Joanne Lim

Contact

• workRoom EA16 Block E
  Malaysia Campus
  Jalan Broga
  43500 Semenyih
  Selangor Darul Ehsan
  Malaysia
• work+6 (03) 8924 8197
• fax+6 (03) 8924 8020
• Joanne.Lim@nottingham.edu.my

Expertise Summary

Dr Joanne Lim is Assistant Professor at the School of Modern Languages and Cultures, University of Nottingham (Malaysia Campus). Recently awarded the Nottingham Chancellor Award for her contribution to the overall teaching and learning experience at the University, Joanne teaches at all levels of the International Communications Studies programmes and the MA in Cultural Studies, specialising in the areas of Media and Cultural Studies, Postcolonialism, Political Communication and the Creative Industries. Her research is concerned with discourses on media and globalization, which explores the politics and implications of the media within Asian transformations (identities, cultures and state politics) in the era of globalization. Her areas of specialization also include youth and popular culture. She has contributed several book chapters including an article published in Media Consumption and Everyday Life in Asia (Youna Kim, 2008). She also contributes to the independent online journal - darkmatter.

Joanne was awarded the UK Postgraduate Research Studentship and obtained her PhD in the field of media and cultural studies from the University of East London. She also possesses qualifications both in Global Media and Communication. Her teaching experience includes conducting lectures at universities in Malaysia and the UK in areas of Postcolonialism, Communications, Broadcast Journalism, and Advertising.

Joanne is a former journalist with one of Malaysia's leading newspaper. She also has experience working as a Broadcast Journalist in Alberta, Canada and co-produced the Dave Ross radio talk show in Seattle, USA. At present, she is working on a research monograph, which explores the cultural politics of alternative/social media in postcolonial societies. She is leading a research project on 'Social Media and The Agency of Youth in Malaysia' and recently completed an International Development Research Centre (Canada) funded Pan-eGov project: 'Youth, ICT, and Political Engagements in Asia'.

Teaching Summary

Joanne teaches at all levels of the International Communications Studies programmes and the MA in Cultural Studies, specialising in the areas of Media and Cultural Studies, Postcolonialism, Political… read more

Research Summary

Joanne is currently leading a research on 'Social Media and the Agency of Youth in Malaysia' under the Malaysian Department of Higher Education's Fundamental Research Grant Scheme. The study examines… read more

Selected Publications

• LIM, J., 2013. Social Media and Transcultural Flows: Videoblogging and the Independent Film Industry in Malaysia International Journal of Cultural Studies. (In Press.)
• LIM, J., 2013. Videoblogging and Youth Activism in Malaysia International Communication Gazette. 75(3), 300-321
• LIM, J.B.Y., 2013. Protesting for change: Social media and the Bersih rallies in Malaysia Networking Knowledge: Journal of the MeCCSA-PGN. (In Press.)
• LIM, J., 2012. Social Media and Youth Activism in Malaysia. In: MALAYSIAN SOCIAL SCIENCES ASSOCIATION, ed., Proceedings: 8th Malaysian Studies Conference (MSC8): Transition and Transformation: State, Market and Culture in a Period of Rapid Change Malaysian Social Science Association, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi.

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Joanne undertakes the following administrative roles within the School:

• Head of Undergraduate Programmes.
• Admissions Tutor for BA (Hons) International Communications Studies (including ICS degrees with Film and Television, and English Language and Literature'.
• Academic-Library Liaison.
• Marketing and Recruitment Committee Member (Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences).
• Teaching and Learning Committee Member (Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences).

Joanne teaches at all levels of the International Communications Studies programmes and the MA in Cultural Studies, specialising in the areas of Media and Cultural Studies, Postcolonialism, Political Communication and the Creative Industries. She is a follower of Stuart Hall and finds areas of postmodernism and post-structuralism to be particularly significant in raising questions about the dialectical struggle between East and West, and the discourses of power and identity within and between nations and nation-states. She also engages with psychoanalytic theory and the work of such thinkers as Jacques Lacan, Homi Bhabha, Edward Said and Gayathri Spivak in examining issues concerning multiculturalism, national identity, religious fragmentation, racial tension, gender (in)equality, and the suppression of human rights. She is particularly interested in the study of Youth Cultures and their use of alternative media forms to articulate and legitimate competing ideological agendas, especially within highly censored societies.

Foundation modules:

• Media and Texts: Culture
• Media and Texts: Society
• Foundations in Politics, Media and Culture

Undergraduate modules:

• Introduction to Cultural Studies
• Cultures of Everyday Life
• Political Communication, PR and Propaganda
• Writing for the Media
• Culture, Film and Media Dissertation

Postgraduate modules:

• Cultural Policy
• Research Methods in Cultural Studies
• Working in the Culture Industry
• Postcolonialism

Current Research

Joanne is currently leading a research on 'Social Media and the Agency of Youth in Malaysia' under the Malaysian Department of Higher Education's Fundamental Research Grant Scheme. The study examines the politics of social media in Malaysia and the issues of youth as consumers, youth as representations and youth as creators, to offer an understanding of changing lives and frustrated desires, contradictions and dispersed sites of youth agency that are refracted into various degrees and forms. By comparing how young adults engage with social media based on their geographical location and social/political determinisms, it may be possible to observe different forces contend to fix their own meanings and (alternative) definitions in the construction of national-and-self identity. The findings of this study will be useful to consider social media as an essential tool in the project of social, cultural and political restructuring.

Joanne is also the country researcher on the International Development Research Centre (IDRC, Canada) PAN eGov Project involving six nations, entitled 'Youth, ICTs, and Political Engagements in Asia'. The project sets out to examine the role of ICT to mobilize and advocate (political) change among young Malaysians. The project is scheduled to deliver a series of reports and a book chapter by the end of November.

