Student Mentorship Committee

Daina Nathaniel

Dr. Daina Nathaniel is an Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Programs in the Knight School of Communication. A native of Trinidad and Tobago, her research interests center around culture, identity, nationhood, and digital inclusion. Most recently she has been exploring how the Caribbean diaspora use social media to create a sense of connection to their various homelands. Her primary research area is cultural studies which looks at the relationships between cultures within societies, issues of power and domination, the postcolonial experience, issues of race and ethnicity between disparate groups, and all the attendant challenges that arise as people try to find a sense of place within their various environments: home, school, work, church, community and online.

Dr. Nathaniel was a pioneer in the establishment of the Knight Community Leaders Program at Queens University of Charlotte, in conjunction with the Digital Charlotte. Her undergraduate Capstone students facilitate and support the digital inclusion initiatives in various communities in the Charlotte area.

She has taught a variety of courses including Intercultural Communication, Global Communication and Culture, Political Communication, Communication in American Popular Culture, Persuasion and a host of Journalism courses. She regularly directs the Capstone for graduating seniors, which provides students with the opportunity to showcase what they have learned in the Communication discipline, as well as to give back to the community. She has also lead several study tours with students to South Africa, Spain and Ireland.

Email: nathanid@queens.edu