University
Reclaiming Space, Reframing Power: Graffiti and Slogans as Counter-Discourse in South Asian Protest Culture - Didarul Islam Manik, Central New Mexico Community College
Emancipating Identity: Men Adorning Dreadlocks in Accra, Ghana - David Tetteh, Ohio University
Watch me Kill! : Youth, Gamification, and Violent Attention in Nerve (2016) and Spree (2020) - Sagar Krishna, Southern Illinois University
Corporate Identity Management Practices: The Case of a leading multinational telecommunications company in Ghana - Kaithlyn Koomson, University of Education, Winneba
Mexican reception of Netflix’s foreign TV scripted series: A survey of audiences in Monterrey and Guadalajara - José Carlos Lozano, Beatriz Elena Inzunza Acedo & David Gonzalez Hernandez, Texas A&M International University
SATURDAY EVENING PARTY – Details TBA
Sunday, October 19th
Breakfast 8-9am
Global Fusion business meeting – location TBA
SESSION 9 - 9am-10:30am
Community-based health communication initiatives
Understanding the Perception of Fibroids among Women in Southern Malawi: A Narrative Approach - Jessie Gongolo, Ohio University
Understanding the Perspectives of Community Members on Health Communication Strategies of Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) Program: A Health Communication Study in Rural Northern Ghana – Godsway Orison Otchere, Ohio University
Understanding Non-Traditional Mental Health Support Systems in Rural Central Uganda - Joy Talemwa, Ohio University
Indigenous digital resistance: Culture, media, and sovereignty
Singing Joik as a Form of Indigenous Resistance and Transformation: Emerging digital audio spaces for Reclaiming Cultural Identity in Norway - Saumya Pant, Ohio University
ChatGPT AI's Role for Indigenous Language Preservation: Opportunities and Challenges - Victoria L. LaPoe, Ohio University and Benjamin R. LaPoe, II, Ohio University
Relationality in Indigenous Feminism – A Qualitative Study of Women’s Collective Empowerment - Aazadi Fateh Muhammad, Ohio University
Systemic Neglect or Narratives: Media Framing and the Precarity of Kuki-Zo Women - Sonali Jha, Ohio University
Creativity, form and modernism
Buckminster Fuller’s Creative Pathways and Mid-twentieth Century Architecture - J. Kirk Irwin, Southern Illinois University
Reimagining Iranian Dance: Voice, Form, and Resistance - Banafsheh Amiri, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
The Impact of the Entertainment-Education Show ‘By the Fireside’ on Ghanaian Students at Ohio University - Emmanuel Mensah, Ohio University
Rikidozan: Professional Wrestling and the Task of the Translator Through Four Eras – William Schwartz, Southern Illinois University
We will update the schedule page soon. Stay tuned!
If you have any questions, email us at: global.fusion.2025@siu.edu