A Purpose and Some Research

Marhaba! (Hello)

I've run into a lot of questions about why I study the Middle East.

Kelly, Lindsay and Me (right to left) outside one of the Smithsonian
Institutes when we were in Washington D.C. to present research.

This became a serious interest of mine in my freshman year at Mercyhurst.

Basically, I am good at picking up languages so I wanted to put that to good use with a more difficult language. I also hate the generalizations made about Muslims and the Middle East, so what better way to work against the stereotypes than to immerse myself in this subject.

I created a minor, took classes, found Arab stores in Erie, and practice Arabic with friends. I try to involve this in everything I do.

I am always sharing my experiences with friends and inviting them to join me at the market, get dinner, do henna, etc. Sharing these opportunities with others and starting the conversation helps foster understanding among cultures.

An additional project I do involving the Middle East is my research.  I have spent more than a year and a half researching the portrayal of Muslims in the media and presenting my findings.

My friends Lindsay, Kelly and I began this research together.  We analyzed news from American news sources and eventually grew the project into an analysis of Muslims in international media sources.

We presented our information at the Eastern Communication Association's (ECA) annual conference and at the University at Buffalo.  Our first study was also published in the University of Alabama at Birmingham's online journal Human Communication.

We will be attending ECA's conference again this year in Boston, MA.

The research definitely showed some interesting results and we have come a long way. If you want to know more, feel free to ask questions about the results or the topic in general.

I hope this answers some questions for you and you learned a little bit about myself as well.

Ma-Salaama! (Goodbye)