Past Research

Most recently, Joanne has researched the cultural politics of the reality TV phenomenon within a postcolonial context and published an article entitled 'Reinventing Nationalism' in Media, Consumption and Everyday Life in Asia.

Previous research also focused on the impact of ICT on Broadcast Journalism, comparing the adoption of ICT between news stations in Malaysia and the United States. This resulted in several published articles including a chapter in Research in Language, Literature and Communication.

Future Research

Research concerned with discourses on media and globalization, which explores the politics and implications of the media within Asian transformations (identities, cultures and state politics) in this new era of technology and political reform. Future research areas include media monitoring, social/alternative media (from independent filmmaking to Internet blogging), youth agency, citizen/activist journalism, self/social governance, gender and human rights.

• LIM, J., 2013. Social Media and Transcultural Flows: Videoblogging and the Independent Film Industry in Malaysia International Journal of Cultural Studies. (In Press.)
• LIM, J., 2013. Videoblogging and Youth Activism in Malaysia International Communication Gazette. 75(3), 300-321
• LIM, J.B.Y., 2013. Protesting for change: Social media and the Bersih rallies in Malaysia Networking Knowledge: Journal of the MeCCSA-PGN. (In Press.)
• LIM, J., 2012. Social Media and Youth Activism in Malaysia. In: MALAYSIAN SOCIAL SCIENCES ASSOCIATION, ed., Proceedings: 8th Malaysian Studies Conference (MSC8): Transition and Transformation: State, Market and Culture in a Period of Rapid Change Malaysian Social Science Association, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi.
• ZHANG, W. & LIM, J., 2012. Social media and general elections in authoritarian democracies: The cases of Malaysia and Singapore. In: 62nd Annual Conference of the International Communication Association, Phoenix, USA..
• LIM, J.B.Y., 2012. Videoblogging and youth activism in Malaysia In: International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) Conference, South-North Conversations, University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban, South Africa.
• LIM, J.B.Y., 2012. Censored Cultures: Social Media and Youth Identities in Malaysia In: Situations: Cultural Studies in the Asian Context International Conference, “Is ‘Trans-Asia’ Possible?: Re-Imagining Asia as a Cultural Crossroads”, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea.
• LIM, J., 2010. Confronting Democracy: ICT and political youth activism in Malaysia In: Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC) conference, Singapore, 21-23 June 2010..
• LIM, J., 2008. Reinventing Nationalism: The Politics of Malaysian Idol. In: KIM, Y., ed., Media Consumption and London and New York: Routledge.
• LIM, J., 2007. Big Brother, Beyond Britain Darkmatter: In the Ruins of Imperial Culture.. Available at: <http://www.darkmatter101.org/site/2007/05/07/big-brother-beyond-britain/>
• LIM, J., 2007. Reality-sing Fantasy: Cultural Implications of Malaysian Idol in Postcolonial Malaysia In: Inter-Asia Cultural Studies Conference: Conditions of Knowledge and Cultural Production, Inter-Asia Cultural Studies Society, Shanghai, China. 15-17 June 2007..
• LIM, J., 2007. The Fantasized Real: Cultural Implications of Malaysian Idol in Postcolonial Malaysia In: Cultural Studies Now Conference, University of East London, UK. 19-22 July 2007..
• LIM, J. AND HASAN, H., 2007. Adoption of Digital News Broadcasting: A Case of Malaysian TV Stations. In: ROSLI TALIF, CHAN SWEE HENG, AIN NADZIMAH ABDULLAH, WASHIMA CHE DAN, MOHD ZARIAT ABDUL RANI, NARIMAH ISMAIL & AHMAD YUSOFF BUYONG, ed., Research in Language, Literature and Communication 1. UPM Press: Serdang.
• LIM, J. AND HASAN, H., 2006. Impact of ICT on Broadcast Journalism: A Comparative Study between US and Malaysia. In: AWANG SARIYAN ET AL., ed., Ujana Minda Jilid 2. Kumpulan Esei Bahasa Sastera dan Komunikasi Petaling Jaya: Sasbadi Sdn. Bhd.
• LIM, J., 2006. Fantasizing the Real: A Study of the ‘Politics’ and Cultural Implications of Reality Television in Postcolonial Malaysia In: University of East London Postgraduate Seminar, University of East London, UK. 2006.
• LIM, J., 2005. Adoption of Digital News Reporting: A study of two countries In: 4th Malaysian International Conference on Languages, Literatures, and Cultures (MICOLLAC 2005), English Department, Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Putra University Malaysia. 23 – 25 April 2005..
• LIM, J. AND HASAN, H., 2003. Adoption of Digital News Broadcasting: A Case of Malaysian TV Stations In: The third UKM-UC International Conference, Canberra, Australia. 14 – 15 April 2003..
• LIM, J. AND HASAN, H., 2002. Impact of ICT on Broadcast Journalism --- The Digital News Revolution In: Seminar Kebangsaan Komunikasi, Pengurusan Komunikasi Wahana Pembangunan Negara Abad ke 21., anjuran Sekolah Pembangunan Sosial, Utara University Malaysia. 23–24 Jan 2002..
• LIM, J. AND HASAN, H., 2002. Impact of ICT on Broadcast Journalism: A Comparative Study between U.S. and Malaysia In: Seminar ICT 2002 – ICT pemangkin pembangunan dan wawasan negara anjuran Bahagian Pendidikan Guru Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia dan Sekolah Teknologi Maklumat, UUM, 9 – 10 Okt. 2002..