Contact:
Dinah Winnick
Communications Manager
University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
410-455-8117
dwinnick@umbc.edu

Chelsea Haddaway
Communications Manager
University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
410-455-6380
chaddaway@umbc.edu

UMBC faculty experts on social media and social/political movements in the Middle East have turned their attention to recent protests in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen and across the region. They offer insight into the role of digital communications in coordinating protest efforts, representations of Egypt in the non-Western media, transnational Islamist movements, U.S. foreign and security policy, democratization and transitional justice.

Zeynep Tufekci, assistant professor of sociology, is an expert on how digital communications play a role in political change, social organizing and community dynamics. Her analysis on the role of social media in Tunisia and Egypt has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Chronicle of Higher Education, and on public radio. The UN Dispatch described her writing on Twitter and Tunisia's Jasmine Revolution as "the best, most balanced analysis of the role of social media in ousting Ben Ali." Tufekci is well-regarded for her blog Technosociology.org and recent columns in The Atlantic on Wikileaks and Morosov’s "The Net Delusion." Contact her at zeynep@umbc.edu or on Twitter @techsoc.

Rebecca Adelman, assistant professor of media and communication studies, can discuss the media’s visual representations of the protests in Egypt. She is especially interested in how these images fit with historic and contemporary visual rhetoric about Middle Eastern nations. Adelman is currently teaching a class on globalized mass media and media practices in non-Western countries and working on an interdisciplinary project that integrates political and cultural studies to discuss how images are created, defined and used in America’s war on terror. Contact her at adelman@umbc.edu or 410-455-2772 (o).

Brigid Starkey, lecturer in political science, has expertise on transnational Islamist movements in the Middle East, international negotiation, American foreign policy and security issues. She is the lead author of "International Negotiation in a Complex World," heralded as an “engaging book [that] moves us to a new era of international relations characterized by global diplomacy, nonstate actors, and complex, interlinked issues” by Daniel Druckman of the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution. Contact her at starkey@umbc.edu or 410-744-0706 (o).

Devin Hagerty, professor and chair of political science, focuses on Iran and South Asia and can provide a comparative perspective on regional dynamics over time. He also has expertise on protest movements in the broader context of U.S. foreign and security policy. Hagerty is co-author of "Fearful Symmetry: Indo-Pakistani Crises in the Shadow of Nuclear Weapons" and editor of "South Asia in World Politics." Contact him at dhagerty@umbc.edu or 410-455-2185 (o).

Brian Grodsky, assistant professor of political science, is an expert on democratization and the forms of transitional justice that outgoing leaders can face after they leave power. He is the author of the new book “The Costs of Justice” and the manuscript “Social Movements and the State.” A three-minute video on his current book is available online. Contact him at grodsky@umbc.edu or 410-455-8047 (o).

Cell numbers available upon request.

Ugandan Gay Rights Advocate David Kato Beaten to Death

Funeral Results in Confrontation Between Gay Rights and Anti-Gay Rights Groups

Violence erupted in Mukono, Uganda at the funeral of gay rights advocate David Kato, two days after the Ugandan activist was beaten to death with a hammer Jan. 26.

The religious rite was punctuated by a denunciation of homosexuality from the pulpit by the pastor, and the refusal of congregants in the village to bury Kato.

“The world has gone crazy,” the pastor said, according to Reuters. “People are turning away from the scriptures. They should turn back, they should abandon what they are doing. You cannot start admiring a fellow man.”

Those statements drew a sharp reaction from a crowd of 300 people that included about 100 gay supporters. Gay activists, some wearing t-shirts with Kato’s picture on them, stormed the podium, grabbing the microphone. ?

Howard Makes Bold Changes

Goal is to promote excellence

This week Howard University's president and Board of Trustees announced major changes to the academic structure of the school. The Academic Renewal Plan – the culmination of two years of meetings, university community input and the hard work by the Presidential Commission on Academic Renewal (PCAR) – was presented to the board by Howard's President Sidney A. Ribeau on Jan. 29 and approved.

“Universities must periodically review and assess themselves to respond to developments in higher education and the changing needs of our nation and the world,” Ribeau said in a statement. “At Howard, we are doing just that. We must maintain the highest standards of academic and administrative excellence.”

