In many instances, the concepts of self and other tend to be fluid and dependent upon environment. For instance, in my hometown this idea has been clearly displayed throughout my life with both myself and others experiencing both inclusion and exclusion. As a child, the idea of “otherness” was consistently present. Multiple times throughout my […]

Growing up in the United States myself and many others were afforded privileges that many others across the world are not. For example, I was able to grow up in a stable middle class household in New Jersey and was afforded many opportunities. Compared to regions such as the Levant in the Middle East, my […]

Prior to this semester I was relatively ignorant to the role in which mass media played in my life as well as in the lives of others. Often, I would overlook the effects that the mass media had on populations, but also the effects of controlling media. Now, I realize the true wide reaching effects […]

Currently, the First Amendment protects the circulation of religious information and opinion from regulation in the United States. Globally, this is an outlier as many countries limit or completely regulate the circulation of religious opinion and information. While I do support the First Amendment, there are cases to be made for restrictions on the circulation […]

The authoritarian practices of the Egyptian government are pervasive in the day to day life of Egyptian civilians. For outsiders, such practices are amplified and the Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC or COP27 is no exception. Held at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt the conference on climate change has highlighted the authoritarian practices that are […]

In the event of political unrest in Iran news would be of the utmost importance and would be extremely challenging due to mass media censorship and internet firewalls. In Iran, my main method of accessing media would be on the internet through VPN (Virtual Private Network) usage. As seen with the recent protests over the […]

Much of the course material I have found quite eye-opening. However, what has stood to me most distinctly is the influence of satellite television and has changed my perspective of how I look at television entirely. Seeing the influence that the invention has had on the region is truly astounding as television is something nearly […]

Recently, I read a news article on the young Arab perspective on Democracy. Below I will detail and summarize what I have learned. In a comprehensive survey conducted by ASDA BCW Arab Youth Survey, the majority of young Arabs have come to the consensus that democracy will not work in the region. This was seen […]

The status of the media in Iran and Israel is near antithetical, similar to their systems of governments. Iran currently experiences some of the harshest crackdowns on media reporting seen in the region. Much of this is due to the governments control of the media and journalism as a whole. Journalists specifically are a main […]

The creation of the state of Israel in 1948 had large destabilizing effects in the region. Many wars followed between Israel and the Arab nations in the area, but overtime Israel was able to come to peace with some of the nations such as Jordan, Egypt, and many more. However, one country, Iran, was never […]