Shaheen Shariff

Position / Title: 
Affiliate Scholar
Contact: 
514.398.5396

Shaheen Shariff, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Integrated Studies, Faculty of Education, McGill University, Montreal, Canada. Dr. Shariff's research and teaching are grounded in the study of law as it impacts educational policy and practice. In particular, she is interested in studying legal issues that emerge in relation to on-line social communications such as cyber-hate, cyber-bullying, sexting, free expression, privacy harm, libel and criminal harassment. Her work addresses the emerging policy vacuum on legal and ethical limits of on-line expression, such as the line between joking and cyber-threats; fair use; privacy rights and privacy harm, cyber-safety, cyber-libel; and school supervision. She is also studying girls' use of on-line social media and its role in identity development for teens and pre-teens. Dr. Shariff was invited to participate on a United Nations panel on cyber-hate chaired by Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, and appeared as a panelist with the First Amendment Center’s online symposium. She has received research grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council for Canada and is currently developing an interactive resource website to bring stakeholders together in dialogue towards the development of informed policies and educational practice.