The communications studies class I’m enrolled in this quarter on terrorism in the media so far has proved interesting. Terrorism has never been something that has been covered in great depth in geopolitics/political geography classes I have taken so far. The insight of the rather eccentric and scattered Nushin Arbabzadah has shed light on misconceptions, gaps of knowledge and mistreatment of the term ‘terrorism.’ Her experience as a correspondent for the BBC and Al Jazeera has exposed her to media ‘etiquette’ when it comes to the term. Something I found interesting was that in the quest for objectivity, media outlets always shy away from the use of the term ‘terrorism’ or branding someone a ‘terrorist,’ rather the utilise buzzwords like ‘gunman’, ‘insurgent’. This emphasises the anxieties people have in using such a term when its meaning is dynamic over time and rarely understood (Crenshaw, 1992). Although this class is a communications studies class I believe that a lot of the content could be applicable to geography. I would say that is very narrowly focuses on an aspect of popular geopolitics, how media and popular culture shape or are shaped by political views, or conflicts. The special case of terrorism in the mass media however, is an interesting case, and I believe it is a class containing unique content and insight that wouldn't be possible back at British universities. From a country that has suffered greatly, yet engrosses itself frequently with terrorism and the media, here in the United States I believe terrorism is a more common than niche area of study that possibly came to the forefront of importance in the aftermath of the disastrous 9/11.
What I’m currently finding interesting is the nonexistence of limits to what is being shared by Arbabzadah and discovering to what extent American students are aware of the ‘Just War' rhetoric frequently employed by its nation (Flint and Falah, 2004), and the American exceptionalism employed in their media (Dittmer, 2011).
Crenshaw, M. (1992) ‘Current Research on Terrorism: The Academic Perspective,’ Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, 15, 1-11.
Dittmer, J. (2011). ‘American Exceptionalism, Visual Effects, and the Post-9/11 Cinematic Superhero Boom,’ Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 29(1), 114-130.
Flint, C. and G. Falah (2004) ‘How the United States justified its war on terrorism: prime morality and the construction of a ‘just war’,’ Third World Quarterly, 25, 1379-1399.
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