Dr. Zhe Xu
Welcome!
My name is Zhe Xu, and I am currently a research associate and Walter Benjamin postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Media and Communication at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, working with Prof. Dr. Thomas Hanitzsch and Prof. Dr. Neil Thurman. I was awarded a Walter Benjamin Programme by the German Research Foundation (DFG) for my new project on humanitarian journalism in refugee crises. I received my Ph.D. from the University of Cologne in 2023.
My research focuses on political and crisis communication. I use experimental, computational, and ethnographic methods with diverse datasets to examine how media and humanitarian actors in both authoritarian and democratic contexts engage with global crises and human vulnerabilities, both politically and technologically, and whether such engagement can reduce public moral passivity and enhance the effectiveness of policy and legal interventions.
When I’m not immersed in academia, you’ll likely find me hiking, mountaineering, or bouldering with my wife and our little one in various parts of the world.
News
- [Apr. 2025] I’m excited to run for Vice Chair of IAMCR’s Crisis, Security and Conflict Communication Working Group in the upcoming 2025 elections.
- [Aug. 2024] Thrilled to join LMU Munich’s IfKW as a research associate and meet so many wonderful new colleagues!
- [May. 2024] I’m very grateful to the German Research Foundation (DFG) for awarding me a Walter Benjamin Programme (€221,430) to support my new project!
Selective Publications
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2023
International Communication Gazette, 86(8), 633-654, 2023 -
2022
The Communication Review, 25(3-2), 181-203, 2022. Also in P. Reilly and V Salojärvi (Eds), (De)constructing Societal Threats During Times of Deep Mediatization.
Ongoing Funded Projects
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DFG
Humanitarian emergencies and human vulnerabilities during refugee crises are powerfully mediated through journalistic reporting that informs policymakers, humanitarians, and global publics. In this context, the project employs computational methods to examine how global journalism frames humanitarian crises and performs its political functions.
University Teaching & Supervision
- MA Journalism, Media & Globalisation, LMU Munich, 2024-2025
- MA Chinese Studies & Media Studies, University of Cologne, 2022-2023
Expert Services
Invited Grant, Report & Conference Reviewing
Czech Science Foundation (GACR) European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA) International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) United Nations Network on Migration
Invited Editorial Reviewing
Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (Nature Portfolio) Social Science & Medicine (Elsevier) Acta Psychologica (Elsevier) International Journal of Communication (USC Annenberg Press) Journalism (SAGE Publications) Journalism Practice (Routledge) Communication Quarterly (Routledge) Atlantic Journal of Communication (Routledge)
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