Janet Kwami

Janet Kwami

Professor, Communication Studies

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Dr. Kwami’s academic interests include digital and social media, international communication, media studies, women and gender studies, ICT4D, communication for social change, media in Africa and research methods.

Her research focuses on the intersections of gender, information and communication technologies and socio-economic development. Her current research explores social inequity, and the a​ppropriation, use and impact of digital technologies in the global South, particularly in Ghana, West Africa. She received a multi-year National Science Foundation (NSF) research grant​ to study how marginalized communities in Africa and China self-organize with digital tools.

Dr. Kwami’s professional experience spans a wide variety of roles in the field of mass media including advertising, public relations, journalism, graphic design, multimedia production and research design.

She has published articles and research reports in peer-reviewed venues such as Studies in Comparative International Development, Communication, Culture & Critique, International Communication Gazette and Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly. She teaches in the Film Studies interdisciplinary minor and is an affiliate faculty member at the Shi Center for Sustainability.​​​​​​​​

Honors

  • Alester G. Furman, Jr., and Janie Earle Furman Awards for Meritorious Teaching, 2016 – 2017

  • Graduate Student Award, Gender in Africa and the African Diaspora​ (GAAD) RIG, University of Oregon, June 2009

  • Lorry Lokey Graduate Student Scholarship, School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon, 2008 – 2009

  • Kenneth S. Ghent Scholarship, University of Oregon, 2008 – 2009

  • John Haines African Scholarship, University of Oregon, 2008 – 2009

  • Kappa Tau Alpha, National Honor Society (Journalism and Mass Communication), June 2007​

  • P.E.O. International Peace Scholarship, 2006 – 2008

  • International Fellowship, American Association of University Women (AAUW), 2005 – 2006

  • Professor K.A.B. Jones-Quartey Memorial Award Prize for Best Graduating Student in Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Ghana, March 2002

  • Mobil Award for Best Graduating Student, College of Art, University of Science and Technology, Ghana, December 2000

  • Mobil Award for Best Graduating Student in Publishing Studies, University of Science and Technology, Ghana, December 2000

Education

  • Ph.D., University of Oregon
  • Graduate Certificate in Women and Gender Studies, University of Oregon
  • M.Phil., University of Ghana
  • B.A., University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

Publications

  • Steeves, H. L., & Kwami, J. (2017). Interrogating Gender Divides in Technology for Education and Development: the Case of the One Laptop per Child Project in Ghana. Studies in Comparative International Development, 52(2), 174-192.​
  • Kwami, J. (2016). Development from the Margins? Mobile Technologies, Transnational Mobilities and Livelihood Practices among Ghanaian Women Traders. Communication, Culture & Critique.
  • Kwami, J. (2015). Gender, Entrepreneurship and Informal Markets in Africa: Understanding How Ghanaian Women Traders Self-Organize with Digital Tools. In J. Ofori-Dankwa, & K. Omane-Antwi (Eds.) Comparative Case Studies on Entrepreneurship in Developed and Developing Countries (pp. 19-49). Hershey, PA: IGI.
  • Kwami, J. (2015). Review of: Speaking Up and Talking Back? Media Empowerment and Civic Engagement among East and Southern African Youth.” Discourse & Communication 9, 509-512.
  • Kwami, J. (2014). Review: Media, Communication and Development: Three Approaches. By Linje Manyozo. Democratic Communiqué, 26(1), 61.
  • Steeves, H.L. & Kwami, J. (2012). ICT4D, Gender Divides, and Development: The Case of Ghana. In S. Melkote (Ed.) Development Communication in Directed Social Change: A Reappraisal of Theory & Practice. Singapore: AMIC.
  • Kwami, J. Wolf-Monteiro, B. & Steeves, H.L. (2011). Toward a 'Macro-Micro' Analysis of Gender, Power and ICTs: A Response to Micky Lee's Feminist Political Economic Critique of the Human Development Approach to New ICTs." International Communication Gazette, 73: 539-549.
  • Kwami, J. (2007). “Media, Information and Development in Papua New Guinea.” Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly. 84 (1), 187-188.
  • Kwami, J. (2007). Expanding the Frontiers of Rural Access. Iconnect Online Newsletter.
  • Slater, D. & Kwami, J. (2005). Embeddedness and Escape: Internet and Mobile phone Us as Poverty Reduction Strategies in Ghana. Information Society Research Group Working Paper Series, 4.

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