Dr. Rauf Arif is an assistant professor at Towson University’s Department of Mass Communication. Before joining Towson University, Dr. Arif worked as an Assistant Professor at Texas Tech University and the University of Texas at Tyler. Dr. Arif's ongoing research work is in the field of social media and society. He teaches Digital Social Movements, Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Society, New Media Theories and Applications, Multimedia Storytelling, Strategic Communication, Advanced Reporting, Feature Writing, Video Production, Writing for Mass Media, Mass Communication Theories, and Media History. Having a print and broadcast media journalism background, Arif has published in major newspapers in Pakistan and his vivid political observations on US-Pak relations have appeared in the local U.S. media. Arif, an author of two books, also writes as a contributor for Forbes magazine.Arif started his career as a reporter from a Pakistani newspaper in 2001 and got a tremendous hands-on and observational education in politics, human dynamics, and also international affairs. He got the opportunity to observe and interview politicians, study archives and files, and see the effects of national policies on the day-to-day lives of individuals. In that latter context, he also learned how to make complicated issues of state explicable to his readers and for them to be able to see the connection between a government program, or even a foreign policy, and their families and futures. Arif's previous research involves social media and social movements in the context of Arab Spring, public diplomacy, and comparative politics. He intends to work as an analyst in U.S.-Pakistan relations and possibly entering the diplomatic service or government.