Press Releases

Monday, April 07, 2008

Ten Universities, with Plans for Informing Public Understanding of Islam, Win New SSRC Grant

The Social Science Research Council (SSRC) has awarded funding totaling $591,487 to ten universities representing 27 National Resource Centers (NCRs) in support of projects intended to influence public discourse on Islam. The grants, ranging from $50,000 to $96,600, were awarded as part of a new small grants program titled “Academia in the Public Sphere: Islam and Muslims in World Contexts,” administered by the SSRC with funding from Carnegie Corporation of New York (go to 11/9/07 press release). Projects funded for this grant cycle will create both durable infrastructure supporting public engagement and content for various forums, including town hall lectures, national and local public radio stations, and local newspapers.

The projects funded for this first year are:

  • PROJECT: “Islam-in-Context: Media and Technology Capacity Building for Academics”
    INSTITUTION: Harvard University
    NRCs: Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard Asia Center
    PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT: This project will develop a web-based resource site of accessible expert voices at Harvard on Islam-in-context and a manual for how to understand Islam-in-context and channels through which scholars might contact and influence the media
  • PROJECT: “Voices and Visions in World Contexts”
    INSTITUTION: Indiana University
    NRCs: Center for Study of Global Change, African Studies Center, East Asian Studies Center, Inner Asian and Uralic National Resource Center, Russian and East European Institute, West European Studies
    PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT: This project will develop four local community events on various issues in Islam and 60 audio podcasts to be made available on the National Public Radio Website and elsewhere
  • PROJECT: “Middle-East Desk: An Online Gateway for Journalists to Engaged Analysis and Commentary”
    INSTITUTION: New York University
    NRC: Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies
    PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT: This project will further develop Middle-East Desk’s online gateway for journalists to engaged analysis and just-in-time commentary, with particular emphasis on including country-specific pages and story-planting elements within the website
  • PROJECT: “Progressive Islam in Africa and Southeast Asia”
    INSTITUTION: Ohio University
    NRCs: Africa Studies Program, Southeast Asian Studies Program
    PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT: The project will develop a series of media events in the local community followed by interviews and press conferences to highlight the role of reform, progress, and progressive change throughout the Muslim world

  • PROJECT: “The West and Islam - Clash or Convergence? - Gender as a Touchstone for Reconciliation”
    INSTITUTION: University of California, Berkeley
    NRCs: Institute of European Studies
    PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT: This project will support the interaction of scholars, the media, and targeted partnerships that will encourage public discussion and scholarship on gender and Islam in the West

  • PROJECT: “North Africa: The Muslim Far West”
    INSTITUTION: University of California, Los Angeles
    NRCs: Center for Near Eastern Studies
    PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT: This project will enable the NRC to cultivate partnerships with museums and the media in order to inform public audiences about the Maghreb
  • PROJECT: “Chicago Muslims in their own voices: Lived Identity in the First Person”
    INSTITUTION: University of Chicago
    NRCs: Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Center for South Asian Studies
    PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT: This project will support the video recording and dissemination of one-hour interviews with 140-160 Muslims from Chicago’s widely diverse Muslim community with the purpose of creating an indexed database and collective narrative that will enhance the capacity of scholars to talk to the public about Muslims in the U.S. and in the Chicago area

  • PROJECT: "Illinois Outreach Network on Islam in the World"
    INSTITUTION: University of Illinois, Urbana/Champaign
    NRCs: Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Center for Global Studies
    PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT: This project will activate a currently informal network of scholars throughout Illinois to form a Speakers Bureau and website dedicated to outreach

  • PROJECT: “Islam and Muslims in the World and in Minnesota”
    INSTITUTION: University of Minnesota
    NRCs: Institute for Global Studies, Consortium for the Study of the Asias
    PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT: This project will allow the NRCs to partner with community-based media outlets to create a minimum of 10 6-minute radio news segments based on themes related to Islam and Muslims in the World and in Minnesota as well as two op-ed pieces on the Muslim immigrant experience in Minnesota

  • PROJECT: “Inside Islam: Dialogues and Debates”
    INSTITUTION: University of Wisconsin, Madison
    NRCs: Global Studies, African Studies Program, Center for South Asia, Center for South East Asian Studies, Center for European Studies, Center for Russia, East Europe and Central Asia, Latin American, Caribbean, and Iberian Studies
    PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT: This project will permit the creation of 8-12 one-hour live interactive programs on local public radio, followed by live-interactive blogging allowing for ongoing engagement between local communities and scholars

These projects were selected by an external review committee made up of prominent members of the media, the social sector, and academia. The next selection process will take place toward the end of the year, with applications due October 15, 2008. Grant eligibility is restricted to Title VI-funded National Resource Centers. For more information on terms and eligibility, go to Frequently Asked Questions.

This grants program is funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the Department of Education Title VI program, dedicated to international education and public education, in order to complement existing federal funding. The aim of this grants program is to support public scholarship and engagement on the topic of Islam.