I am an Associate Professor in the School of Journalism & Mass Communication at the University of Iowa.

In short, I study global digital cultures. My research is primarily qualitative and constructivist, although as a pragmatist, I draw from social scientific methodologies and theories when they are helpful for answering my research questions. My research program includes three primary areas: (1) studies of digital media production, often within Africa; (2) collaborative, interdisciplinary scholarship about personalization algorithms and society; and (3) research on global disparities in scholarly knowledge production.

I also direct the Center for Publics, Platforms & Personalization (CP3) where I am the Principal Investigator for two interdisciplinary, multi-university, grant-funded research projects that examine (1) the relationship between algorithmic personalization and online radicalization and (2) how social media engagement practices contribute to the spread of foreign influence campaigns originating in Russia and China.

You can find my publication history on Google Scholar and Research Gate.

My teaching prepares students to be better consumers and producers of digital and social media. I also have professional experience as a software trainer, instructional technologist, and video producer.

You can reach me via email at brian-ekdale [at] uiowa.edu.