MEET THE PROFESSOR: IBRAHIM AL-MARASHI

Could you tell us about your professional and academic experiences so far?

I received my PhD in Modern History from University of Oxford in 2004.  I used to live in Istanbul and teach at various schools, but my favorite was the Faculty of Communication’s MA in Strategic Communication Management, at Galatasaray University in Istanbul, Turkey, which is one of the oldest schools there, overlooking the sea.  I also was a visiting scholar at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia before joining IE.

Could you explain the Dodgy Dossier Affair?

In September 2002 I published an article for the journal, The Middle East Review of International Affairs.  In February 2003, entire sections of that article were copied and pasted into a dossier that was used by the British government to justify the war against Iraq.  My involvement in the affair sparked my interest in political communication, since the plagiarism was part of a larger communication campaign launched by the Tony Blair government.

How and when did you get in touch with IE University? Do you develop any specific role?

A colleague at University of Pennsylvania, Monroe Price, informed me about a position opening in Spain.  He knew the Dean and the School, and encouraged me to apply.

What course/courses do you teach? Why is this course/are these courses important for a student of Communication?

Contemporary History: Gives a background of the major events that are covered by the media.

Freedom of Speech:  This is an issue that underlines all forms of communication from film to books.

International Relations:  This class focuses on how communication is conducted among nations.

Could you give us three books, TV series, movies, you would recommend to a future communicator? Why?

Movie: Wag the Dog, which shows how media practitioners drive international relations.

Book: The Blair Years, which gives an account of how Tony Blair’s spin doctor, Alistair Campbell interacted between the media and political arenas.

TV Series: South Park, one of the shows that challenges the boundaries of free speech

Any other recommendation for freshmen students?

Communications is not only a field that can be studied, but applied to everyday life.  Try to take your lessons in the classroom and see how they apply to your life, whether it is the entertainment you consume, the social networking sites you use, or the people you interact with.