Khalid and Frank are both presenting at the 2025 Crossing Boundaries Graduate Symposium which focuses on graduate student research in the fine arts, humanities and social sciences at the University of Lethbridge. Khalid will present on March 14, from 10:45 - 11:45 a.m during the third session: Persuasion, and the Construction of Truth. Frank will present from 3:45-4:00 p.m. during the seventh session: Mediating Reality: from Stage to Screen to AI.
Khalid's Abstract: "The Narratives of "Free and Fair" Parliamentary Election in Bangladesh"
A credible, free, fair election is a contested issue in Bangladesh's electronic and print narratives. This research delves into specific narratives about the 2024 parliamentary election to analyze how the narratives influence public perceptions of election system integrity and democracy and how the government and its institutions construct knowledge about the occurrence of a free and fair election in Bangladesh. The study has collected data from different publications in national and international electronic and print (written transcripts) media for the analysis. The analysis of the research answers the questions of whether the election in 2024 was free and fair, how the narratives surrounding the 2024 elections build the concept of a free and fair election, how the media presents the boycott of the main opposition parties, and how the stakeholders’ discourse constructs the election process as the acts of constitutional responsibility, legitimacy, and justice. This research uses Foucauldian theory of discourse and Fairclough's Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) method to dissect epistemological narratives and uncover how the narratives have been creating general perceptions of electoral fairness, addressing the participation and access of electors and framing the legitimacy and justice of the electoral process. Thus, this research indicates the gap between public perceptions and actual practices of democracy, and the readers can identify potential social change in Bangladesh's society.
Frank's Abstract: " Afrocentric Epistemologies: A Bias Detection Framework for AI Fairness"
Artificial intelligence (AI) is often heralded as an objective and transformative tool, yet its design, data, and deployment are deeply entangled with historical and systemic biases. This paper introduces a framework for interrogating colonial legacies and structural inequalities in AI systems through a Bias Detection Canvas (BDC) that integrates African epistemologies with global fairness standards. The canvas enables researchers and practitioners to identify subtle harmful stereotypes in AI outputs while promoting inclusive knowledge systems. The proposed framework introduces Afrocentric prompt engineering, contextual fairness analysis, and bias-resistant knowledge synthesis to equip researchers with actionable strategies to understand and counter AI’s output biases. The canvas is structured into four-tiered structure, where each of the four main stages consists of four sub-stages with each offering a systematic method on how to identify, document, and rectify the bias. This approach has the potential to keep people informed, foster new lines of interdisciplinary research, and align AI tools with growing global equity-driven goals. Interrogating AI’s structural logic through the BDC will empowers black researchers to reclaim knowledge spaces and potentially begin to redefine computational fairness.
Congratulations and good luck to Khalid and Frank!
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