Wendy Willems

Dr. Wendy Willems is an Associate Professor in the Department of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Her research focuses on postcolonial/decolonial approaches to media, global media studies, and racialized publics. She holds a PhD from SOAS, University of London, alongside degrees from Maastricht University. Before joining LSE in 2013, she was Head of Department and Senior Lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand. Her work bridges academia and activism, including roles with NIZA and War on Want. Key grants include support from IDRC, OSISA, and the Leverhulme Trust.

Educations:

• PhD in Media and Film Studies, SOAS, University of London
• BSc/MSc in Economics (International Economic Studies), University of Maastricht
• BA/MA in Cultural Studies (Cultuur- en Wetenschapsstudies), University of Maastricht

Research Interests: Willems examines media’s entanglement with colonial histories, digital publics, and racialized knowledge production. She challenges canonical media theories through decolonial frameworks, emphasizing Global South perspectives. Her work highlights how media infrastructures perpetuate racial and colonial legacies.

Recent Publications: Her 2024 articles re-examine Habermas through colonial contexts, while 2021 works explore mobile social media’s relational affordances in Zambia. Her 2020 analysis of colonial heritage in urban spaces underscores spatial politics.

Awards & Grants: Supported by grants from IDRC, OSISA, and the Norwegian Research Council. No explicit scientific awards listed, though her research has garnered significant academic attention.

Advising & Grants: Supervises doctoral students in decolonial media studies. Past grants include projects on informal economy advocacy and digital development imaginaries.

Labs/Teams: Co-founder of the Journal of African Media Studies; involved in Polis and Media@LSE research clusters at LSE.