After taking a course on political media and the effects of political advertising, I thought I would publish these few political advertisements from the 2009 Indian parliamentary elections. The incumbent Congress (INC) Party took advantage of the prominence of AR Rahman’s “Jai Ho” from the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack for its campaign. Whereas, the opposition Bharatiya […]
Written Winter 2013, for AAPTIS 361 — Jihad in History, at the University of Michigan. In Jihad in Saudi Arabia: Violence and Pan-Islamism since 1979, Hegghammer examines the nature of jihadism imported into, exported out of, and cultivated in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Using historical and political analysis, he chronicles the jihadist movement from […]
Written Winter 2013, for HIST 303 —The Ottoman Post-Classical Age, at the University of Michigan. The historical narrative of the unilinear Ottoman decline is criticized as lacking nuance and an understanding of the complex transformations the Empire and the surrounding world was undergoing. Although this argument carries much weight, it discounts the active efforts made […]
Written Fall 2012, for POLSCI 497 —The Politics of Immigration and Identity in Israel, at the University of Michigan. I. Introduction Israeli society is often acknowledged to be among the most heterogenous societies today. However, this heterogeneous nature can also translate into numerous cleavages diving society and disbanding an overarching sense of shared national identity. […]
Written Fall 2012, for POLSCI 351 — Israeli Society & Politics, at the University of Michigan. I. Introduction In the 1990s, the term ‘Mizrahi’ began being used to describe Jewish emigrants from the ‘East’ – the ‘Orient’. The word itself was adopted as an umbrella term referring to Jews and the descendants of Jews in […]
In the past week, news of demonstrations outside the US embassies in Benghazi and Cairo has spread through the world. The first day or two, it was small news that concerned only those who follow Middle Eastern affairs. But that all changed with the killing of Ambassador Stevens — now, the embassies had become an […]
Representative Allen West (Rep. FL) published a column today in the Washington Times regarding the scope of Iran’s activities in Venezuela and other Latin American countries. Ahmedinejad and Chavez have come to appreciate their similarities in fighting against “US imperialism” around the world. This partnership is both surprising and unsurprising at the same time. First, […]
