Doris Wesley

Bio

Doris Wesley is a doctoral scholar in the Communication, Rhetoric, & Digital Media program. She teaches communication studies courses such as public speaking, international and cross-cultural communication, conflict management, etc. In addition, she collaborates with a bright team of scholars (both nationally and internationally) on issues surrounding communication, conflict transformation, and counter-terrorism. Her recent research projects entail using multimodal techniques to explore the testimonies, discourse, and visual (media) representation of terrorist survivors and Internally Displaced Persons and creating a dispute system design for nonprofit and governmental organizations. Her research interests include organizational and institutional conflict transformation, digital archives and storytelling, terrorist and trauma survivors’ testimonies, counter-terrorism, African feminism, non-violent communication, and communication pedagogy. Doris has authored several peer-reviewed journal articles and received several awards, honors, and grants. She continues to collaborate on projects and participates in several (inter)national fora.

In addition to her teaching and research, Doris is an internationally-acclaimed conflict coach and humanitarian. She is the founder of the DEW Foundation with several initiatives that passionately serve vulnerable underrepresented individuals and develop impoverished communities by providing resources, mentorship, and a safe community to improve their well-being. Doris enjoys spending her free time speaking, educating, coaching, mentoring, and sharing ideas and knowledge in the areas of Communication, Conflict-Transformation, Counter-Terrorism, and Personal Development. She enjoys impacting our world positively and contributing value.

Visit www.doriswesley.com to learn more about her!

Research Publications

Wesley, D., & Jameson, J. (in press). Communication Approaches to Community Peacebuilding. In A.S. Samoilenko & S. Simmons (Eds.), Wiley Handbook on Social and Political Conflict. Wiley Press.

Wesley, D., Smutherman, M., & Pandya, M. (in press). (Re)imagining communication in a digital world. In G. Hummel & A. Hall (Eds.), Perspectives on Communication. Kendal Hunt.

Wesley, D., & Matusitz, J. (in press). Decolonizing Digital Access: A Meta-Analytic Review of Boko Haram Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). Journal of Information Technology.

Wesley, D., & Matusitz, J. (under review). Spoilers in a Democratic Peace Process: A Critical Assessment of the 2023 Nigeria Presidential Election. Journal of Social and Economic Development.

Wesley, D. (2024). Framing Terrorism Survivors: Visual Representation of Boko Haram Survivors in International News Media. Western Journal of Communication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10570314.2023.2294718

Smutherman, M., & Wesley, D. (2023). Digitized: The Visual Rhetoric of Black Feminist Storytellers on Instagram. In K.S. Haydel & D. Stamps (Eds.), At the Intersection of Black Identities & Mass Media: Black Identities and Media. 310 – 328. LSU Press.

Wesley, D. (2021). A Critical-Rhetorical Analysis of Michelle Obama’s Messages on the Abduction of the Nigerian Chibok Girls. Journal of Communication and Media Research, 13(1), 13–26. Click here to access the article!

Wesley, D. (2021). Empowerment through silence: A critical discourse analysis of Boko Haram survivor narratives. International Gender Research, 4(1), 333–339. doi:10.34190/IGR.21.055 Click here to access the article!

Schwartzman, R., & Wesley, D. (2020). Feminizing resilience: Transcending toughness in testimonies of Jewish Holocaust survivors. International Gender Research, 3(1), 228–234. Click here to access the article!

National and International Presentations

Wesley, D. (November 16–19, 2023). Spoilers in a Democratic Peace Process: A Critical Assessment of the 2023 Nigeria Election. High-density panel session held at the 109th. Annual National Communication Association (NCA) Conference. National Habor, Maryland.

Wesley, D., Smutherman, & M., Pandya, M. (November 16–19, 2023). Perspectives on Communication: (Re)Imagining Communication in a Digital World. Presented at the Partnership for Progress on the Digital Divide at the 109th. Annual National Communication Association (NCA) Conference. National Habor, Maryland.

Wesley, D. (November 16–19, 2023). Children Freedom Festival. Judge at the facilitation session to be held at the 109th. Annual National Communication Association (NCA) Conference. National Habor, Maryland.

Wesley, D. (November 16–19, 2023). How to Be a Reviewer #2 and Still Maintain Our Core Humanness. Womentoring session for Woman Caucus, Feminist and Gender Studies Division. The 109th. Annual National Communication Association (NCA) Conference. National Habor, Maryland.

Wesley, D., Smutherman, M. (October 21-22, 2023). Digitized: The Visual Rhetoric of Black Feminist Storytellers on Instagram. To be presented at the Black Women Studies Association (BWSA) for the Black Feminist Ecologies and Materialism Roundtable. Looking Forward: BWS in the 21st Century.

Wesley, D., Wiley, S., Smutherman, M., Pandya, M., Khan, L. K., Flannery, M. (May 30, 2023). The Decolonial Media Studies Archive: Decolonizing and politicizing epistemology. ICA POST CONFERENCE – Epistemic Injustice and the Role of Authenticity. Presented at the Media Ethics Lab for the Communication & Media Ethics Division and organized by the International Communication Association. The University of Toronto, Canada.

Wesley, D. (March 25, 2023). Community Engagement and Partnership Panel with White Rock Baptist Church Community Members. Presented at the Black Research Symposium organized by the African American Cultural Center. North Carolina State University.

Wesley, D. (March 23, 2023). Amplifying Voices of Black Communities: The Power of Storytelling. We Will Tell Our Own Story: Changing the African Narrative through Digital Engagement! The Afro-Diasporic Worldbuilding and a Sustainable Futurity. Presented at The Black Research Symposium organized by the African American Cultural Center. North Carolina State University.

Kindly visit my website (www.doriswesley.com) to view previous years presentations (dating back to 2017)

Projects

Researcher and Dispute System Designer. (2022). Dispute System Design Framework for The DEW Foundation: Preventing, Managing, and Transforming Conflict Among Board of Directors in Non-Profit Organizations.

Researcher and Designer. (2022). The Existing and Evolving Aspects of Mobilities in the Global South StoryMapping Project. Digital Humanities (DH). (here is the link to the project: https://arcg.is/0v8vfW1)

Researcher/Co-facilitator/Content Curator. (2021). Peer-to-Peer University (P2PU) Learning Circle Redesign Project. National Communication Association (NCA). (here is the link to the website: https://www.p2pu.org/en/)