INNOCENT E. CHILUWA, Ph.D
Professor in Applied Linguistics, Media and Communication Studies
Visiting Academic & Research Scholar, Languages & Intercultural Studies, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, U.K.
Formerly, Visiting Professor, Communication and Media, Loughborough University, Loughborough, U.K.
Fellow, Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS), Bochum, Germany
Humboldt Scholar, University of Freiburg
Associate Member, Africa Centre for Transregional Research
(ACT), University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
Innocent Chiluwa is a Professor in Applied Linguistics (Discourse Studies), Media and Communication. He was the Head of the Department of Languages and General Studies, and former Dean of the College of Leadership and Development Studies at Covenant University, Nigeria. He is a member of the Nigerian Academy of Letters (NAL).
Prof. Chiluwa is a Georg Forster Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (AvH) (Bonn), and a Humboldt scholar/visiting Professor in the Department of English, University of Freiburg. He is also an associate member of the Africa Centre for Transregional Research (ACT) at the University of Freiburg, Germany. He has professional training in Conflict Management, Intercultural Communication, and Conflict Resolution.
He has published books and edited volumes in media studies, social media and society, discourse and conflict studies, and deception studies. He has also published extensively in reputable peer-reviewed journals and contributed several chapters in books and encyclopedias. He is on the Editorial Boards of Discourse & Society (SAGE), Journal of Multicultural Discourses (Routledge), Journal of International and Intercultural Communication (Taylor & Francis), and Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (Springer).
Research Interests
(i) Discourse studies; linguistic pragmatics; discourse, media and conflict; discourse and peace research; digitization and social movements; social media and society; digital civil disobedience; online activism and protests; separatism and self-determination; discourses of terrorism and political violence in cyberspace.
(ii) Online deceptive communications – phishing and email scam; (dis)misinformation and fake news; hate discourses; language aggression and linguistic violence in the media and digital contexts;
(iii) Sociopolitical and cultural discourses in the media and the Internet, including online religion and the discourses of identity; language and social interaction.
Teaching Areas
- (Critical) Discourse Analysis
- Pragmatics
- Sociolinguistics
- Applied Linguistics
- English for Academic Purposes (EAP)
- ESOL; EFL
I have also taught:
- Creative Writing
- Academic Writing
- Speech Writing and Delivery
- Writing for the Mass Media
- Communication Skills
