The Sigur Center for Asian Studies and the Institute for Public Diplomacy & Global Communication proudly host Wazhmah Osman, filmmaker and Professor at Temple University’s College of Media and Communication Studies, in the upcoming edition of the 2021 New Books in Asian Studies series to discuss her recently published Television and the Afghan Culture Wars Brought to You by Foreigners, Warlords, and Activists with Director Benjamin D. Hopkins, who will act as a moderator and discussant during the event.

Portrayed in Western discourse as tribal and traditional, Afghans have in fact intensely debated women’s rights, democracy, modernity, and Islam as part of their nation building in the post-9/11 era. Wazhmah Osman places television at the heart of these public and politically charged clashes while revealing how the medium also provides war-weary Afghans with a semblance of open discussion and healing. After four decades of gender and sectarian violence, she argues, the internationally funded media sector has the potential to bring about justice, national integration, and peace.

This event is free, open to the public, and will be recorded. Questions can be sent in advance to gsigur@gwu.edu with subject “Afghan Culture Wars Q&A.”

Television and the Afghan Culture Wars: Brought to You by Foreigners, Warlords, and Activists is available from University of Illinois Press (use F20UIP for 30% off!).