Chancellor Jackman Graduate Fellow
Hassan Asif, a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Information, explores the interaction between digital media, remix culture, and Islamic devotional music in Pakistan. His research contributes to understanding how digital media and technology intersect with religious and cultural practices to facilitate new forms of meaning-making. With academic foundations in Museums & Gallery Practice from University College London and Communication Studies and Cultural Anthropology from Northwestern University, Hassan adopts an interdisciplinary lens. His academic work is marked by a focus on fringe media environments, digital technologies, and their influence on religious and cultural expressions in South Asian contexts.
Fellowship Project: Remixing Devotion: An Exploration of Digital Media Practices in Pakistan
Hassan’s PhD dissertation focuses specifically on the transformative practices surrounding the digital remixing of na'at, which are devotional songs in praise of Prophet Muhammad. This remixing process blends traditional devotions with modern electronic sounds using digital tools. It challenges sacred-profane boundaries and traditional-technological tensions. Through fieldwork in Lahore and Karachi, Hassan explores how these digital remixing activities contribute to a vibrant underground Islamic media culture, contesting orthodox norms of devotion and redefining Islamic narratives. His study aims to illuminate these dynamics of Muslim digital media cultures providing insights into the interplay of technology, culture, and religion.