Dr. Harisur Rahman
Full-Time Faculty
Associate Professor
Ph.D. in Anthropology, University of Auckland, New Zealand
MSS. Regional Masters in Journalism, Media, and Communication, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh
Phone: +880-2-55668200 Ext: 6148
Email: harisur.rahman@northsouth.edu
Office: NAC 915
Curriculum Vitae
Dr. Harisur Rahman is Assistant Professor at North South University in Dhaka, Bangladesh. In December 2016, he was awarded a Ph.D. degree in anthropology from the University of Auckland, New Zealand. His book, based on his doctoral dissertation, “Consuming Cultural Hegemony: Bollywood in Bangladesh” has been published by Palgrave Macmillan (https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783030317065#aboutAuthors). This book examines the circulation and viewership of Bollywood films and filmi modernity in Bangladesh. The writer poses a number of fundamental questions: what it means to be a Bangladeshi in South Asia, what it means to be a Bangladeshi fan of Hindi film, how popular film reflects power relations in South Asia. The writer argues that partition has resulted in India holding hegemonic power over all of South Asia’s nation-states at the political, economic, military levels–a situation that has made possible its cultural hegemony. The book draws on relevant literature from anthropology, sociology, film, media, communication, and cultural studies to explore the concepts of hegemony, circulation, viewership, cultural taste, and South Asian cultural history and politics.
ONGOING RESEARCH PROJECTS: AS PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Nosophobia or Sinophobia? Social media representation and public perception about novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Bangladesh. Status: Ongoing: Funded by School of Sociology and Ethnology: Yunnan University, Kunming, China, Period: March to December 2020.
Language Socialization or Low Self-Esteem? Communication Apprehension Among the University Students in Bangladesh. Ongoing. Funded by: CTRG, NSU, Period: September 2020 to August 2021.
Global Vessels and Local Lives: An Anthropological Study of Shipbreaking Workers in Bangladesh. Status: Ongoing. Funded by: Social Science Research Council (SSRC), Planning Division, Ministry of Planning, Bangladesh, Period: December 2019 to December 2021.
Media Representations of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI): Content Analysis and Critical Discourse and Rhetorical Analysis of Bangladeshi and Chinese Television and Newspaper. Ongoing. Funded by CTRG, NSU, Period: October 2019 to January 2021.
Mindless Propaganda or Thoughtful Persuasion? Television Commercials and Broadcast Regulations in Bangladesh. Completed. Funded by CTRG, NSU, Period: September 2018 to November 2020.
Publications:
Rahman, H. (2019). Title: “Consuming Hegemony: Bollywood in Bangladesh”. Palgrave Macmillan.
https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783030317065#aboutAuthors
Rahman, H. (“In press” 2019). “Bollywood is Bangladeshi! Hindi films and the formation of middle-class audiences.” Journal of Asian Ethnology.
Rahman, H. (2017). “Bollywoodization or ghettoization? The Bangladeshi dream factory is in disarray.” Studies in South Asian Film & Media 8(2), 109–123. DOI: 10.1386/safm.8.2.109_1
Rahman, H. (2013). “Indian cinema, Bangladeshi viewers: Reconceptualizing modernity.” In Z. Ahmed (Ed.), Contemporary Bangladesh in Anthropological Perspectives, pp. 79-89. Dhaka: Ranchi Publications.
Rahman, H. (2011). “‘Cultural imperialism’ and its possible effects on global communication.” In M.H. Moni (Ed.), A CPMS Peer Reviewed Journal on Journalism, Media and Communication Studies 1: 27–31. Center for Practical Multimedia Studies, Dhaka, Bangladesh. https://www.academia.edu/981258/Cultural_Imperialismand_Its_Possible_Effects_on_Global_Communication
Conferences:
“From Partition to Hegemony: Bangladesh and Bangladeshi Films in the South Asian Context.” Presented at the American Institute of Bangladesh Studies and Institute for South Asian Studies conference, UC Berkeley, May 28, 2018.
“The Construction of the Film Audience in Bangladesh.” Presented at the Film and History Association of Australia and New Zealand (FHAANZ) conference, July 1–3, 2015, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.
“The Ghettoization of Bangladeshi Cinema and the Changing Viewership in Urban Slums.” Presented at the First International Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities, August 23–25, 2014, Independent University, Bangladesh.
Visiting Fellow, American Institute of Bangladesh Studies and Institute for South Asian Studies, UC Berkeley (2018)
Ph.D. in Anthropology (2012–2016)
University of Auckland, New Zealand
Focus: Media, communication and cultural studies
Dissertation title: “Cultural Subscription and Regional Hegemony: The Circulation and Viewership of Indian Films in Bangladesh” (based on 12 months’ ethnographic fieldwork)
Regional Masters in Journalism, Media and Communication (2008–2010)
University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, in collaboration with Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway, College of Journalism and Mass Communication, Nepal, and Punjab University, Pakistan
Master’s project: “Essential Harm Reduction Services for the Injecting Drug Users (IDUs) in Bangladesh: A Visual Rendering on a Drop-in-Center (DIC).” Video available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nawqNPchbs
Masters in Anthropology (2004–2005)
Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh
Thesis title: “Indian Cinema Bangladeshi Viewers: Reconceptualizing Modernity”
Bachelor in Anthropology (Honors) (1999–2004)
Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh
Research monograph title: “Fry Collectors’ Livelihood: An Ethnographic Study in the Coastal Region of Southern Bangladesh”
- About five years of university-level teaching and research experience
- Passionate about academic teaching & research
- Engaging personality & classroom management style
- Commitment to inclusive and up-to-date instructional methods
- Effective communicator and attentive listener
- Garnered over 3 years’ professional experience in both social and market research
- Led and supervised various social and market research projects
- Crafted many project-winning technical and financial proposals
- Designed ethnographic and qualitative research methods
- Prepared data collection, training, monitoring and intervention tools
- Analyzed qualitative and ethnographic data with software such as NVivo and ATLAS.ti
- Authored, co-authored and presented several reports
ANT 101: Introduction to Anthropology
SOC 101: Introduction to Sociology
TNM 201: Television and New Media
MEMBERSHIP
- Member of Center for Peace Studies (CPS) at North South University
- Member of Society for Anthropological Research, Bangladesh (SARB)
- Member of Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN)
AFFILIATION AS AN INTERNATIONAL REVIEWER AND EXAMINER
- Regularly review articles from different international peer-reviewed journals
- IB examiner for social and cultural anthropology
- Have been invited as a guest book reviewer for the Journal of Asian Ethnology
Media, communication, cultural studies, visual and media anthropology, digital anthropology, business anthropology, consumer culture, advertising research, material culture, globalization, development, health communication, gender issues, migration, South Asian media and cultural politics, intangible cultural heritage.