![Michael Munnik](https://profiles-cardiff.imgix.net/attachments/2086?w=200&h=200&auto=format&crop=faces&fit=crop&q=90")
Dr Michael Munnik
Senior Lecturer in Social Science Theories and Methods, Director of Learning and Teaching
School of History, Archaeology and Religion
- Media commentator
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Overview
Research Interests
My work concerns media and religion and, more specifically, the news media and Muslims in Britain. Where much of the scholarship in this area examines news content, I attend to the context in which the news is created. I am interested in media production analysis, qualitative research methods, journalist-source relationships, and diversity in the newsroom. Underpinning these interests is a sociological attentiveness to the connection between the religious and professional identification of journalists as well as the impact that can have on newsroom culture. I bring to this subject not only my skills and interest as a researcher but also prior professional experience, having trained as a journalist and worked in public radio in Canada.
Public writing
- 'IPSO: Press regulator's "guidance" for reporting on Muslims is not fit for purpose' The Conversation. 26 November 2020.
- Submission to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Religion and the Media. 24 April 2020.
- 'Ramadan' and 'Ahmadiyya' Fact Sheets. Religion Media Centre. 2019.
- '"Please turn on your mobile devices": Polling software in the classroom' Fruits of the Pedagogic Life. 6 November 2017.
- 'Using Bourdieu to analyse journalist-source relations' Social Theory Applied. 8 May 2017.
- 'Muslims Like Us is more like Geordie Shore than a real challenge to stereotypes' The Conversation. 14 December 2016.
- 'My Academic Diary: Michael B. Munnik.' The Sociological Review Blog (The Sociological Review). 18 July 2016.
- ‘Honour Your Valleys.’ Pubs and Publications: The PhD Experience (University of Edinburgh College of Humanities and Social Sciences). 28 August 2015.
- ‘Occupation: Student.’ Pubs and Publications: The PhD Experience (University of Edinburgh College of Humanities and Social Sciences). 24 July 2015.
- ‘Hooray for Doctor Daddy: Parenting and the PhD.’ Pubs and Publications: The PhD Experience (University of Edinburgh College of Humanities and Social Sciences). 19 June 2015.
- ‘Scotland’s religious future.’ The Future of the UK and Scotland (University of Edinburgh/ESRC). 14 May 2014.
- ‘Scottish... and something else? Arab Scots discuss identity on world radio.’ The Future of the UK and Scotland (University of Edinburgh/ESRC). 28 March 2014.
- ‘Muslims debate the IndyRef: Distinctly indistinct arguments.’ The Future of the UK and Scotland (University of Edinburgh/ESRC). 21 March 2014.
- ‘A lively engagement.’ Life and Work. 1 February 2014.
- ‘Media need religion.’ The Presbyterian Record. 1 October 2012
Podcasts
- When Religion Doesn't Behave. Discourse! The Religious Studies Podcast. 31 January 2022.
- Religious Climate Activism. Discourse! The Religious Studies Podcast. 22 February 2021.
- Episode 13. Discourse! The Religious Studies Podcast. 13 January 2020.
- Episode 22 - The Voice of the Reviewer. The Art of the Review (H-Net: Humanities and Social Sciences Online). 28 March 2016.
- Episode 19 - Reviewing Culture. The Art of the Review (H-Net: Humanities and Social Sciences Online). 7 March 2016.
- Episode 53. Viva Survivors (Podcast by Dr Nathan Ryder, sharing experiences of PhD life and preparation for the viva). 14 December 2015.
