Since 9/11, Muslims have occupied the U.S. public and political spheres as threats to national security, as victims of hate crimes, as targets of torture and war, and as a community to be included in diversity initiatives. This insightful panel will explore Muslim inclusion and representation in a variety of contexts, including education, politics, and the entertainment industry.

• Shafiqa Ahmadi is an associate professor of Clinical Education at the Rossier School of Education and the co-director for USC’s Center for Education, Identity, and Social Justice. She is an expert on diversity and legal protection of underrepresented students, including female Muslims, and is the co-editor of Islamophobia in Higher Education: Combating Discrimination and Creating Understanding.
• Maytha Alhassen holds a PhD in American Studies and Ethnicity from USC. She is the writer of the report, Haqq and Hollywood: Illuminating 100 Years of Muslim Tropes and How to Transform Them, and producer and writer of the Golden Globe and Peabody­–winning Hulu series Ramy.
• Evelyn Alsultany is the author of Broken: The Failed Promise of Muslim Inclusion and Arabs and Muslims in the Media: Race and Representation after 9/11. She is an associate professor of American Studies and Ethnicity at USC, has served as a consultant for Hollywood studios, and co-authored the Obeidi-Alsultany Test with criteria to help Hollywood improve representations of Muslims.
• Hajar Yazdiha is an assistant professor of Sociology, faculty affiliate of the Equity Research Institute, and a 2022–23 Ford Foundation Fellow at the USC Dornsife School of Letters, Arts, and Sciences. She is an expert on the racial politics of inclusion and exclusion and is the author of The Struggle for the People’s King: How Politics Transforms the Memory of the Civil Rights Movement.
• Moderator: Varun Soni is the Dean of Religious Life at USC, University Fellow at USC Annenberg’s Center on Public Diplomacy, and an adjunct professor at the USC School of Religion. His writings have appeared in the Washington Post, Huffington Post, Crosscurrents, Jewish Journal, and Harvard Divinity Bulletin.

In light of the growing divisions among Americans, this panel will address the intersection of culture and politics in society, how we can better understand divisiveness, and find common ground.

• Geoffrey Cowan is an award-winning writer, television producer, and University Professor and Annenberg Family Chair in Communication Leadership at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. He is the author of several books, including Let the People Rule: Theodore Roosevelt and the Birth of the Presidential Primary, See No Evil: The Backstage Battle Over Sex and Violence on Television, and The People v. Clarence Darrow: The Bribery Trial of America’s Greatest Lawyer.
• Elizabeth Currid-Halkett is the James Irvine Chair in Urban and Regional Planning and professor of Public Policy at the USC Price School of Public Policy, whose research focuses on arts and culture, the American consumer economy, and the role of cultural capital in geographic and class divides. She is the author of several books, including The Sum of Small Things: A Theory of the Aspirational Class and The Overlooked Americans: The Resilience of Our Rural Towns and What It Means for Our Country (forthcoming).
• Jeffery Jenkins is the Provost Professor of Public Policy, Political Science, and Law, Maria B. Crutcher Professor of Citizenship and Democratic Values, and director of the Political Institutions and Political Economy (PIPE) Collaborative at USC. His book, Republican Party Politics and the American South, 1865-1968, shows how the GOP evolved from a biracial party into one dominated by whites, with lessons that inform today’s politics.
• Moderator: Robert Shrum is the director of the Center for the Political Future and the Carmen H. and Louis Warschaw Chair in Practical Politics at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences. A legendary political strategist, he was once described as “the most sought-after consultant in the Democratic Party,” by The Atlantic Monthly. 

Comedy can be seen and experienced in many forms—onstage, on screens, and even in hospitals. Like laughter, its effects are contagious and its power spills over onto all of us. This panel of experts, comedians, and expert comedians will talk about the history of comedy and its potential to create change.

• Wayne Federman is a stand-up comic, actor, author, comedy writer, professor, and Emmy-winning producer. He has appeared multiple times on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon and has his own stand-up special on Comedy Central. He is the author of the bestselling book, The History of Stand-Up: From Mark Twain to Dave Chappelle, and teaches the history of stand-up comedy at the USC School of Dramatic Arts.
• Lanita Jacobs (joining remotely) is an associate professor of American Studies and Ethnicity and Anthropology at USC. Her fieldwork across sites of hair care, hospitals, and humor, asks how speakers construct a sense of themselves as individuals and community members without forgetting the socio-political stakes animating their lives. She is the author of To Be Real: Truth and Racial Authenticity in African American Standup Comedy.
• Kristina Wong is a performance artist, comedian, writer, and elected representative in Koreatown Los Angeles. During the Covid-19 pandemic, she founded the Auntie Sewing Squad, a national network of volunteers sewing masks for vulnerable communities. Their work inspired the book, The Auntie Sewing Squad Guide to Mask Making, Radical Care, and Racial Justice. Wong’s show, Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord, is a finalist for the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Drama and winner of the Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best Solo Performance.
• Moderator: Zachary Steel is an assistant professor of Theatre Practice and director of Comedy at USC. He has taught at the Clown School, is currently teaching at the Idiot Workshop, and is director of USC Comic+Care, a program that utilizes the practice of various comedy disciplines to strengthen community and support the healing process. USC Comic+Care has partnered with LAC+USC, CHLA, Norris Cancer Center, The Children’s Bureau, and other healthcare organizations.