HATTIESBURG -- Dr. Mazharul Haque, a 20-year veteran faculty member of The University of Southern Mississippi's School of Mass Communication and Journalism, recently presented lectures focusing on First Amendment issues during a visit to a Taiwan university.

Haque gave two lectures at Huafan University in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, in May that focused on First Amendment rights in the United States, the interpretation of those rights and obscenity and indecency issues involving the American media.

Haque presentations were an opportunity for students at the university to learn more about the First Amendment's impact on American society. "Taiwanese students are not very familiar with the First Amendment, and what it means for the press and freedom of expression in the United States," he said.

Last December, Haque was also invited to speak at Taiwan's Providence University in Taichung, where he spoke on media, culture and society, and the evolution of information in post-modern society.

"At Providence University, I lectured on how industrial societies have evolved, the latest state of the information society and post-modern society and how information production, retrieval and distribution are the main activities (in society)," he said.

Gaining access to networks of information and cultural experiences in our society have become as important as, and in some cases even more valuable than, even property ownership, Haque said.

Haque's areas of expertise include media, culture and international communication. He has been a member of the Southern Miss faculty since 1984, and is a past recipient of the Southern Miss Excellence in Teaching Award. He has directed the dissertations of many international students at Southern Miss, some of whom now work as professors and instructors at universities around the world.

Dr. David Goff, director of the Southern Miss School of Mass Communication and Journalism, said Haque's visit to Taiwan was a good opportunity for him to share his research and to help broaden understanding worldwide about the kinds of principles followed in America in terms of law and journalistic practices.

"It's always worthwhile for people from both the United State and other parts of the world to sit down and gain a better understanding of how the media operates in different cultures and societies," Goff said.

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