Brief Bio
1. Personal Information
Name: Najma Al Zidjaly
Academic Rank: Associate Professor
Specialization: Sociolinguistics
E-mail: najmaz@gmail.com
Department: English Language and Literature
Minor specialization: Intercultural Communication
Address: Sultan Qaboos University, College of Arts & Social Sciences. P.O Box 42, P.C. 123. Al-Khod, Sultanate of Oman.
2. Employment History
Place of Work (Institution)
Year
Occupation
Sultan Qaboos University
Sultan Qaboos University
May 2012-Present
January 2005-April
2012
August 1995-Decmber
2004
Sultan Qaboos University
Associate Professor
Assistant Professor
Lecturer
3. Education and Qualifications
3- 1 Qualifications
Year
Institution
Georgetown University, Washingto Dc,
USA
Lancaster University, England
Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
Qualification
1998-2004
PhD in Linguistics
1993-1994
1988-1992
MA in Lnaguage Studies
BA in English Language and Literature
3-2 Courses Taught
ENGL3129: Research Project
ENGL3127: Academic Writing
ENGL4577: Language and Culture
ENGL4329: Discourse Analysis & Pragmatics
ENGL4580: Special Topics in Linguistics
ENGL3328: Language in Society
ENGL2324: Morphology and Lexical Semantics
ENGL2134: Critical Reading
ENGL2109: Effective Reading
Level
Undergraduate
Undergraduate
Undergraduate
Undergraduate
Undergraduate
Undergraduate
Undergraduate
Undergraduate
Undergraduate
4. Research
4-1 Research Interests
Social media and Arab (Omani) identity
Disability, discourse and Technology
Multimodality and agency
4-2 Papers (5 most important or recent papers)
1. Al Zidjaly, Najma (2014). WhatsApp Omani Teachers? Social Media and the Question of Social Change.
Multimodal Communication, 6 (1): 15-45.
2. Al Zidjaly, Najma (2012). What Has Happened to Arabs? Identity and Face Management
Online. Multilingua, 31: 413-439.
3. Al Zidjaly, Najma. & Gordon, Cynthia. (2012). Mobile Phones as Cultural Tools: An Arabian Example.
Intercultural Management Quarterly, 13 (2): 14-17.
4. Al Zidjaly, Najma (2011). Managing Social Exclusion through Technology: An Example
of Art as Mediated Action. Disability Studies Quarterly. Retrieved from http://dsqsds.org/article/view/1716.
5. Al Zidjaly, Najma (2009). Agency as an Interactive Achievement. Language in Society,
38: 177-200.
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4-3 Conferences (5 most important or recent conferences)
1. From superdiverse to superhomogenous: Social media and the changing linguistic attitudes and
(covert) prestige in Arabia. Sociolinguistics Symposium 21. Mercia, Spain (June 15-18, 2016).
2. Why did the camel cross the road? So Omani Arabs could adap(p)t WhatsApp for cultural face
negotiation. 14th International Pragmatics Association (IPRA). Antwerp, Belgium (July 26-31
July 2015).
3. Mobile Phone Usage among College Students Across Three Cultures: The Reconstruction of
Space and Time in Interaction. SS20. Juvaskelya, Finland (June 15-18, 2014).
4. What Has Happened to Arabs? Identity and Face Management Online. GURT 2011:
Georgetown University Round Table. Washington, DC, USA (March 10-March 13, 2011).
5. What went wrong? Arabs and politeness online. 5th Symposium on Politeness. Basel:
Switzerland (June 30-July 2, 2010).
4-4 Thesis Supervision (5 most recent theses)
None (No MA programs in the department)
5. Awards
1. 2016: SQU Best Researcher Award.
2. 2011: Winner of Today's Best Column for The New York Times essay titled From Oman, with Love (March 8,
2011) by The Atlantic Wire News Agency.
6. Community Service
6-1 Community services (Lectures – Seminars – etc….)
1. 2015: Lecture on the importance of qualitative research at SQU University Day (May 3)
2. 2013: Plenary Speaker for the Third English Department Student Conference (College of Arts and Social
Sciences-Sultan Qaboos University). The plenary title was: Why does Student Research Matter? A Case-Study
Example. (April 9, 2013).
3. 2013: I represented SQU university in the First Arabic Conference on Arabic Intellectual Property and presented
a paper as Plenary Speaker titled, SQU and Intellectual Property. (January 29, 2013).
4. What Has Happened to Arabs on Al Jazeera? Paper presented as part of the English
Department’s Faculty Seminars/Workshops at College of Arts & Social Sciences (February
10, 2011).
5. The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success. An invited lecture presented at Sultan Qaboos
University for English Department students. It was organized by the English Translation
Society (Arts & Education Student-Run Organization) (March 3, 2010).
6-2 Committee membership (5 main committees)
English Department Conference Committee (2014-2016) – Chair
English Department Representative in College of Arts Board (2010-2012)
English Department Representative in College of Arts Research Committee (2013-Present)
Curriculum Committee (2013-presenet)-Chair
College of Arts Conference Committee (2014-2015)-Member
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