Blog Feedback

To sit and reflect on everything i have learned in this ILA course is quite the feat- no single blog entry will do it justice. Nonetheless extracting thematic links between all of the blogs with everyone's overarching conclusions seems feasable, as i noticed individual classmate reactions share many parallels. we've all acquired perceptions that have evolved quite drastically over the course of the semester- but mapping that evolution has been rather interesting, and the blog manages to trace the personal journey rather effectively.

I have to share that this is my first time ever keeping a blog and interacting with this communication interface. There are little nuances i have yet to figure it- like how to post a PDF file link (learning how to jazz up my background layout took a bit of time as well) but posting something that is written with a much more informal approach- a stylized stream-of-consciencousness has been quite an experience. Like a journal, i felt compelled to write not in a reportive journalistic manner, but rather using a personal undertone, sharing my personal experiences, interactions with family/friends, absorption of the material, and exploration of related issues in U.S politics, literature, international media/music, etc. What was weird was that i was writing for myself, but knew it would be read by others, a private purpose shared with the public (blog characteristics took some time getting used to). The blog served as an outlet to voice my opinions, but perhaps still

Reading over other classmates blog has revealed how much this course opened up or further enhanced a new realm of the media landscape to us all. The Arab World for many really is approached as "foreign so-called 'other'" because of the little exposure and interaction people have with it. Only in recent decades as a result of war/conflict has the news media coverage shifted its focus to include the Middle East region with more depth. Politics departments and history courses also have further enabled students to specialize in the Middle East (once far less common). Looking over blog entires you see that many classmates felt cultured and open-minded until they re-assessed their perceptions of the Arab world and preconceived notions of Islam. I personally travel to the middle east yearly to visit family in Israel, and grew up with much exposure to news coverage of that region of the world- but particularly from a western, pro-american, not surprisingly pro-israeli lens. This course completely reversed and realigned many students former perceptions- particularly focusing on Arab Media & Modernity. It seems that almost all of us referenced youtube clips, movies, and news articles, or scholarly publications to challenge our former notions and foster personal growth. Interestingly the course touched upon israel-palestinian conflict which for me has always been the sole focus of that region, yet broadened the content to include a much larger Arab sphere. We all blogged about the alarming Mumbai attacks, The election race- and McCain's Marginalizing campaign,

Although usually rather outspoken, i found myself more introspective and reflective during class discussions, analyzing and challenging my prior knowledge. My former exposure to some of these topics during my childhood, or even in courses at NYU such as international politics of the Middle East, looking at the formation and development of a lot of the countries we discussed, got thoroughly questioned. The comparative media systems paper i wrote and researched for over a month and a half last year ( and posted) would be conducted rather differently with much more elaborate conclusions if i were to revisit it after taking this course- proving how much my notions have evolved. The same could probably be said for every single person in the class- the beginning of the course and the last day, represent a morphed indivual- the manifestation of good education.

I loved what Molly said about The media celebritizing terrorism as it is the media " plastering Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein and countless other 'terrorists' faces on the nightly news. These men were made famous by media coverage and then made infamous through their own deeds and misdeeds" as she questions are fighting terrorism by informing the public or rather perpetrating the cycle? we've seen that we like many others, though we represent a highly educated demographic which much of the country sadly doesn't belong to, came into the course with western perspectives, ideals, and prejudices. Only with exposure to eastern, Arab, and other international perspectives can the marginilized skewed notions be properly challenged not perpetuated.

The East versus West, The Clash, The Orient, are all theoretical constructs fed to the masses to think in a particular way. If courses such as this get taught all over the country and around the world or more importantly the information gets disseminated, communication barriers can finally be broken through mutual understanding and universal (not limited) concern.