Lecture location: 19 Washington Square North, Events Space
To attend, please RVSP to 19wsn.rsvp@nyu.edu
The unprecedented social and political transformations that recently occurred in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central and Southeast Asia were intrinsically linked to digital and social media. Cellphones, Facebook, Twitter feeds, and YouTube as well as local religious networks were instrumental forces in coordinating demonstrations and effectively implementing change. At the same time, the role of human agency and religious beliefs should not be discounted as equally instrumental. This series considers whether the popular speculation about the impact of social media on political and cultural life in the Middle East causes other important societal factors to be relegated to the background.
Spring 2012 Events
Blogistan and Beyond: Religion, the Internet, and Politics in Iran
February 17, 2012 | 6:00-7:30 PM
Annabelle Sreberny Professor of Global Media and Communications, The School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
Hamid Dabashi Hagop Kevorkian Professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature, Columbia University
Narges Bajoghli Department of Anthropology, NYUNY
Arang Keshavarzian Associate Professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, NYUNY
What role have social media and the internet played in the ongoing political negotiations among conservative Muslims, moderates, and secularists in contemporary Iran? How have these new digital initiatives launched an awareness of cultural activists on the world stage? Simultaneously, such visibility also has put people's lives in danger, especially in the wake of the 2009 elections. How have these developments led to new forms of digital creativity?
In collaboration with The Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near East Studies supported by the Social Science Research Council and the NYU Center for Religion and Media with generous support from the Henry R. Luce Initiative on Religion and International Affairs.
Tahrir Square, 2012: The Voices of Women and Religious Minorities
March 1, 2012 | 6:00-8:00 PM
Viola Shafik Freelance Lecturer and Filmmaker
Yasmin Moll Department of Anthropology, NYUNY
Dina Ramadan Assistant Professor of Arabic, Bard College
In the year following Egyptian revolution, peaceful demonstrations have given way to increasingly violent and sectarian strife. Digital films and social media have documented and brought to the wider public's attention the experiences of women and minority populations in Egypt's ever-changing social and political climate. This panel brings together filmmakers, journalists, and analysts to discuss the recent past and potential future of the country and how social and digital media continues to impact and frame the course of events.
In collaboration with The Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near East Studies supported by the Social Science Research Council and the NYU Center for Religion and Media with generous support from the Henry R. Luce Initiative on Religion and International Affairs.
Fall 2011 Events
Media, Islam and the New Arab Journalist
October 5, 2011 | 6:30-8:00 PM
Lawrence Pintak Dean, Edward R. Murrow College of Communications, Washington State University
Mohammed El-Nawawy Department of Communications, Queens University of Charlotte
Mohamad Bazzi Assistant Professor of Journalism, NYU; Adjunct Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations
The Arab media representing much of the Muslim world are in the midst of a revolution that will inform questions of the transforming role of religion, war and peace, political and societal reform, and relations between the West and the Arab World. How do Arab journalists see themselves and their mission in this critical time in the evolution of a diverse Arab media landscape? What role does the Arab media play — particularly in a seemingly borderless digital age — in representing a Muslim world regarded with suspicion by the West to that part of the world, and in representing the complex and competing understanding of Islam in Muslim nations.
In collaboration with The Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near East Studies and The Center for Religion and Media
Television, Religion, and Gender in the Afghan Culture Wars
November 4, 2011 | 6:30-8:00 PM
Havana Marking Director of Afghan Star (2009), Silencing the Song (2010)
David B. Edwards W. Van Alan Clark '41 Third Century Professor in the Social Sciences, Williams College
Wazhmah Osman Social Science Research Council, NYUNY
The documentary Silencing the Song: An Afghan Fallen Star (Havana Marking, 2010) follows Setara Hussainzada after her ill-fated appearance on the popular Tolo TV show Afghan Star, when she scandalized the country by dancing — modestly — and allowing her scarf to drop to her neck, leading to death threats from conservative Muslims. Even in the urban capital of Kabul there is constant harassment, including by the local authorities fully backed by the USA as a counterweight to the misogynist Taliban. Her story, carefully explored in this acclaimed film, embodies longstanding tensions regarding the place of Islam and the presence of women in Afghanistan's emerging and rapidly expanding public sphere, from television to digital media. This program will screen the film, followed by a panel discussion.
Co-sponsored by The Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near East Studies and The Center for Religion and Media
