Staff Profile

/Dr Oswelled Ureke
Dr Oswelled Ureke

Position: Senior Lecturer

Department: Media, Communication, Film and Theatre
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Qualifications:

  • PhD in Cultural and Media Studies (UKZN)
  • Master of Sciences Media and Society Studies (MSU)
  • Bachelor of Sciences Media and Society Studies Honours (MSU)
  • Post Graduate Diploma in Tertiary Education (MSU)

Research interests:

  • Screen media studies
  • Political economy of the media
  • Social media

Articles published in refereed journals

  • Ureke, O. (2021), ‘Zimbabwe: Cinema exhibition and consumption in a shadow economy, Screen 62(3), doi: 10.1093/screen/hjab032
  • Ureke, O., Mhiripiri, N.A., Mangwana Mubayiwa, M. (2021), ‘Aesthetic of innocence: Experiencing Self-filming by the San of Zimbabwe’, Africa Development, XLVI (1), p93-116
  • Mhiripiri, N.A, Ureke, O. and Mangwana-Mubayiwa, M. (2020), ‘The discursive dynamics of action research and Zimbabwean San people’s production of audio-visual stories’, in Africa Development, XLV(4), p77-106
  • Ureke, O. (2019), ‘Locating Sembène’s mégotage in Zimbabwe’s kiya kiya video-film production’, in Journal of African Cultural Studies. DOI: 10.1080/13696815.2019.1599829
  • Mhiripiri, N.A and Ureke, O. (2019), ‘Theoretical paradoxes of representation and the problems of media representations of Zimbabwe in crisis’, in Critical Arts, 32(5-6), p87-103. DOI: 10.1080/02560046.2018.1548026
  • Ureke, O. (2019), ‘Zimbabwean indigenization and the shadow economy of cinematic production, in Communicatio, 44(4), p32-47. DOI: 10.1080/02500167.2018.1534872
  • Ureke, O. (2018), ‘Introducing the ‘drasofi’: A genre of convenience and in Zimbabwean film production, in Journal of African Cinemas, 10(1+2), pp147-164. DOI 10.1386/jac.10.1-2.147_1 
  • Ureke, O and Tomaselli, K.G. (2017), “From ‘African cinema’ to film services industries: A cinematic fact” in Journal of African Cinemas, Vol. 9(1), p75-92.
  • Ureke, O. (2016) ‘State interference, para-politics and editorial control: The Political Economy of ‘Mirrorgate’ in Zimbabwe’, Journal of African Media Studies 8(1), pp17-34.
  • Chibuwe, A & Ureke, O. (2016) ‘”Political gladiators” on Facebook in Zimbabwe: A discursive analysis of intra-Zimbabwe African National Union PF cyber wars; Baba Jukwa vs Amai Jukwa,’ Media Culture & Society, 38(8), pp1247-1260. DOI: 10.1177/0163443716671492
  • Ureke, O and Washaya, Y. (2016), ‘Social commentary, subaltern voices and the alternative medium of Zimdancehall music. Unpacking the music of Winky D and Sniper Storm,’ in Muziki: Journal of Music Research in Africa, 13(1), pp68-88. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/18125980.2016.1182383

Published Books and book chapters

  • Ureke, O. (2021), ‘Aesthetic norms and motivations of subaltern video-filmmaking: Comic skits and mobile journalism of the everyday in Zimbabwe’ (Chpt 10), in A. Vailati and G. Zamorano (ed) Ethnographies of On-Demand Films, Cham: Springer Nature. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78911-4_10
  • Ureke, O. (2020), ‘Cyberwar and militarization of communication’, in M. Filimowicz and V. Tzankova (eds) Reimagining Communication: Action, London/New York: Routledge, p303-319
  • Mhiripiri, N.A and Ureke, O. (2016), ‘Mobile Journalism, Cellphilms, and the use of the Storymaker multimedia softaware at a Zimbabwean media training university’ in L. Briz-Ponce, J.A. Juanes-Mendez and F.J. Garcia-Penalvo. (Eds), Handbook of Research on Mobile Devices and Applications in Higher Education Settings, pp318-343. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-0256-2.ch014

Book Reviews

  • Ureke, O. (2016), ‘Book Review: Katrina Daly Thompson (2013) Zimbabwe’s Cinematic Arts: Language, Power, Identity’ Journal of African Cinemas in Journal of African Cinemas, Vol.8(2), pp222-225.

CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS AND GUEST LECTURES

  • Participated online in the University of Zambia, Department of Media and Communication Studies Research Colloquium (3 September 2021). Delivered guest a lecture on ‘Reflexivity in qualitative research’.
  • Participated online in the Film Audience Movement and Migration Conference (7-9 September 2020), Oxford Brookes University, UK. Presented a paper titled Alternative Screens: Zimbabwean screen media, audiences and consumption dynamics
  • Participated in Meaning Making Research Initiatives Publication and Dissemination workshop (30 November – 1 December 2019) in Kigali Rwanda. Presented paper titled ‘An aesthetic of Innocence. Zimbabwe’s San Filming Themselves’
  • Participated in South African Humanities Deans Association Conference (2-4 September 2019), Time, Thought and Materiality: Africa and the Fourth Industrial Revolution at University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Presented a paper titled: South of South: Audio-visual technology and the San of Zimbabwe,
  • Participated in the African Film Fellowship single-camera documentary production course, 2018 at University of Cape Town, South Africa
  • Participated in the ASAUK Conference at Birmingham University, UK, 11-13 September 2018. Presented paper titled ‘Zimbabwe: Cinema viewership in a shadow economy’
  • Participated in the CODESRIA Methodology and Scholarly Writing workshop (19-14 February 2018), in Harare, Zimbabwe
  • Participated in the Media Cities: Mapping Urban Geography and Audio-visual Configurations conference at University of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa (2016) presented paper titled: Introducing the drasofi: A genre of convenience and context in Zimbabwean film production
  • School of Applied Human sciences conference, UKZN, Durban (November 2014), presented paper titled: Filmic Fact, Cinematic Fact: What is African Cinema?
  • Participated in the Mobile Community Zimbabwe mobile media production workshop in the use of the Storymaker multimedia production software (May 2015) and Viva Video (May 2016)
  • Participated in the Zimbabwe national broadcasting content strategy workshop (2015) in Harare, Zimbabwe

Creative output

Review and Evaluation Work

  • Journal of African Cinemas
  • Critical Arts
  • African Journalism Studies
  • Communicatio
  • Communicare
  • African Identities
  • African Journal of Communication
  • Journal of Black Studies
  • Qualifications and Programmes assessor/reviewer for Zimbabwe Council of Higher Education (ZIMCHE) since 2015
  • Durban International Film Festival 2014 media reviews coordinator

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