Publication
2023
- Munnik, M. 2023. Islamic State: The political challenge of naming. In: Al-Azami, S. ed. Media Language on Islam and Muslims: Terminologies and Their Effects. Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 107-127., (10.1007/978-3-031-37462-3_6)
- Munnik, M. B. 2023. What style guides tell secular journalists about Muslims and Islam. Journal of Religion, Media and Digital Culture 12(1), pp. 56-75. (10.1163/21659214-bja10083)
2019
- Munnik, M. B. 2019. Answering for Islam: Journalistic and Islamic conceptions of authority. Religions 10(7), article number: 435. (10.3390/rel10070435)
2018
- Munnik, M. B. 2018. A field theory perspective on journalist-source relations: A study of 'new entrants' and 'authorised knowers' among Scottish Muslims. Sociology 52(6), pp. 1169-1184. (10.1177/0038038517696220)
- Munnik, M. B. 2018. Reaching out in a climate of negativity: perceptions and persistence among Muslim sources engaging with news media. Contemporary Islam 12, pp. 211-277. (10.1007/s11562-018-0415-0)
2017
- Munnik, M. 2017. From voice to voices: identifying a plurality of Muslim sources in the news media. Media Culture and Society 39(2), pp. 270-281. (10.1177/0163443716686941)
- Munnik, M. 2017. Book Review: 'Sadek Hamid's Sufis, Salafis and Islamists: The Contested Ground of British Islamic Activism'. Religion, State & Society 45(1), pp. 81-82. (10.1080/09637494.2017.1279902)
- Munnik, M. B. 2017. Muslim engagement with the mainstream media in a Scottish context. In: Hopkins, P. ed. Scotland's Muslims Society, Politics and Identity. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, pp. 218-235., (10.1515/9781474427258-014)
2016
- Munnik, M. 2016. Helen Kara, Creative Research Methods in the Social Sciences: A Practical Guide [Book Review]. Qualitative Research 16(6), pp. 750-751. (10.1177/1468794115618008)
- Munnik, M. 2016. Perceptions of negativity among Muslim sources engaging with news media. Presented at: IAMCR Annual Conference, Leicester, 27-31 July 2016.
- Munnik, M. 2016. “Being Muslim” and “doing Muslim things”: How journalists implicate religion in their accounts of Muslim subjects. Presented at: Society of Religion Study Group of the British Sociological Association, Lancaster, 12-14 July 2016.
- Munnik, M. 2016. Reaching out in a climate of negativity: The benefits of media engagement. Presented at: Muslims in Britain Research Network, Coventry, 5 April 2016.
- Munnik, M. 2016. When you can't rely on public or private: using the ethnographic self as resource. In: Paterson, C. et al. eds. Advancing Media Production Research: Shifting Sites, Methods, and Politics. Global Transformations in Media and Communication Research Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 147-160.
2015
- Munnik, M. 2015. Ross Perigoe and Mahmoud Eid, Mission invisible: race, religion, and news at the dawn of the 9/11 era [Book Review]. Journalism and Mass Communications Quarterly 92(4), pp. 1016-1018. (10.1177/1077699015610327o)
- Munnik, M. 2015. Aspiration and ambivalence among Muslim news sources: A case study in Glasgow. Presented at: IAMCR 2015, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Canada, 12-16 July 2015.
- Munnik, M. 2015. Using the self as resource in media production research. Presented at: IAMCR 2015: Panel session: Advancing Media Production Research, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Canada, 12-16 July 2015.
- Munnik, M. 2015. British journalists, British Muslims: arguments for "a more complex picture" of their relationship. In: Mukherjee, S. and Zulfiqar, S. eds. Islam and the West: A love story?. Cambridge Scholars Press, pp. 17-33.
- Munnik, M. 2015. Discourse analysis and media attitudes: the representation of Islam in the British press. Paul Baker, Costas Gabrielatos, and Tom McEnery. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2013. 294 pp. $99 hbk. $79 ebk [Book Review]. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 92(1), pp. 248-250. (10.1177/1077699015569232f)
- Munnik, M. 2015. ‘“Don’t be a gatekeeper”: Strategies for negotiating claims of authority among Muslims in media relations. Presented at: Muslim Leadership in Britain (Muslims in Britain Research Network), Preston, 1 April 2015.
- Munnik, M. 2015. ‘Neither one nor t’other': How Scottish journalists conceive of Islam in the dominant sectarian paradigm. Presented at: Scottish Religious Cultures Network, Belfast, 28-29 May 2015.
