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Jouzian Wahhab: Bridging Storytelling and Scholarship
By Angeline Gisonni
Jouzian's hometown: London, On.
As a Master of Arts student in Media Studies, Jouzian is researching the representation of diasporic Palestinian women in literature. Passionate about creative storytelling, she aims to make academic work more accessible through research creation.
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When Jouzian was in her third year of her undergraduate degree in the Media and Communications Studies (MACS) program at Western, she wasn't even considering furthering her studies.
But Professor Tim Blackmore, who would later become her research supervisor, mistakenly assumed she was in her fourth year and asked if she planned to apply to graduate school. "I had never considered it," she recalls. "But I told him I'd think about it."
The following summer, after graduation, Jouzian read the book Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa, and everything clicked. This book explores the story of a Palestinian woman who spent nearly two decades in an Israeli confinement cell, recounting her memories and experiences through disguised metaphors and coded writing. This form of narration grabbed Jouzian’s attention and ignited her curiosity.
Once inspiration struck, Jouzian chose the Master of Arts in Media Studies program. She was drawn to the program because it allows for creative, interdisciplinary research. The Independent Research-Creation Project (IRCP) option within the program stood out to her. This approach allows her to present her research in an accessible, creative format rather than a traditional thesis or research paper.
Fun Fact
Jouzian always has a song stuck in her head. Always.
Jouzian credits FIMS, her home Faculty, and her supervisors, Professors Tim Blackmore and Sharon Sliwinski, for providing the guidance and encouragement that helped shape her research journey. Faculty support was a deciding factor in her pursuit of further studies. What Jouzian values most is the access to resources and the unwavering support from FIMS, which has allowed her to pursue her research with meaning and impact.
The heart of Jouzian's research is the representation of diasporic Palestinian women in literature, rooted in lived experiences and personal testimonies. As a Palestinian woman in diaspora herself, this research is intrinsic to Jouzian's own identity.
Building on this foundation, she is interested in authorship: who tells the stories of Palestinian women and decides how their identities are portrayed in literature. More specifically, she is particularly interested in moving beyond the narratives of suffering. As in Abulhawa’s book, she was inspired by the epistolary form (letter writing), a historic mode of communication in Palestinian culture, where letters often had to be written in code due to the risk of interception.
Jouzian believes that meaningful research shouldn't remain confined within academic walls, and ultimately, her goal is to create work that people outside of universities can engage with. She wants her research to resonate within the Palestinian community and bring attention to the ways in which their stories are commonly told. Her research will be presented through a series of letters within a book, offering an immersive and personal way to engage with the narratives she seeks to highlight.
Outside of academia, Jouzian remains deeply involved in blending storytelling, teaching and advocacy through her community work. She volunteers at her Church, where she organizes Christmas recitals, and Easter Productions. Through research-creation, she has found a way to bridge her passion for storytelling to the public, seamlessly intertwining her academic and personal life.
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Profiles in the Meet Our Students section are written by students in the Master of Media in Journalism & Communication program, who are enrolled in MMJC 9604 - Professional Writing.
