Congratulations to several JMS faculty members on a spectacular month of scholarly appearances as panelist, co-presenters, guest speakers and interviewers.

• The Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies at New York University hosted Assistant Professor Christina Dunbar-Hester as a panelist for “VIRTUALITY, SIMULACRA, AND SIMULATION: Virtual Reality, Real War.”

• Associate Professor and MCIS Digital Media Coordinator Susan Keith co-presented “When News Happens to Sports and Vice Versa” at the annual meeting for the American Copy Editors Society in St. Louis, Mo.

• The Center on Violence Against Women and Children invited Associate Professor Regina Marchi Ph.D. area coordinator for media studies, as a guest speaker on “How Media Normalize Female Submission and Violence Against Women" During the forum, “The Media’s Role in Violence Against Women.”

• Part-time lecturer and Star-Ledger food writer and critic, Teresa Politano,  moderated “A Conversation with Bobby Flay,” Emmy-winning chef and author, at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, N.J. 

American legal scholar Robert H. Bork’s recent death has sparked numerous articles and comments regarding his failed nomination by Ronald Reagan to the Supreme Court. Rejected by the Democrat-controlled Senate in 1987, Bork’s nomination is sometimes seen as a historical shift in how Supreme Court justices are selected.

In a generation that gave rise to the terms “helicopter parents,” “trophy kids” and “boomerang generation,” there is one term that isn’t easily connected to Gen Y—feminism.

Yet when an essay contest sponsored by Douglass Residential College and Ms. Magazine came to Journalism and Media Studies major Abigail Nutter’s attention, she quickly submitted her entry on the topic, “Who Needs Feminist Media Today?”

Nutter’s quick response stemmed from being rejected by what she thought was a forward-thinking online magazine. She submitted a short essay describing the nearly impossible standards of measuring up to the “ideal woman” that mainstream media portrays on a daily basis. It was rejected for being “overtly feminist.”

Influenced by Gloria Steinem, Nutter highlights the need for feminist media to influence young women and the necessary changes needed to allow women’s voices to be equally heard. She also discusses how her generation has become complacent when it comes to women’s rights. She writes:

“As a generation, we will continue to drown if we continue this negative connotation of feminist media. I need feminist media to continue to speak out and say: We’ve come a long way, but we have miles more to go.”

Nutter’s essay was chosen as runner up, and was printed in Ms. Magazine’s blog, along with two other Rutgers students.

"It meant so much to me to be chosen a runner up,” said Nutter. “I firmly believe and stand by what I wrote, and I hope that we, as a society, will one day be able to open up and see the stereotypes, see the oppressions and the consequences, and decide that enough is enough.”

On September 6th, 2012 Associate Professor Deepa Kumar celebrated the launch of her new book Islamaphobia and the Politics of Empire with a talk and reception sponsored by publisher Haymarket Books in association with the Center for Constitutional Rights and The Council on American-Islamic Relations (NYC) at Alwan for the Arts in New York City, with special guest Moustafa Bayoumi.

In her new book, Dr. Kumar analyzes the historical roots of Islamophobia, offering a sweeping historical analysis of the changing views of Islam and Muslims in the West, and examining the ways that ruling elites throughout history have used the specter of “a Muslim enemy” to justify their imperial projects. By deconstructing the most persistent myths about Islam and Muslims, and explaining the role Islamophobia continues to play in justifying war abroad and political repression at home, Kumar makes a powerful case for a movement that challenges both anti-Muslim racism and the project of empire.

“This is a timely and crucial book. From historical roots to ideological causes, Islamophobia is studied in a holistic, profound, and serious way.” - Tariq Ramadan, Oxford University.

Dr. Kumar was also recently invited by Rutgers Today to discuss the U.S. policy in the Middle East after the recent Presidential debates. In the article, Kumar pointed out that there isn't much difference between Obama and Romney's stance on the subject of foreign policy, just in the way they deliver their stance. She says " The differences, such as they are, tend to be rhetorical rather than substantive". Kumar also discussed the interesting concept of American exceptionalism, which she defined as "resting on the notion that the United States is a champion of democracy, human rights, the free market and other such values".

Read More Here: Rutgers Today

Dr. Regina Marchi, Associate Professor in the Journalism and Media Studies department was part of a panel organized by the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) on September 10, 2012. The discussion was debating if “The Death of newspapers is irreversible”.