2014
- Munnik, M. 2014. Barrie Gunter and Roger Dickinson (eds.), News media in the Arab world: a study of 10 Arab and Muslim countries [Book Review]. Journal of Religion, Media and Digital Culture 3(3)
- Munnik, M. 2014. Henry Jenkins, Sam Ford, Joshua Green. Spreadable media: creating value and meaning in a networked culture. New York: New York University Press, 2013. xv + 351 pp. $29.95 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-8147-4350-8; ISBN 978-0-8147-4351-5; ISBN 978-0-8147-4390-4 [Book Review]. JHistory
- Munnik, M. 2014. From voice to voices: Identifying a plurality of Muslim sources in the British news media. Presented at: British Association for Islamic Studies, Edinburgh, 10-11 April 2014.
- Munnik, M. 2014. What counts as a “Muslim” story?. Presented at: International Society for Media, Religion and Culture, Canterbury, 4-7 August 2014.
2013
- Munnik, M. 2013. The Kirk, the Church, and the Umma: Conceptions of religious authority among Glasgow journalists. Presented at: IAMCR 2013, Dublin, Ireland, 25-29 June 2013.
- Munnik, M. 2013. Orientalists, Islamists and the global public sphere: a genealogy of the modern essentialist image of Islam, Dietrich Jung. Equinox Publishing, 2011, 332 pages. ISBN: HB 9781845538996 £60.00/PB 9781845539009 £19.99 [Book Review]. Journal of History and Cultures 2, pp. 61-62.
- Munnik, M. 2013. ‘“The faith has no phone”: Source authority and representativeness for journalists reporting on Muslims. Presented at: Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Research Seminar, Edinburgh, 8 April 2013.
- Munnik, M. 2013. When you can’t rely on public or private: Designing a strategy for media production research post-Leveson and post-Savile scandal. Presented at: Advancing Media Production Analysis (Institute of Communication Studies/IAMCR Preconference), Leeds, 24 June 2013.
- Munnik, M. 2013. Playing the journalist card: Using the self as resource in media production research. Presented at: IAMCR 2013, Dublin, 25-29 June 2013.
- Munnik, M. 2013. Can journalism survive? An inside look at American newsrooms. David M. Ryfe. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2012. 220 pp. £17.00 (pbk). ISBN 978-0-7456-5428-7 [Book Review]. Journalism Practice 7(2), pp. 231-232. (10.1080/17512786.2012.746522)
2012
- Munnik, M. 2012. British journalists, British Muslims: Using ethnography to push beyond the frame of Islamophobia. Presented at: Media, Religion and Culture, Eskisehir, Turkey, 8-12 July 2012.
Articles
- Munnik, M. B. 2023. What style guides tell secular journalists about Muslims and Islam. Journal of Religion, Media and Digital Culture 12(1), pp. 56-75. (10.1163/21659214-bja10083)
- Munnik, M. B. 2019. Answering for Islam: Journalistic and Islamic conceptions of authority. Religions 10(7), article number: 435. (10.3390/rel10070435)
- Munnik, M. B. 2018. A field theory perspective on journalist-source relations: A study of 'new entrants' and 'authorised knowers' among Scottish Muslims. Sociology 52(6), pp. 1169-1184. (10.1177/0038038517696220)
- Munnik, M. B. 2018. Reaching out in a climate of negativity: perceptions and persistence among Muslim sources engaging with news media. Contemporary Islam 12, pp. 211-277. (10.1007/s11562-018-0415-0)
- Munnik, M. 2017. From voice to voices: identifying a plurality of Muslim sources in the news media. Media Culture and Society 39(2), pp. 270-281. (10.1177/0163443716686941)
- Munnik, M. 2017. Book Review: 'Sadek Hamid's Sufis, Salafis and Islamists: The Contested Ground of British Islamic Activism'. Religion, State & Society 45(1), pp. 81-82. (10.1080/09637494.2017.1279902)
- Munnik, M. 2016. Helen Kara, Creative Research Methods in the Social Sciences: A Practical Guide [Book Review]. Qualitative Research 16(6), pp. 750-751. (10.1177/1468794115618008)
