[515] MTSU Journalism Professor Wins Grant to Help Youth In Middle East Seek Common Interests

June 29, 2011
Contact: Tom Tozer, 615-898-2919

MTSU Journalism Professor Wins Grant to Help Youth In Middle East Seek Common Interests, Understanding Through Media

MURFREESBORO—MTSU’s Dr. Sanjay Asthana has won the Qatar National Research Foundation Grant in the amount of $254,222, which will take him to the Middle East to study how young people in Palestine use old and new media in the process of creating personal and social narratives.

Asthana, an associate professor of journalism in the University’s College of Mass Communication, will be traveling to several destinations, including Doha, West Bank, Ramallah and Haifa.

Youth media practices in the Arab world historically point to interesting facets of creativity, exploration and experimentation, Asthana noted. He added that increasing technology and the reconfiguring of media forms have provided a range of new-communication opportunities for children, youth and women, especially among the poor and underprivileged in Palestine.

Principal lead investigator Asthana and his co-investigator from Qatar University will examine the relationship between young Arabs and Jews and the contention that young people, mostly poor and underprivileged from ages 18 to 23, hold the hope for peace through dialogue.

“I want to look at the philosophical idea of forgiveness,” Asthana said. “Indeed, as someone noted, ‘forgiveness is the self’s quiet assault on the power of the malicious and injurious.’

“What kinds of topics and themes do young Palestinians talk about in the media work that they create and produce, the political dialogue, especially their dialogue with young people in Israel? I’d like to explore these things in greater detail.

“We’ll be looking at ways in which young people engage with issues like citizenship, civic engagement, democratic participation—trying to help them come to terms with their own understanding of the geopolitical situation within Palestine and the relationship between Palestine and Israel that is framing the debate,” he explained.

The proposed research project can offer Qatar, and indeed the broader Arab nation, something tangible with which to build solutions to some of the problems associated with Palestinian refugees, Palestinian youth identity and Israeli-Palestinian relations, Asthana pointed out.

“There is a possibility—and I don’t want to paint a very optimistic picture here—but there is certainly a genuine concern and understanding that issues need to be resolved,” the professor said. “With the young people, there may be a coming together, a converging of minds and understandings.”

Asthana earned his doctorate in journalism and mass communication in 2003 from the University of Minnesota. He also holds a master of philosophy degree and a master’s in communication from the University of Hyderabad, India. Asthana teaches courses in visual communication, globalization, communication technologies and cultural studies at MTSU.

“We are of course extremely pleased and proud of Dr. Asthana for receiving such a prestigious grant that will enable him to carry on his impressive work with young people of diverse cultures to help them discover what they have in common,” said Dr. Roy Moore, dean of the College of Mass Communication.

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Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution located in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. In September 2011, MTSU will celebrate its 100th year anniversary with special events and activities throughout the year—kicked off by a Blue-Tie Centennial Gala on Friday, Sept. 9.