Ahmad M. Kamal

Ahmad is a Senior Lecturer in Library and Information Science (LIS) at the Department of Cultural Sciences. He received his PhD in LIS from Western University (Canada).

Teaching

Ahmad teaches in both Digital Humanities (DH) master’s program and Library and Information Science (LIS) bachelor at LNU. In the DH program, Ahmad is involved with several courses, including:

Introduction to digital humanities
Digital humanities research methods
Critical theory and digital transformation
Programming for digital humanities
Digitisation of cultural heritage
Linked data for cultural heritage and the humanities
Ethics, politics and policies in the digital humanities

In the LIS program, Ahmad teaches in topics such as:

Information retrieval
Information behaviors
Knowledge organization
Linked data
Metadata and cataloguing
Media and information literacy

Research

Ahmad is currently exploring the role of knowledge organization in digital humanities, re-assessments of the opportunities for controlled vocabulary for information retrieval, and a critical investigation of evaluative bibliometrics in academia. Ahmad’s doctoral and post-doctoral work investigated media and information practices of populations in flux – the former explored the socio-political information practices and literacies adopted in post-2011 Egypt, while the latter examined digital practices of informal migrant. His other work investigated the role of library services in different contexts (independent libraries in India, digital collections for local outreach in Italy, the adoption of new digital affordances). Ahmad’s research is characterized by international, collaborative, and multi-method investigations.

Publications

Article in journal (Refereed)

Pyati, A.K., Kamal, A.M. (2012). NGO-Developed Libraries in India: Impacts, Models, and New Possibilities. Libri (Copenhagen). 62 (3). 291-303.
Status: Published
Pyati, A.K., Kamal, A.M. (2012). Rethinking community and public space from the margins : a study of community libraries in Bangalore's slums. Area (London 1969). 44 (3). 336-343.
Status: Published
Kamal, A.M., Burkell, J. (2011). Addressing Uncertainty: When Information is Not Enough : Faire face à l'incertitude: quand l'information ne suffit pas. Canadian journal of information and library science. 35 (4). 384-396.
Status: Published
Rubin, V.L., Gavin, P.T., Kamal, A.M. (2011). Innovation in Public and Academic North American Libraries: Examining White Literature and Website Applications : L'innovation dans les bibliothèques publiques et académiques en Amérique du Nord: examen de la littérature blanche (livres et périodiques) et des applications pour sites web. Canadian journal of information and library science. 35 (4). 397-422.
Status: Published

Conference paper (Refereed)

Kamal, A.M., Rossi, L. (2019). Mapping the migrant digital space : Methodological challenges and preliminary results. .
Kamal, A.M., Makrygianni, V., Galis, V., Rossi, L. (2018). Ethical and Methodological Challenges of Relying on Facebook Data to Study of Migrants’ Information Practices. .
Gavin, P.T., Kamal, A.M. (2011). Beyond Bowling Leagues : Libraries and Democracy through the Lens of Civil Society Theory. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of CAIS : Actes Du congrès Annuel De l’ACSI.

Chapter in book (Refereed)

Makrygianni, V., Kamal, A.M., Rossi, L., Galis, V. (2022). Migrant Digital Space : Building an Incomplete Map to Navigate Public Online Migration. Research Methodologies and Ethical Challenges in Digital Migration Studies : Caring For (Big) Data?. Palgrave Macmillan. 25-51.
Golub, K., Kamal, A.M., Vekselius, J. (2021). Knowledge Organisation for Digital Humanities : An Introduction. Information and Knowledge Organisation in Digital Humanities : Global Perspectives. Routledge. 1-22.
Kamal, A.M. (2017). The democratic peak of the authoritarian swing : Post-revolutionary Egypt’s politics, media, and public. Authoritarian and populist influences in the new media. London, Routledge. 39-64.

Article in journal (Other academic)

Kamal, A.M. (2023). Introduction to the Special issue : The sum of its parts, what a platform of digital humanities courses says about digital humanities. Education for Information. 39 (2). 91-104.
Status: Published

Conference paper (Other academic)

Kamal, A.M., Otero, N., Golub, K. (2022). Digital Humanities Master’s Programme at Linnaeus University. Presented at Higher Education Programs in Digital Humanities and Social Sciences: Challenges and Perspectives.