Episode 3:

Media Literacy & the Middle East

Hussein Rashid of Barnard College and Columbia University discusses the importance of thinking critically about news, information, and stories relating to the Middle East. We also highlight five activities you can do to promote media literacy in your classrooms.

Guest Bios

Hussein Rashid

Hussein Rashid is a contingent faculty member at Barnard College and Columbia University, where he teaches about the intersection of media and Islam. He is also the founder of Islamicate, L3C, a consultancy that promotes religious literacy and cultural competency. He holds a BA in Middle Eastern Studies from Columbia, a Masters in Theological Studies focusing on Islam, and a PhD in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures from Harvard.

Free Resources and Featured Books

Learn more about teaching media literacy as it pertains to the Middle East with these free online resources:

  • Media Constructions of the Middle East, a free digital teaching kit developed by Project LookSharp that includes a teaching guide, lesson plans, and relevant online media examples ready for classroom use.

  • Exploring Stereotypes with Aladdin,” a free lesson plan developed and distributed by Barbara Petzen of Middle East Connections. This lesson plan features longer, more involved activities related to the film than those we discuss in the episode.

  • This short film by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNHCR), in which notable celebrities help explain that the words we use to describe refugees, migrants, internally displaced persons, and others really do matter in how we think about the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the eastern Mediterranean.This short film by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNHCR), in which notable celebrities help explain that the words we use to describe refugees, migrants, internally displaced persons, and others really do matter in how we think about the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the eastern Mediterranean.

  • The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith. This book is great for helping students of any age understand that there are two sides to every story.

  • Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People by Jack Shaheen, which highlights the ways that Arabs have been negatively depicted in movies since before the first “talkies.” (A classroom-friendly documentary version of the book exists, too!)

Episode Acknowledgements

Thanks to Dr. Hussein Rashid for his time, knowledge, and enthusiasm in promoting media literacy as it relates to the Middle East.

Image Credits

Image of Hussein Rashid courtesy of Mr. Rashid, taken by Ali Ansary and featured on www.husseinrashid.com.

Featured Music

  • Kim Arar,” by Wind of Anatolia, from the album Live at the 2014 Golden Festival, used with permission from Wind of Anatolia. The track has been excerpted and mixed with narrative.