"Mistaking Muslims for Wal-Mart — and Other Perils"

This year’s Woodrow Wilson fellow in residence is keenly aware of many misperceptions Americans have about people from the Middle East. His keynote address, with its catchy and disturbing title (see headline), was intended to help dispel some of those misperceptions and was a highlight of his four-day stay on campus this autumn.

Augustus Richard Norton knows his subject. A professor of international relations and anthropology at Boston University, he has spent more than 20 years studying developments in the Middle East — 2 of them as an unarmed military observer attached to the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon. He has written or edited several books on the Mideast, including Civil Society in the Middle East, vols. 1 and 2. He has also published articles in many journals and newspapers. Norton earned his doctorate in political science from the University of Chicago and has been a visiting professor at New York University and the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas at Austin.

During his visit to Ithaca College, Norton spoke to classes in several disciplines — politics, sociology, journalism, television-radio, and health services administration. In the Africa in World Politics class taught by assistant professor of politics Peyi Soyinka-Airewele, he discussed Afro-Arab relations, the role of Islam in African politics, and the relationship between African, North African, and Middle Eastern states. "The students were eager for this visit," said Soyinka-Airewele. "They are very interested in these subjects. It was especially noteworthy because one of my students is Jordanian and she was able to hear how someone with a different point of view assesses aspects of her culture."

Television-radio professor John Keshishoglou hosted Norton in his Global Flow of Information class, in which Norton addressed the question of how the media have become players in international relations. "Diplomacy is changing," said Keshishoglou, "and media are becoming intermediaries between countries in some cases. It’s important for students to understand this rapidly evolving field."

Norton also spoke on the topic of prejudice in any culture to Margo Ramlal-Nankoe’s Introduction to Multicultural Studies class; on how Western media have covered the Middle East in Peter Kareithi’s Introduction to Journalism class; and on cross-cultural health communication in Stewart Auyash’s Communication in Health Services Organizations class. He also met formally and informally throughout his stay with students and faculty members.

Norton’s visit came on the heels of the interdisciplinary discussion series on Islam sponsored by the Center for the Study of Culture, Race, and Ethnicity — and further helped to bring attention to that religion and its cultures.