William Lafi Youmans

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AATV Archive

Alex Odeh film

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Scholar. Media Maker. Archivist.

international communication
media industries
the global middle east
Arab American studies
law & policy

William Lafi Youmans is Associate Professor in Residence at Northwestern University in Qatar. He co-directed and co-produced Who Killed Alex Odeh?, a documentary film that premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival and Berlinale.

Broadly interested in questions of transnationalism, power and communication, his primary research interests are global news, law, Middle East politics, and Arab American studies.

PROJECTS: Arab American TV Archive | Documentary on Alex Odeh

ACADEMIC ARTICLES

Fascism’s Building Blocks: 30 Years of Secret Evidence
The Press and Gaza: Restrictions, Censorship and the Hazards of War Reporting
Framing Covid-19: Constitutional Versus Demagogic Rhetoric in Presidential Messaging.
Rhetoric and Recollection: Recounting the George W. Bush Administration’s Case for War in Iraq.
How the Central Intelligence Agency recruited Arab Detroit: Government Communication, Interpellation and Citizenship.
National Security and Police Power in a Global Era.

"An Unlikely Audience is the story of the Al Jazeera's uphill efforts to gain a share of the news market in the United States.

It shows how cities are places of consequence for international media."

CHAPTERS IN EDITED VOLUMES