Lecturer | Department of Communication and Media | Loughborough University 

Yuval Katz, Ph.D.

Hello, I'm Yuval

I am a lecturer at the Department of Communication and Media at Loughborough University. Previously, I was a postdoctoral fellow at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania with a joint appointment at the Center for Advanced Research and Global Communication (CARGC), and at the Center on Digital Culture and Society (CDCS). I hold a Ph.D in Communication Studies from the University of Michigan.

My work explores and problematises the meaning of peace in Israel/Palestine. As an Israeli Jew, I have witnessed a radical change in the meaning of this concept in the last two decades, turning it into a nation brand without an underlying process that could lead to the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. My book, titled Mending the peaces: Media encounters and the future of peace in Israel/Palestine, moves beyond peace as a theoretical framework to argue that different media forms, including television shows, news production, and digital activism, foster brave encounters between Jews and Palestinians and reflect a deep yearning for connection. I use an integrative analysis of media texts and industry practices to argue that media-making presents creative opportunities for connection. 

While my geographical focus is Israel/Palestine, I also study mediated encounters more broadly. For example, I investigated how small digital platforms use different techniques to make their visitors care about peace. I am also interested in how ordinary interactions shape peace talks and co-authored a study focusing on personal charm in diplomatic negotiations. 

I am also an activist and a community organiser. I am one of the founders of the Philadelphia-based protest movement against the judicial overhaul in Israel/Palestine. My future project will explore the connection between the political crisis and the demise of peace in Israel/Palestine, highlighting opportunities to reconfigure peace through media in this moment of crisis.   

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