- Munnik, M. 2015. Ross Perigoe and Mahmoud Eid, Mission invisible: race, religion, and news at the dawn of the 9/11 era [Book Review]. Journalism and Mass Communications Quarterly 92(4), pp. 1016-1018. (10.1177/1077699015610327o)
- Munnik, M. 2015. Discourse analysis and media attitudes: the representation of Islam in the British press. Paul Baker, Costas Gabrielatos, and Tom McEnery. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2013. 294 pp. $99 hbk. $79 ebk [Book Review]. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 92(1), pp. 248-250. (10.1177/1077699015569232f)
- Munnik, M. 2014. Barrie Gunter and Roger Dickinson (eds.), News media in the Arab world: a study of 10 Arab and Muslim countries [Book Review]. Journal of Religion, Media and Digital Culture 3(3)
- Munnik, M. 2014. Henry Jenkins, Sam Ford, Joshua Green. Spreadable media: creating value and meaning in a networked culture. New York: New York University Press, 2013. xv + 351 pp. $29.95 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-8147-4350-8; ISBN 978-0-8147-4351-5; ISBN 978-0-8147-4390-4 [Book Review]. JHistory
- Munnik, M. 2013. Orientalists, Islamists and the global public sphere: a genealogy of the modern essentialist image of Islam, Dietrich Jung. Equinox Publishing, 2011, 332 pages. ISBN: HB 9781845538996 £60.00/PB 9781845539009 £19.99 [Book Review]. Journal of History and Cultures 2, pp. 61-62.
- Munnik, M. 2013. Can journalism survive? An inside look at American newsrooms. David M. Ryfe. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2012. 220 pp. £17.00 (pbk). ISBN 978-0-7456-5428-7 [Book Review]. Journalism Practice 7(2), pp. 231-232. (10.1080/17512786.2012.746522)
Book sections
- Munnik, M. 2023. Islamic State: The political challenge of naming. In: Al-Azami, S. ed. Media Language on Islam and Muslims: Terminologies and Their Effects. Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 107-127., (10.1007/978-3-031-37462-3_6)
- Munnik, M. B. 2017. Muslim engagement with the mainstream media in a Scottish context. In: Hopkins, P. ed. Scotland's Muslims Society, Politics and Identity. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, pp. 218-235., (10.1515/9781474427258-014)
- Munnik, M. 2016. When you can't rely on public or private: using the ethnographic self as resource. In: Paterson, C. et al. eds. Advancing Media Production Research: Shifting Sites, Methods, and Politics. Global Transformations in Media and Communication Research Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 147-160.
- Munnik, M. 2015. British journalists, British Muslims: arguments for "a more complex picture" of their relationship. In: Mukherjee, S. and Zulfiqar, S. eds. Islam and the West: A love story?. Cambridge Scholars Press, pp. 17-33.
Conferences
- Munnik, M. 2016. Perceptions of negativity among Muslim sources engaging with news media. Presented at: IAMCR Annual Conference, Leicester, 27-31 July 2016.
- Munnik, M. 2016. “Being Muslim” and “doing Muslim things”: How journalists implicate religion in their accounts of Muslim subjects. Presented at: Society of Religion Study Group of the British Sociological Association, Lancaster, 12-14 July 2016.
- Munnik, M. 2016. Reaching out in a climate of negativity: The benefits of media engagement. Presented at: Muslims in Britain Research Network, Coventry, 5 April 2016.
- Munnik, M. 2015. Aspiration and ambivalence among Muslim news sources: A case study in Glasgow. Presented at: IAMCR 2015, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Canada, 12-16 July 2015.
- Munnik, M. 2015. Using the self as resource in media production research. Presented at: IAMCR 2015: Panel session: Advancing Media Production Research, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Canada, 12-16 July 2015.
