It has been a great pleasure and honor to be the Podcast Fellow for the CMEIS this year. I have always had a deep interest in Public Humanities and feel that particularly within the space of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, there is a great need towards engaging the general public and connecting them with the conversations and ideas that are happening within the academic community. To that end, the medium of podcasting is one of the most easily accessible and ubiquitous ways to share those ideas, which is what drew me to this position initially. The opportunity to gain a better understanding of how to make a podcast and all that goes into that process is invaluable to my larger professional goals, as I hope to continue to find ways to bridge the gap between the general public and the academic community.

I have been fortunate to be able to work with Dr. Micah Hughes, the Associate Director at the CMEIS, to put together a podcast series called “Sohbet”, which introduces key concepts in the field of Middle East and Islamic Studies to students and faculty at the high school and community college level. Each episode is designed to introduce a theme, topic, or idea in conversation with experts in the field. So far, we have recorded two episodes: “Empires” with Dr. Cemil Aydin and Dr. Michael O’Sullivan and “Orientalism” with Dr. Fadi Bardawil and Dr. Nadia Yaqub. These episodes are currently being edited and once ready for release, each episode will include show notes with citations of all materials referenced in the episode as well as further readings and potential activities for the classroom.

– Shamim Hossain