DR. VOLHA KANANOVICH
I am a journalism and communication scholar studying how news and public expression online shape the legitimacy of various forms of citizen participation in public life — from protesting to paying taxes to deliberating about matters of public concern — across authoritarian and democratic contexts.
I examine this question across different forms of public discourse — including news stories, government discourse, online memes, and audience comments — asking who gets to speak, whose position is recognized, and how the authority to participate in public meaning-making is granted, (re)claimed, and challenged in contested information environments.
My work has been supported by grants, recognized with research and teaching awards, and published in flagship communication journals, including Mass Communication & Society, Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, International Journal of Press/Politics, International Journal of Communication, Journalism Studies, Journalism, American Behavioral Scientist, New Media & Society, and Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, among other peer-reviewed publications.
I hold two doctoral degrees: a Ph.D. in Mass Communication from the University of Iowa and a Ph.D. in Economics from the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. Before coming to academia, I worked as a journalist and communication specialist for international development organizations in Belarus, a post-Soviet country whose political and media environment continues to inform my interest in journalism, power, and citizen participation.
I work as an associate professor in the Department of Communication at Appalachian State University, where I teach classes in journalism and multimedia storytelling. I am also affiliated with the Center for Publics, Platforms & Personalization (CP3), an interdisciplinary research group at the University of Iowa that adds a platform-centered layer to my work.
I have been fortunate to take on service roles that connect me with scholarly, professional, and local journalism communities. These include serving on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Communication Inquiry, chairing the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Broadcast & Mobile Journalism Division, and serving on the Grant Selection Committee of the North Carolina Local News Lab Fund, among others.
When I am not writing or teaching, you can find me hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains or practicing mildly impressive figure-skating moves at a local ice rink.
I welcome opportunities for conversation and collaboration, so please feel free to get in touch.