RESEARCH AGENDA
Driven by social and professional experience as an activist for social justice, my research agenda investigates actions of change in activist movements and in the lives of individuals from underprivileged and marginalized groups. By conducting theoretical, qualitative, auto-ethnographic, and digital research projects, I aim to theorize environmental conditions and rhetorical ecologies that govern actions of change and push them forward to cultivate them in spheres where actions of change are needed.
Driven by social and professional experience as an activist for social justice, my research agenda investigates actions of change in activist movements and in the lives of individuals from underprivileged and marginalized groups. By conducting theoretical, qualitative, auto-ethnographic, and digital research projects, I aim to theorize environmental conditions and rhetorical ecologies that govern actions of change and push them forward to cultivate them in spheres where actions of change are needed.
From the Street to the Screen and Back: Toward a Theory of the Sense of Agency in Hybrid Activism (Monograph in progress)
In this project, I theorize the sense of agency in hybrid activism—which is, activism that happens both online and in the street. I define the sense of agency as the perception one has about one’s own capability of effecting change. I argue that this sense was a critical affect in pushing revolutionary actions forward in the rise of the Arab Spring. To theorize how the sense of agency originates, proliferates, and moves through bodies online and in the street, I examine the role of social media and public images in recent revolutionary movements in the Arab world (2010-2011). With that, I make two distinct contributions to how our field theorizes the relationships between rhetorical agency and space. First, by marking environments as hybrid, I depart from traditional concepts of space that assume online/virtual as separate from offline/material. Second, I treat social media as environments that embrace interactions among humans and non-humans, rather than mere tools in human hands. My work bridges current conversations in rhetorical theory about sociopolitical actions and mediation, and offers insights that may be useful to those working in activist and professional spheres.
In this project, I theorize the sense of agency in hybrid activism—which is, activism that happens both online and in the street. I define the sense of agency as the perception one has about one’s own capability of effecting change. I argue that this sense was a critical affect in pushing revolutionary actions forward in the rise of the Arab Spring. To theorize how the sense of agency originates, proliferates, and moves through bodies online and in the street, I examine the role of social media and public images in recent revolutionary movements in the Arab world (2010-2011). With that, I make two distinct contributions to how our field theorizes the relationships between rhetorical agency and space. First, by marking environments as hybrid, I depart from traditional concepts of space that assume online/virtual as separate from offline/material. Second, I treat social media as environments that embrace interactions among humans and non-humans, rather than mere tools in human hands. My work bridges current conversations in rhetorical theory about sociopolitical actions and mediation, and offers insights that may be useful to those working in activist and professional spheres.
Publications:
Diab, Kefaya. "8 Enabling the Reader." Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing Volume 5: 121 (2023). Download it here.
Diab, Kefaya, et al. "Coda Editorial Collection Introduction." Community Literacy Journal 17.2 (2023): 14. Download it here.
Diab, Kefaya. “The Rise of the Arab Spring through a Sense of Agency.” Rhetoric Society Quarterly. 51.4 (2021): 261-275. Download it here.
Diab, Kefaya, et al. "A Word from Coda's Editors." Community Literacy Journal 15.2 (2021): 15. Download it here.
Baniya, Sweta; Diab, Kefaya; Hendrickson, Brian; Grayson, Mara Lee; Holly, Hassel; Kumari, Ashanka; Larson, Kyle; Messina, Cara Marta; Paul, Gavin; Ruiz, Iris. “Where we Are.” Composition Studies. Fall 2019 issue. Download it here.
Barlow, Aaron; Bowden, Darci; Macklin, Diab, Kefaya; Duffy, Will; Ericsson, Patricia F.; Macklin,Talitha; Meyer, Craig A.; Myer, Whitney; Shealy, Mark; Winslow, Diana; Yancey, Kathi B. Baking It In: Sexual Harassment and Cultural Change in Writing Studies. WAC Clearinghouse. 2019. Download it here.
Diab, Kefaya. “Delivery & Multimedia Composition: Re-claiming Agency in Digital Media for Advocacy and Social Change.” Paideia16. Eds. Mais Al-Kateeb et. al. Plymouth, MI: Hayden-McNeil. Print, 2016, (pp. 115-140). Download it here.
Diab, Kefaya. “Unleashing Creativity: Filmmaking as a Tool to Teach Culture, Critique, and Almost Anything.” The Fourth Annual Don & Sarrah Kidd Literacy Conference. 2013
Diab, Kefaya. The Abandoned Governmental House. Greater Amman Municipality. 2008
Diab, Kefaya. "8 Enabling the Reader." Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing Volume 5: 121 (2023). Download it here.
Diab, Kefaya, et al. "Coda Editorial Collection Introduction." Community Literacy Journal 17.2 (2023): 14. Download it here.
Diab, Kefaya. “The Rise of the Arab Spring through a Sense of Agency.” Rhetoric Society Quarterly. 51.4 (2021): 261-275. Download it here.
Diab, Kefaya, et al. "A Word from Coda's Editors." Community Literacy Journal 15.2 (2021): 15. Download it here.
Baniya, Sweta; Diab, Kefaya; Hendrickson, Brian; Grayson, Mara Lee; Holly, Hassel; Kumari, Ashanka; Larson, Kyle; Messina, Cara Marta; Paul, Gavin; Ruiz, Iris. “Where we Are.” Composition Studies. Fall 2019 issue. Download it here.
Barlow, Aaron; Bowden, Darci; Macklin, Diab, Kefaya; Duffy, Will; Ericsson, Patricia F.; Macklin,Talitha; Meyer, Craig A.; Myer, Whitney; Shealy, Mark; Winslow, Diana; Yancey, Kathi B. Baking It In: Sexual Harassment and Cultural Change in Writing Studies. WAC Clearinghouse. 2019. Download it here.
Diab, Kefaya. “Delivery & Multimedia Composition: Re-claiming Agency in Digital Media for Advocacy and Social Change.” Paideia16. Eds. Mais Al-Kateeb et. al. Plymouth, MI: Hayden-McNeil. Print, 2016, (pp. 115-140). Download it here.
Diab, Kefaya. “Unleashing Creativity: Filmmaking as a Tool to Teach Culture, Critique, and Almost Anything.” The Fourth Annual Don & Sarrah Kidd Literacy Conference. 2013
Diab, Kefaya. The Abandoned Governmental House. Greater Amman Municipality. 2008