Sohaa Khan

Ph.D. Student (2024 Cohort)

About

Sohaa Khan (sher/her) is a Ph.D. student at the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington, focusing on how hate speech posted on social media leads to religious tensions and violence against religious minorities in Pakistan. Her region of study is South Asia and her theme of study is Technology, Security, and Diplomacy. She graduated with a B.A. from Rutgers University with a dual major in Political Science and Criminal Justice, and a minor in Entrepreneurship (2018). She went on to obtain her M.A. in Diplomacy and International Relations (2022) from Seton Hall’s School of Diplomacy and International Relations with specializations in International Law and Human Rights, and Asian Studies. In studying social media and communications and the impact that the online world can have on inciting and exacerbating religious, ethnic, and racial tensions and violence, Sohaa has published the articles “Storytime: Social Media Leads to Violence and “Religious Persecution at Home and Abroad: The Case of India,” in addition to “Sexual Exploitation and Abuse–Who is to Blame?” which focuses on the issue of sexual exploitation and abuse during UN peacekeeping missions and provides recommendations for solutions. 

While her Master’s thesis focused on how hate speech posted on social media leads to violence against religious minorities in Pakistan and India, at the Jackson School, she plans to expand this topic and incorporate the role and effects of artificial intelligence and how it can be used to create false narratives that lead to more hate and result in more violence, and what can be done to address the root issues of these problems.

You may contact Sohaa at sohaak@uw.edu or on LinkedIn.