Research
The Center has enhanced and advanced partnerships established between Middle East universities and Georgia State University by supporting and sustaining a strong relationship with the Arab-U.S. Association for Communication Educators (AUSACE), which Dr. Teel co-founded in 1995. With AUSACE as a base, the Center from 2003 to 2008 received external funding of $499,990 from the U.S. Department of State for developing opportunities for collaboration and knowledge exchange among scholars from the Middle East and the United States. The Center also launched a new academic research journal, the Journal of Middle East Media, hosted visiting Arab scholars and journalists, and conducted media internships and classes for 28 senior Arab journalism students from eight Middle East countries (Morocco, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and the Palestinian Authority).
The Center’s increasingly active research agenda, developed through alliance with international academic conferences, personnel exchange programs, and other academic activities, has resulted in the recent publication of a book by Dr. Teel and scholarly journal articles by Dr. Li and Dr. Kulikova. Dr. Li’s organization of the 7th Chinese Internet Research Conference, held May 27-29, 2009, at the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, and the Center’s support for the annual AUSACE academic conferences have opened new vistas for research in China and Middle East media and communication.