Staff Profiles

Dr. William Ofentse Lesitaokana

Wil'es

Faculty of Humanities

Media Studies

Senior Lecturer

Location: Block 247 Room 237
Phone: 00267 355-4045
Email Dr. William Ofentse Lesitaokana

  • PhD, Griffith University (Australia)
  • Executive Master of Entrepreneurship, University of Botswana
  • MA Media Arts, Emerson College (USA)
  • BA Multimedia, RMIT University (Australia).
  • Advanced Diploma of Arts in Electronic Design and Interactive Media, RMIT University (Australia

William O. Lesitaokana is a Senior Lecturer and Head of Department of Media Studies in the University of Botswana where he also teaches undergraduate courses in Digital Media, Media Production, and Media Technology. His research focus is on media audiences, media technology and society, cultural sociology and the role of the media in Botswana. He has written extensively in the area of digital media and mobile telephony and society, and has published refereed articles in local and international journals. He co-edited 2 books: one entitled “New Media and Mediatisation of Religion: An African Perspective” published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing, and the other “Re-imagining Communication in Africa and the Caribbean: Global South Issues in Media, Culture and Technology” published by Palgrave Macmillan.

He has published in top international journals such as New Media and Society (Sage), International Journal of Cultural Studies (Sage), Journal of Radio and Audio Media (Routledge), Advanced Journal of Journalism and Media Studies (Intellect) and Journal of African Media Studies (Intellect).

Media Studies Courses

  • Media in Botswana
  • Introduction to Media Technology
  • Media and Society
  • Media Management and Entrepreneurship

Media Production Courses

  • Introduction to Techniques of Digital Media
  • Audio Technology
  • Motion Graphics
  • Online Media Production

  • Media in Botswana (Including Television Studies, Audiences and Impacts of Technology)
  • Online Media Publishing
  • Mobiles Media Communication and Youth Cultures
  • Digital Media Technology

Mobile Media and Communication

  1. (2018). Gendered identities and mobile phone consumption among urban youth in Botswana. Journal of African Media Studies, 9(2), pp. 339-350.
  2. (2018). Mobile phone use in intimate relationships: The case of urban youth in Botswana. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 21(4), pp. 393-404
  3. (2016). Influencing factors to mobile phone adoption among urban youth in Botswana. Journal of Media and Communication Studies, 8(1), pp. 8-14.
  4. (2014). Key issues in the development of mobile telephony in Botswana (1998-2011): An empirical investigation. Journal of New Media & Society,  16(5), pp. 840-855
  5. (2014, With Eno Akpabio) Traditional versus online newspapers: The perspective of news audiences in Botswana. Journal of Applied Journalism & Media Studies. 3(2), pp. 209-224.
  6. (2013). Radio in Botswana: A critical examination of its growth and Dominance across Botswana’s mass media landscape. Journal of Radio & Audio Media.

In pursuit of academic excellence