Dr. Jack G. Shaheen, former CBS News consultant on Middle East affairs, will talk about “Hollywood’s Images of Arabs and Muslims” at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 3, at St. Bonaventure University.
Dr. Shaheen is one of the world’s leading experts on depictions of Arabs and Muslims in the news and entertainment media. His most recent book is “Guilty: Hollywood’s Verdict on Arabs After 9/11” (Interlink Publishing, 2008).
The talk at the John J. Murphy Professional Building is free and open to the public, and will be followed by a reception and book-signing. The lecture will include clips from a variety of Hollywood films from the silent era to the present.
Also free to the public is the Thursday, April 10, showing of the film “Reel Bad Arabs,” based on Dr. Shaheen’s acclaimed book of the same name about depictions of Arabs in the movies. The hour-long film begins at 7:30 p.m. in Dresser Auditorium of the Murphy Building. For information about the film, including a trailer, visit www.reelbadarabs.com.
As the 2008 Lenna Visiting Professor, Dr. Shaheen will interact with students in their classrooms, both at St. Bonaventure and at Jamestown Community College’s Jamestown campus. He will be in the area for two weeks. The Lenna Visiting Professorship is jointly administered by St. Bonaventure and JCC.
“Dr. Shaheen is an outstanding scholar who has served as a consultant for both government agencies — including the United Nations — and Hollywood filmmakers,” said Dr. Chris Stanley, St. Bonaventure theology professor.
“No one knows more than he does about the impact of the media on public perceptions of Arabs and Muslims. Every American should hear what he has to say.”
Dr. Shaheen, a recipient of two Fulbright teaching awards, regularly appears on national TV programs such as “Nightline,” “Good Morning America,” “48 Hours,” and “The Today Show.”
His writings include more than 300 essays in publications such as Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, as well as chapters on media stereotypes in 36 college textbooks.
Dr. Shaheen will also give the President’s Roundtable Lecture at 7:45 a.m. Wednesday, April 2, in JCC’s Weeks Reception Hall of the Arts & Sciences Center.
The Lenna Endowed Visiting Professorship, established in 1990, is funded through gifts from Betty S. Lenna Fairbank and the late Reginald A. Lenna of Jamestown. It is designed to bring scholars of stature in their field to St. Bonaventure and Jamestown Community College for public lectures.