Re-scripting Islam: Muslims and the Media

March 23 and 24, 2011
DeVault Alumni Center – Indiana University Bloomington
Registration and information: www.indiana.edu/~global/Re-scriptingIslam/

Registration Deadline: March 20, 2011

A quick Internet search of the terms “Islam” and “Muslim” turns up news stories with headlines about “radical Islam” or Islam’s war against the First Amendment or honor killings. The stories attached to such headlines ask whether Islam is compatible with the West; whether Muslims can ever truly be American. Such framing of Muslims, and Islam, is not new. In fact, it goes back centuries both in the United States and abroad.

A conference organized by Indiana University’s Voices and Visions Project will dissect this framing as well as highlight what some Muslims are doing to counteract these seemingly hegemonic narratives about their faith and themselves.

Re-scripting Islam: A conversation between media professionals and scholars will take place March 23 and 24 on Indiana University’s Bloomington campus. This free conference is designed to bring together academics, journalists and communication students to discuss the media’s portrayal of Islam and Muslims. The international slate of panelists features bloggers, journalists, and experts on the framing of Muslim women as well as Muslim use of new media.

The conference’s keynote address will be given by Andrea Elliott of The New York Times. A Pulitzer Prize winner, and the creator the Islam beat at the Times, Elliott will speak about her experience covering “Muslims in a Post-9/11 America.”

Registration: www.indiana.edu/~global/Re-scriptingIslam/

Project Coordinator: Rosemary Pennington (rompenni@umail.iu.edu or 812-855-0353)

The Voices and Visions Project is made possible by support from the Social Science Research Council.

Muslim Voices – Voices and Visions of Islam and Muslims from a Global Perspective