In a Media Ghetto? Use of Media among Arabs in Mainz, Bad Kreuznach and Ludwigshafen

The project shall enhance the on-going project "Religious and Cultural Identities: Muslims in Rhineland-Palatinate", initially financed by the ZIS. It is undertaken by the recently established Center for Orient-Occident Studies (KOOM).
The present project, which will be continued with funding from the German Research Fund DFG, wants to take a closer look at the religious life of Arabs in order to further study the relationship between the media and German Arabs and the media´s role in their identity construction.
A deeper analysis, however, of the use of media by Arabs, online as well as offline, and their judgement on them is of great importance for a better understanding both: the communicative interactions with Arabs and their world view and their political opinions, even more so after Sept. 11th and the actual situation in the Middle East. Globalised communication networks, facilitated by Internet applications (websites, chat rooms, discussion forums, mailing lists etc.), satellite TV and mobile phones, play an important role for generating identities. Thus, hybrid worlds are created which mediate between cultures and identities.

Duration of funding: 2003-2004

Applicants:
Associate Prof. Franz-Christoph Muth (Islamic Studies)
Dr. Jörn Thielmann (Geography)