- Munnik, M. 2015. ‘“Don’t be a gatekeeper”: Strategies for negotiating claims of authority among Muslims in media relations. Presented at: Muslim Leadership in Britain (Muslims in Britain Research Network), Preston, 1 April 2015.
- Munnik, M. 2015. ‘Neither one nor t’other': How Scottish journalists conceive of Islam in the dominant sectarian paradigm. Presented at: Scottish Religious Cultures Network, Belfast, 28-29 May 2015.
- Munnik, M. 2014. From voice to voices: Identifying a plurality of Muslim sources in the British news media. Presented at: British Association for Islamic Studies, Edinburgh, 10-11 April 2014.
- Munnik, M. 2014. What counts as a “Muslim” story?. Presented at: International Society for Media, Religion and Culture, Canterbury, 4-7 August 2014.
- Munnik, M. 2013. The Kirk, the Church, and the Umma: Conceptions of religious authority among Glasgow journalists. Presented at: IAMCR 2013, Dublin, Ireland, 25-29 June 2013.
- Munnik, M. 2013. ‘“The faith has no phone”: Source authority and representativeness for journalists reporting on Muslims. Presented at: Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Research Seminar, Edinburgh, 8 April 2013.
- Munnik, M. 2013. When you can’t rely on public or private: Designing a strategy for media production research post-Leveson and post-Savile scandal. Presented at: Advancing Media Production Analysis (Institute of Communication Studies/IAMCR Preconference), Leeds, 24 June 2013.
- Munnik, M. 2013. Playing the journalist card: Using the self as resource in media production research. Presented at: IAMCR 2013, Dublin, 25-29 June 2013.
- Munnik, M. 2012. British journalists, British Muslims: Using ethnography to push beyond the frame of Islamophobia. Presented at: Media, Religion and Culture, Eskisehir, Turkey, 8-12 July 2012.
Teaching
Dr Michael Munnik is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA).
Postgraduate teaching:
- Qualitative Research Methods
- Social Theory and Research Design
- Dissertation (supervisor)
Undergraduate teaching:
- Religion and the News: Conflict and Context
- Themes and Issues in the Study of Religion
- What Is Religion?
- Independent Study/Open Choice Dissertation (supervisor)
Biography
Education and Qualifications
- 2018 – FHEA - Fellow, Higher Education Academy
- 2015 – PhD Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies (University of Edinburgh)
- 2011 – MA Religion in Contemporary Society (King’s College London)
- 2002 – BJ Combined Honours – Journalism and English Literature (Carleton University)
Career Overview
- 2015 - Lecturer, Cardiff University
- 2014 - 2015 Research Manager, Food Standards Agency
- 2011 - 2014 Outreach PhD Candidate, the Alwaleed Centre for the Study of Islam in the Contemporary World, University of Edinburgh
- 2006 - 2012 Convenor, Board of Directors, Presbyterian Record Inc.
- 2001 - 2009 Broadcast Journalist, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Professional memberships
- Sociology of Religion Study Group of the British Sociological Association (BSA)
- Muslims in Britain Research Network (MBRN)
- International Society for Media, Religion and Culture
- International Association for Media and Communication Research
Committees and reviewing
- Peer reviewer - journals: Sociology, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Contemporary Islam, Journal of Contemporary Religion, Journal of Religion, Media and Digital Culture, Russian Journal of Communication, No Foundations - An Interdisciplinary Journal of Law and Justice
- Peer reviewer - books: Routledge, Edinburgh University Press, Sage, Anthem Books
- Publications and Communications Officer, Socrel (Sociology of Religion Study Group of the British Sociological Association) - 2017-present
- Reviews Editor, H-SAE (Society for the Anthropology of Europe) - 2011-2018
Supervisions
I am able to supervise PhD candidates within a team supervisory relationship. I am interested in supervising graduate research in the following areas:
- Muslims and journalism/the media
- Religion and journalism/the media
- Religion in public life
- British Muslims and the public sphere
Current supervision
Radja Bouchama
Research student
Tammy Preston
Research student
