Al-Diwan brings you the latest news and analysis from the publishing and academic worlds that relate to pedagogy and knowledge production. 

Publishing

Sheikh Zayed Book Award and the ‘Cultural Renaissance’ in the Arab Region
By Hannah Johnson (Publishing Perspectives)

The Sheikh Zayed Book Award is given to writers and translators whose work serves Arab intellectual, cultural, literary, and social life. Currently, the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, which administers the award, is looking to internationalize the award and expand its role in influencing literacy and access to books across the region.

Charif Majdalani Wins 2017 ‘Khayrallah Prize’ for Work Capturing Experiences of Lebanese Immigrants
By M. Lynx-Qualey (Arab Lit)

North Carolina State University awarded the Khayrallah Prize to Charif Majdalani for his novel, Moving the Palace. The award is given to writers that highlight the various narratives of Lebanese migrants.

ICFJ: Newsrooms Around the World Are Falling Behind in Digital Era
By Sharon Moshavi and Fatima Bahja (Media Shift)

According to the International Center for Journalists and the first global study on the adaptability of news media to changing technology, journalists “are not keeping pace with the transformations of the digital era.” There are several factors contributing to this, including diverging job expectations between the journalists and their managers, outdated newsrooms, and questions around revenue streams.
 

Pitt, CMU researchers redevelop software for academic publishing
By Sid Lingala (The Pitt News)

With current publishing methods in academia, scholars are unable to adequately incorporate all of their sources used for digitally based projects. The University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University have teamed together on a project called “Digits” to address this issue and promote a publishing pivot away from PDF formats.

Milo Yiannopoulos’ Canceled Book is a Lesson in Battling Hate Speech
By Maddie Crum (Huffington Post)

Maddie Crum takes a look at how Milo Yiannopolous understands his place in relation to the publishing industry. Simon & Schuster’s decision to pull the Yiannopolous’ book, as well as the route they took in coming to that decision are important to unpacking how this will impact notions of free speech.

Education

MOOCs Are “Dead.” What’s Next? Uh-oh.
By John Warner (Inside Higher Ed) 

With an increasingly digitized world, different paths have been taken to ensure that modes of education are keeping up. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) were one such method that Sebastian Thrun founded in 2012. Today, however, he claims that MOOCs were not the right path to take. Others claim, though, that the issue was not with the product; rather, the problem was in Thrun’s method of integrating the product into already existing education programs.
 

The Justice Department is Investigating Harvard’s Admissions Process
By Zoe Tillman (Buzzfeed)

Several Asian-American associations filed a complaint with the US Department of Education against Harvard in 2015; however, that complain was initially ignored. Now, though, the response to a FOIA request, which claimed that the requested files were exempt from disclosure, signaled that there is an active investigation around Harvard’s admissions practices.

Another NYU Professor Comes Forward with Claims of Discrimination at NYUAD
By Mack DeGeurin (The Washington Square News)

10 New York University faculty members have spoken out against the lack of action on behalf of the university in protecting mobility and academic freedom at the school’s NYU campus. The letter was made in response to Mohamad Bazzi’s security clearance denial that prevents him from teaching at the NYU portal campus. In the letter, Arang Keshavarzian cites a similar experience of being denied entry to the United Arab Emirates.

The Digital Humanities Bust
By Timothy Brennan (The Chronicle of Higher Education)

Timothy Brennan examines the difference between “the digital in the humanities” versus “digital humanities.” The humanities have been advancing to incorporate more digital aspects, such as Moodles, podcasts, and social media, into their work; however, Brennan claims that is not necessarily progressing the digital humanities as an entity.

Mapping Racism and Assessing the Success of the Digital Humanities 
By Sarah Bond (History from Below)

Sarah Bond responds to Timothy Brennan's "The Digital Humanities Bust" article in the Chronicle of Higher Education. She challenges Brennan's conclusion through a brief evaluation of existing digital humanities projects.