Aashish Kumar

Professor of Radio, Television, Film Hofstra University

Hempstead NY

Prof. Kumar is a social action scholar and a documentary filmmaker.

Contact

Hofstra University
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Media

Social

Biography

Professor Kumar has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in documentary, advocacy videos, immersive/interactive media, and television studies in the Radio/TV/Film Dept. He is also an award-winning documentary filmmaker and social action scholar whose work turns a spotlight on issues such as emerging democracies, social stigmas, globalization, migration, civic engagement, and grassroots advocacy. His films have been shown in domestic and international film festivals, used in grassroots community advocacy, and distributed to academic institutions. Most recently he was awarded a Fulbright Specialist grant to spend five weeks developing curriculum and creating a blueprint for an immersive media laboratory at the Mass Communication Research Center, Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi, India’s premier graduate institution in film/television, animation, and journalism. This is Prof. Kumar’s third Fulbright Award – he has been a recipient of an earlier Fulbright Specialist award to Durban, South Africa (2016) and of a Fulbright Senior Scholar award to Hyderabad, India (2008).

Industry Expertise

Motion Pictures and Film

Media Production

Media - Broadcast

Education/Learning

Non-Profit/Charitable

Areas of Expertise

Filmmaking

democratic discourse

Civic Engagement

grassroots advocacy

Accomplishments

Fulbright Specialist

2016-02-01

Prof. Kumar was selected to be a Fulbright Specialist in communications and journalism at Durban University of Technology (DUT) in South Africa. He worked with students and faculty at DUT’s arts and design school to develop a community media project and a model for a high-school documentary workshop. This was his second Fulbright award.

Fulbright Scholar

2008-09-01

As a Fulbright Scholar, Prof. Kumar taught a documentary production course to students in the MA Communication program at the University of Hyderabad. He also did research for a documentary on reverse migration and global cities.

Education

Brooklyn College, City University of New York

MFA

Television Production

1994

Indiana State University

Radio/Television/Film

1992

Delhi University

BA/MA

Sociology

1990

Languages

Hindi

Media Appearances

Gandhian ideal of self-reliance evident in all media today

Press Trust of India online

2016-08-20

Prof. Kumar delivered the 8th annual Mahatma Gandhi Media Lecture at the Durban University of Technology. He focused on "Gandhi's Charkha: Self Reliance and Modern Media" and noted that Gandhian ideals of self-reliance and autonomy are being implemented all over the globe by individuals and organisations through various media projects.

Kumar noted: "Journalism for Gandhi was a way for the Indian community to represent its grievances to the South African government, to share the lived experiences of the Indian diaspora, but also to turn inward and speak about the ills prevalent within the Indian community."

Day of Dialogue: Fake News & Democracy

News@Hofstra online

2017-10-24

“The attacks on free press in recent times are unprecedented in modern American history, especially since they emerge from the highest office in the country,” said Aashish Kumar, the Center for Civic Engagement’s director for civic literacy and on-campus events and a television professor in the Lawrence Herbert School of Communication. “Day of Dialogue gives Hofstra students, faculty, staff and community members a chance to join the ongoing discussion about how categories of fact and opinion are fast giving way to complete fabrication.”

Prof. Aashish Kumar Wins Second Fulbright Award

News@Hofstra online

2016-02-22

“The Fulbright Specialist award has its own distinction since it is co-sponsored by the host institution, and to be accepted by my peers in an international higher education context is truly exciting,” Kumar said. “I am thrilled to have this collaborative and cross-cultural opportunity where I will be working with students from complex ethnic and racial histories.”

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Research Grants

Grant for Community Media Project

Long Island Community Foundation

2014-02-01

Prof. Kumar's $25,000 grant from the Long Island Community Foundation supported a media project that helped community-based organizations with their communication needs.