Contexts and Connections Media Fellows

The Contexts and Connections Media Fellows Program offers mid-career journalists who cover Islam and Muslims a four-week opportunity to broaden their knowledge of Islam, Muslim communities in the U.S. and the broader Muslim world, and contemporary scholarship about Islam, Muslims, and Muslim cultures. 

This non-degree program allows media fellows an opportunity to develop their knowledge about Islam and Muslims, to deepen their understanding of scholarship and academic life, and to share their expertise about how to engage effectively with journalists and media outlets with our faculty and graduate students. Contexts and Connections Media Fellows will interact with other journalists in the DeWitt Wallace Center's Media Fellows Program. Fellows may sit in on classes taught by faculty experts on Islam; attend lectures, conferences, and other Islam-related events at Duke and in the Triangle; deepen their understanding of Islam by meeting with Islamic Studies faculty and students; and have access to Duke University Library resources on Islam. Fellows will also discuss reporting on Islamic issues in classes and other public forums; and participate in public forums and workshops about coverage of Islam and Muslims in national and international media.

The program is a joint initiative of the Duke Islamic Studies Center (DISC), the DeWitt Wallace Center for Media and Democracy, the Duke University Center for International Studies (DUCIS), and the Duke Office of News and Communications.

When are the Contexts and Connections Media Fellowships available and who is eligible?

Three Contexts and Connections Media Fellowships will be available during the 2009-2010 academic year, one in the fall 2009 semester and 2 in the spring 2010 semester. Fellows should have several years of experience and responsibility for covering religion (including Islam) or events in the global Muslim community.

Application is by invitation, although we welcome inquiries from interested journalists. We have received a grant from the Social Science Research Council to cover journalists' expenses for the program. For more information, email the Duke Islamic Studies Center.

 

What is the Duke Islamic Studies Center?

The Duke Islamic Studies Center is a vibrant, diverse community of scholars and students engaged in interdisciplinary teaching, interactive learning, and cutting-edge research about Islam and Muslims. We are educating today’s students to become tomorrow’s leaders by equipping them with knowledge about the breadth and diversity of Islamic cultures, cross-cultural experiences, and language skills. Its comparative, cross-cultural approach to Islamic studies will foster fresh interpretations of Islam and encourage creative solutions to the economic, political and social challenges involving Muslims.

Duke's approach to the study of Islam is innovative, interdisciplinary and international. We have special strengths in social science approaches to the study of Islam and Muslims, Islam in South Asia, and growing scholarly expertise on US Muslims. The Duke Islamic Studies Center currently has over 30 core and affiliated faculty in such disciplines as religion, sociology, political science, cultural anthropology, Turkish, Arabic, and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. Read more about DISC's mission and history.