Current Research

2009 - The New Islamic Public Sphere Programme

Department of Cross Cultural and Regional Studies
University of Copenhagen

www.islamicpublicsphere.hum.ku.dk

The New Islamic Public Sphere Programme at the University of Copenhagen maps and analyses how new media such as satellite TV and the Internet are changing Islamic norms, politics and identity in the contemporary Middle East. Since the 1990s, transnational media have created new public realms, making it possible for Muslims to communicate and interact with fellow believers across states and regions, and weakening the ability of individual states to control culture and religion in their media. The appearance of new media has coincided with a large scale Islamic revival since the 1980s. The confluence of these two developments presents a challenge to the secular modern publics which have dominated most Middle Eastern societies since the Second World War. The research unit at Copenhagen University seeks to place itself centrally in the emergent research on new Islamic public spheres, partly through contacts to the new media, and partly through preparing a series of conferences and international publications.

The Programme, which is part of the University of Copenhagen Islam Initiative (www.islam.ku.dk), is housed at the Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies. The programme is expected to function in the coming five years. So far Professor Jakob Skovgaard-Petersen, assistant professor Sune Haugbølle and assistant professor Daniella Kuzmanovic form the programme. From September 2009 two PhD fellows are also part to the programme: Rikke Hostrup Haugbølle and Donatella Della Ratta.

2008 – 2009 Media and Civil Society in Tunisia

Research project carried through with Francesco Cavatorta for the Frenc Institue Panos Paris.

The report is expected to be published in the beginning of 2010