Profile

Dr Hussein Kobeissi is a Lebanese-Australian scholar, and is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Arabic Language and Culture, School of Foreign Languages, Peking University. His current research focuses on the major political and socio-cultural developments in Lebanon and the broader West Asian region following Toofan al-Aqsa (October 2023), with particular attention to the role and position of the Shia of Lebanon. He examines how these events have reshaped internal politico-confessional dynamics, state-society relations, and Lebanon’s regional position, especially via the lens of the developing political and social role of the Shia confession in Lebanon and the region in the post-October 7, 2023 period. Hussein received his PhD in Media and Cultural Studies from the University of Sydney in 2024. His doctoral thesis analyzed the politicization of U.S. late-night talk shows during the highly polarized “Trump Threat” era (2015–2021). In addition to his primary postdoctoral work on post-2023 Lebanon and the Shia, he maintains a strong research interest in Western media representations of West Asia (the Middle East) and how these portrayals are intertwined with structures of power and knowledge production.

Educational Experience

B.A. in International Relations & Politics - Macquarie University (Australia) (2010-2013)

M.A. in Media & Communications - University of Sydney (Australia) (2016-2017)

Ph.D. in Media & Cultural Studies - University of Sydney (Australia) (2018-2024)

Work Experience

Sessional lecturer/tutor in Media and Cultural Studies (The University of Sydney) (2021-2024)

Post-doctoral research fellow in Department of Arabic Language and Culture (Peking University) (2025-current)

Research Interests

West Asian Studies/Middle Eastern Studies, Political/social Transformations in Post-Oct 2023 Lebanon, Shia Politics & Society, Western Media Representations of West Asia

Selected Publications

Kobeissi, H. “Examining ‘Victory’ Outcomes and Implications of the Hezbollah-Israel Conflict (2023-2024).” Middle East Critique (in production / forthcoming 2026). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/19436149.2026.2663403

Kobeissi, H., & Redden, G. (2025). Figuring out Trump: the re-politicization of US late night talk shows in a polarized public sphere.

Comedy Studies, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/2040610X.2025.2509430

Courses Taught

2021-2024   University of Sydney

- MECO6913 Public Opinion, Policy & Public Sphere (2024)

- MECO6936 Social Media Communication (2024)

- ARIN3620 Researching Digital Cultures (2024)

- ARIN6905 Digital Audiences and Creators (2024)

- GCST1603 Screen Cultures & Gender: Film to Apps (2021, 2022, 2023)

- GCST1601 Culture, Power, Identity (2023)

- MECO6936 Social Media Communication (2022)