The plan consolidates or eliminates many of Howard's degree programs and works to reorganize the university's resources in a way that supports its strategic goals.

While this process was initiated by the board of trustees and President Ribeau, Alvin Thornton, Ph.D., senior advisor to the president on academic affairs and chair of the PCAR committee, was clear that this effort and the resulting recommendations involved all parts of the university community. "These were not presidentially or board determined decisions. These are largely decision that came from the university community," he said.

"These changes will, in essence," said Thornton, "strengthen Howard University, make it much more focused around the strategic areas that the Board of Trustees and the president have identified."

Some of these strategic goals include ensuring high quality undergraduate programs, a continued commitment to the professional schools and a return to a focus on teacher preparation, Thornton said. Others, according to a press release issued by the university, are: to strengthen the commitment to science, technology, engineering and math; encourage increased research, advance Africana and Diaspora Studies to make Howard University the leader in that area of study; augment urban education, business, communications, humanities and visual and performing arts programs; and streamline and focus degree program offerings.
"We have identified specific areas of emphasis,” Ribeau said in a statement, “and we plan to be leaders in those areas.”

Howard currently offers 171 degree programs. As part of this plan, 71 programs – 38 professional programs, 11 graduate programs and 22 undergraduate programs – will be either eliminated or changed. Thornton stressed that students in those programs to be discontinued will have the opportunity to complete their degrees and faculty members in those programs will not lose their positions. "The concept really has a lot on integrity," he said.

In the past Howard, Thornton said, "responded to the national need that our community had and our nation had to educate in all areas of the Black community. ... We cannot continue to do that because of resources and we, frankly, don't have to do that in the same way.

"This renewal program that the board has approved and the president recommended will strategically redesign us and prepare us to move forward for the future."

He added, "We're going to be much more research oriented at Howard University because we believe that's the best contribution we can make to the African-American and national community."

Sometimes we bloggers get a little world-weary (editor: do you mean depressed?) by all those serious and disturbing stuff we read in the media .

So, we thought a little diversion would be welcome. We have found a curious collection of videos that hopefully will be enough to lift the Friday morning blues.

This awards season, you might have become enamored of the acclaimed documentary “Exit Through the Gift Shop,” about street art, culture, and a mysterious “Banksy.” Now there’s “Exit Through the Pet Shop,” starring Keyboard Cat, which is definitely just as enthralling:

(For comparison and educational purposes, here’s the trailer for “Exit Through the Gift Shop:”)

Next up:  the periodic table… but wait! Check out this kid… Oh yeah, she’s like 2.

And to wrap up, something a bit more heart-felt to help the transition into that Real World Mucky-muck, a 19-year-old student at the University of Iowa makes the case for why his family, though there are two moms, is just a great as any other Iowa family. This came before the House of Representatives passed a constitutional ban of same-sex marriage in the state.
(More info here.)

Happy Friday!

A new Mona Lisa theory: she’s actually Da Vinci’s man-friend/lover/apprentice! Go figure.

In the shadow of a snow-pocalypse, Chicago seems to be doing a reasonable job of helping reunite its citizens with their hundreds of stranded cars.

The White House is trying to figure out how to get Mubarak out of office.

Charles Croom, of Lockheed Martin will talk about "The State of Cyber Security 2011" at the UMBC Visionaries in IT Forum at 8:00am on Wednesday, February 23rd at the BWI Airport Marriott. The event is free but registration requested.

Croom joined Lockheed Martin Information Systems & Global Solutions as Vice President of Cyber Security Solutions in October of 2008. In this capacity, he shapes the corporation’s cyber security strategy with insight from his 35 years of distinguished service, leadership, and technology experience from the U.S. Air Force. He co-chaired a National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee Task Force on “Strengthening Government and Private Sector Collaboration” which issued a May 2009 report recommending that the President direct the establishment of a Joint Coordinating Center. He currently serves on the Boards of the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and the Internet Security Alliance (ISA).

Croom retired as a U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General, Director of the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), and the Commander of the Joint Task Force for Global Network Operations in September 2008. While at DISA, he led a worldwide organization of more than 6,600 military and civilian personnel to serve the information technology and telecommunications needs of the President, Secretary of Defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff, combatant commanders, and other Department of Defense stakeholders.