Call for Applications: Training Institute

Date: January – December 2018

First Seminar: February 2-4th, 2018

Venue: Berkeley, CA, USA

Application Deadline: November 10, 2017

The media is the most powerful vehicle for representing or misrepresenting Islam, Muslims in general and Muslim women in particular. Distorted images of Muslim women and Islam circulate widely in many media outlets. The past several years has witnessed a massive escalation of Islamophobia in the United States and Europe. Muslim women have been the iconic subject of Islamophobia as well as the central subjects in the (mis)representation of Islam and Muslims. A disproportionate number of the attacks on Muslims in the United States and Europe have been on Muslim women. “Most victims of UK hate crimes were Muslim girls and women aged from 14 to 45 in traditional Islamic dress. The perpetrators were mainly white males aged 15 to 35“. Similarly the Huffington Post reported that Muslim women across the USA faced an increase in attacks following the election of Donald Trump in November 2016.

The Institute

This Institute brings together leading experts on women and Islamic cultures and leading journalists and faculty from the United States, Europe, and the Middle East, to engage participants in the diverse and global histories and cultures of women and Islamic cultures. The goal is to foster accurate reporting, representation, and public discourses related to Islamic cultures and to Muslim women in a variety of media outlets. The Institute is committed to the principle that knowledge is power; to the recognition that media are powerful molders of public opinion; and to the deep belief that evidence/facts/accuracy, when presented by respected public agents, can generate healthy public debates and constructively transform public discourse.

The Workplan

Institute participants will engage in two three-day seminars, Winter and Fall 2018. The first seminar will take place on February 2-4^th, 2018. Participants will work with leading faculty and journalists through lectures and discussions on the histories and cultures of Islam and women in Islamic cultures. In between the two seminars, participants will be given reading and writing assignments to submit to their appointed mentors. Mentors will respond with comments and feedback for improving the assignments. The final assignment will be a publishable or near publishable report or opinion piece or visual presentation to be submitted to a media platform.

The Trainers

The trainers include leading experts on women and Islamic cultures – editors of the Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures: Suad Joseph, Zeina Zaatari, Sarah Gualtieri, Elora Shehabuddin and Annelies Moors. Leading journalists from the United States and Arab and Islamic societies will join training and mentoring.  Costs of travel, accommodations, and catering are paid by the Institute, which is funded by a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation.

Elgibility

The Institute is open to graduate students in schools of journalism and communication, and to early career journalists within five years of degree completion. To apply, submit a CV, one letter of recommendation from a professor or employer, a short sample of writing, and a statement of purpose no more than 600 words addressing your interest, qualifications, and commitment to this year-long Institute (two seminars–Winter and Fall 2018) to Suad Joseph: sjoseph@ucdavis.edu.

Source: Jadaliyya