Counteracting Misconceptions about the Arab World from the Popular Media with Culturally-Authentic Teaching

The popular media has not represented the Arab world and its people accurately for many years. Two researchers who have documented this poor portrayal are Jack Shaheen and Marvin Wingfield. Shaheen is one the leading scholars on this topic and has written numerous books and articles, and Wingfield has also contributed to this area with several convincing articles. This article describes their writings and discusses how educators can respond to their concerns. Some of the suggestions the author recommends for fighting the stereotypes about this region include emphasizing the contributions that people from the Arab world have made to society and using lesson plans that focus on where the first great civilizations of the world originated