UW to launch radio, Web programs on Islam and Muslims in the world

Lyzandra Daria
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UW to launch radio, Web programs on Islam and Muslims in the world

http://news.wisc.edu/15102

Nine area and international studies programs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison received a grant from the national Social Science Research Council (SSRC) to create an interactive program that will support public dissemination of scholarship on the topic of Islam.

The grant is part of SSRC's project, "Academia in the Public Sphere."

UW-Madison's eight Title VI National Resource Centers, along with the Middle Eastern Studies Program, will host a 12-month project titled "Inside Islam: Dialogues and Debates." Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) and the UW-Madison Division of Information Technology (DoIT) are lead partners in the project.

Spearheaded by Global Studies, the grant will allow for the production of eight to ten one-hour, call-in radio shows with local and international scholars on Islam, hosted by WPR's Jean Feraca. Topics may include such subjects as "Islam and Music" and "Women and Islam," and will address the diversity of Muslim communities throughout the world. These broadcasts will be followed by real-time chats and a blog on the WPR Web site. In addition, they will produce "insideislam.wisc.edu," a Web site hosted by DoIT.

The live radio broadcasts will reach WPR's 400,000 listeners around the state through Feraca's "Here on Earth: Radio without Borders" program. Intended to spark a worldwide conversation, listeners around the globe will be able to stream the radio show and post their own comments and podcasts on the Web site.

"This forum is designed precisely for public access to knowledge and dialogue," says B. Venkat Mani, interim director of Global Studies and associate professor in the Department of German. "This is not only outreach to the community — it is a way of building inroads into the university." Mani is most recently the author of "Cosmopolitical Claims: Turkish German Literatures from Nadolny to Pamuk" (University of Iowa Press, 2007).

"Wisconsin is a natural home for such a collaborative, interregional effort," says Gilles Bousquet, dean of the Division of International Studies. "In addition to their strong history of research and teaching, UW-Madison's area and international studies programs consistently generate innovative ways of helping us to better understand our world."

Ten universities received SSRC funding to support projects intended to influence public discourse on Islam. Funding was provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

UW-Madison's eight Title VI National Resource Centers include: Global Studies; the African Studies Program; the Center for South Asia; the Center for South East Asian Studies; the Center for European Studies; the Center for Russia, East Europe and Central Asia; Latin American, Caribbean, and Iberian Studies; and the Center for East Asian Studies.

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Freedom of speech and freedom of religion.  USA has it's good points.  I just hope this funding isn't a cover for some nefarious objective.  'just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean somebody's not out to get me'.

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"Faith must have adequate evidence else it is mere superstition"...Alexander Hodge (1823-1886)

"A myth is a religion in which no one any longer believes"...James Feibleman (1904-1987)

Respectfully, Lyz


Jeffrick
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islamic studies

   I to should broadcast the Mohammad show on PBS/UW.

   I'm an engineer with  Russian language studies,  on air broadcasting studies and I am also a basso/baritone opera singer. Clearly this makes me as qualified for the show as  B. Venkat Mani and his German studies.

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Lyzandra Daria
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The website

The website address will be insideislam.wisc.edu.  I'll be interested to see (read) what interesting topics they discuss. 

 

"Faith must have adequate evidence else it is mere superstition"...Alexander Hodge (1823-1886)

"A myth is a religion in which no one any longer believes"...James Feibleman (1904-1987)

Respectfully, Lyz


Lyzandra Daria
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UW Madison new webside

http://www.insideislam.wisc.edu/

Inside Islam: Dialogues and Debates

 

Statement of Purpose

Inside Islam: Dialogues and Debates is a new media initiative that seeks to challenge misconceptions and stereotypical perceptions about Islam and Muslims worldwide through a collaboration between UW-Madison’s nine area and international studies centers, Wisconsin Public Radio, and the public. Drawing on the UW’s longstanding strength in international studies and WPR’s pioneering international news and global cultural affairs talk show, Here on Earth: Radio without Borders, Inside Islam creates a public forum for positive and constructive sharing of knowledge about Islam through innovative use of new media. The project’s emphasis on interactive technology underlines the importance of active communication between Muslims and non-Muslims, as well as between academics and the broader community. By illuminating underrepresented or neglected cultural, intellectual, and political aspects of Islam and Muslims, Inside Islam spotlights the diversity of dialogues and debates within Islam as well as with other religions and communities.

Inside Islam is supported by a program titled "Academia in the Public Sphere: Islam and Muslims in World Contexts," funded by the Carnegie Corporation and administered by the Social Science Research Council.

Thank you for visiting this site! We will have more information for you in the Fall of 2008. Please check back in September! Questions can currently be directed to [email protected].

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I don't see the same effort being extended to the Jehovah's Witnesses or the Secular Student Groups.  However, I also don't believe the JWs need to be 'exposed' as islam does. 

I'm going to be interested in how this program deals with sharia law and the 'intellectual and political aspects of islam'. 

Enjoy...

>>>

"Faith must have adequate evidence else it is mere superstition"...Alexander Hodge (1823-1886)

"A myth is a religion in which no one any longer believes"...James Feibleman (1904-1987)

Respectfully, Lyz


Lyzandra Daria
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 http://insideislam.wisc.edu

 http://insideislam.wisc.edu/

I'm unimpressed...but I really didn't expect more than a PR program.  

 

I'll bet their ratings aren't very good.  I can't think of too many people who will want to listen (or read) this.  

 

Not really dealing with the ramifications of sharia law...as expected.  IMO, not dealing with the 'intellectual and political aspects of Islam'.  

 

It's really too bad.  But, I understand the constraints of being a UW program they really can't do much more.  However, IMO, portraying some of the atrocious aspects of Islam, including the inequality of women, would have been appropriate.

 

"Faith must have adequate evidence else it is mere superstition"...Alexander Hodge (1823-1886)

"A myth is a religion in which no one any longer believes"...James Feibleman (1904-1987)

Respectfully, Lyz