Ignatius G.D Suglo, Ph.D

Ignatius G.D. Suglo is a media and cultural historian and a scholar of global media whose research interests straddle two sets of intersecting fields. The first puts media and communication studies in conversation with Afro-Asian studies. This strand of research engages with the African presence in Chinese media from the 19th century to the present and their role in knowledge production, circulation, and worldmaking. The second is at the intersection of media histories and critical digital media. This strand of research examines histories of digital media and how older and newer forms of media coexist in hybrid media ecologies in multiple contexts including social movements and archiving practices.

Ignatius has lived, studied, and worked extensively on four continents — Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. Experiences garnered from these varying locales and academic communities shape his research and teaching which is global, transregional, and interdisciplinary.

Prior to joining the Department of Rhetoric and Communication Studies at University of Richmond, Ignatius was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Advanced Research in Global Communication. He received a Ph.D. from the University of Hong Kong, M.A. from Beijing Language and Culture University, and B.A. from the University of Ghana. His writing has appeared in leading journals including Media, Culture & Society, Journal of Asian and African Studies, and Verge: Studies in Global Asias.