Lecture: Explorations of Web 2.0: 
 What’s Video Got to Do with the Study of Science
 and Muslims?

School of Cognitive Sciences, Hampshire College, Lunch Talk
Wednesday, February 4, 2015, Noon-1 p.m.
Adele Simmons Hall (ASH) lobby; a light lunch will be available

"Explorations of Web 2.0: 
What’s Video Got to Do with the Study of Science
 and Muslims?" by Vika Gardner and Salman Hameed

Abstract: We will present preliminary results from our ongoing Islam and Science Video Portal project. We will discuss what we have learned thus far about videos addressing Islam and the natural sciences: what are they, where are they, who’s making them. But perhaps, even at a more basic level, what is a video on “Islam and science” and who would be crazy enough to try to catalogue the Internet? Come learn what happens when you put together an astronomer and a medieval Islamic historian, both of whom are fascinated with new media and constructions of identity and are unafraid to dive off the bleeding edge of the study of Muslims and internet videos.

Data from the video analyses:

"Global Usage Ranking for Websites containing Science and Islam Videos" (pdf)

Videos shown in the talk (and this should not be construed as either promoting or denouncing the perspectives within the videos):

Slide 7: Example of flat video: “Islamic Arguments Debunked” (2:48), uploaded by TheIslammiracle, Apr. 21, 2011
 
Slide 8: Examples of videos addressing Islam and science:
A)  “Atheism Explained in 45 Seconds” (0:45), from Think Islam, uploaded Feb. 13, 2014
 
B)  “8 Scientific Facts in the Quran Part 1” (23:39), speaker Abdurraheem Green, uploaded by لابد ان تضغط وتشاهد, Aug. 11, 2013
 
Slide 9: Third example of video addressing Islam and science:
“Wissenschaft und Islam / Science and Islam 3-5” (10:01), a segment of Jim al-Khalil's Science and Islam documentary, uploaded by MultiGraviton, Jan. 11, 2010
 
Slide 10: Example of not knowing the speaker (clip of a Harun Yahya video):
“it will shock you one of the Quran miracles” (2:54), uploaded by baqazya, Jun. 18, 2008
 
Slide 18: Examples of videos where Islam is presented negatively, contextualized with science:
A)  “Richard Dawkins Visits a Muslim School” (6:58); see especially the last minute of the clip. Uploaded by blindwatcher on Aug. 20, 2010.
 
B) “The Real Threat from Islam” (1:43), uploaded by Thunderf00t on Sept. 3, 2010
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