Interview with Albaraa Altourah - visiting professor

By Michaela Nespěchalová, March 2024

Dr. Albaraa Altourah is an assistant Professor of Mass Communication Chair, Global Studies Center Gulf University for Science and Technology, Kuwait and he was a visiting professor at the Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University during the Spring 2024.

1. How do you like Brno and can you share some experience so far?

I think so far so good. The city is very alive! I find it to be busy with people and there is a nice vibe going on. I like these kinds of cities as it is important to mention that Brno is one of the cities that are not too big to stress you or they are not too small, so they bore you. Therefore, I think it's the right-sized city for any student.

2. What is the scope of your visit to the Faculty of Social Studies?

I am co-teaching a course here with Dr. Khin-Wee Chen called Semiauthoritarian Media Systems in South East Asia and the Middle East in the spring semester.

We are talking about media, media tactics, and propaganda. The purpose of my visit here is to teach and get engaged with the students here at the Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University.

3. What initially attracted you to communication and media studies and has that motivation evolved over time?

It's a very interesting question because if I could go back in time, I would choose another field completely, but I don't want to discourage students by saying that. I think I'm really happy and glad that I chose the field that I'm choosing right now or that I chose already. Why I chose it? It was a challenge. It was a challenge between me and my professor. I still remember this course where I asked him to explain to me a theory that he mentioned in class and when he was trying to explain it, he didn't explain it at length. He just said you don't need to know it because it's too complicated. I truly wanted to understand it, and I took this as a challenge to study media and to understand media theory. Eventually, my doctorate was based on this very particular theory that he refused to explain to me, so I took it as a challenge.

4. Can you discuss a research project that you found particularly groundbreaking?

I think the research is done in agenda-setting theory and communication and I find them to be very groundbreaking. As a student of social studies yourself, you know that in social studies there aren't any right or wrong answers because it's all socially constructed. And when it comes to the agenda-setting theory, I think it's one of the studies that were conducted and we could have some statistical and quantitative results as the theory itself can have its own weight and its own effects within the society. So I'm always fascinated with any research related to the agenda-setting theory. I don't want to explain the theory, I'll let the students do the research and try to understand what is agenda-setting theory.

5. Do you have any messages for our students willing to study here or looking forward to or just current students?

To be very honest I noticed that more and more students are using ChatGPT in order to either circumvent their way or to learn from it. And I would like to tell these students that ChatGPT is there to help them in their studies and to help them to understand.

I would like to encourage students to use it the right way and to ask the right questions. It's always about asking the right questions, whether it's ChatGPT or in real life. We, as professors here don't teach students as much as we respond to your questions. Therefore, you teach yourself based on the right questions or the wrong questions that you asked. I encourage you to ask the right questions whether it's for ChatGPT or real-life professors.