Transcultural Bridges

An Initiative to promote a productive coexistence by enhancing the cultural capital in today's globalized world
DR. ARIFA JAVED
10 YEARS AS A DOCUMENTARIAN
2013-2023
FOUR FILMS
ESSENTIAL ARRIVAL
SEASON IN THE MIST
MANY PASSAGES OF TIME
CROSS CULTURE AND RELIGION
Latest Updates

Dr. Arifa Javed’s latest documentary film Cross Culture and Religion-Indian Christians in America was nominated in the Best Film Category at The North Film Festival of  New York City.

About Dr. Arifa Javed

Sociologist and Documentarian

Early in her career, she authored a book called Muslim Society in Transition: A Case Study of Hyderabad. This book focuses on an ethnic Muslim community from Hyderabad, India, highlighting social changes following India’s independence, the creation of one state from many formerly sovereign territories and the impact of repatriation on Hyderabad Muslims. After immigrating to the United States in 1995, Dr. Javed continued researching the Hyderabadi community, this time focusing on Hyderabad immigrants to America. From there she expanded her research to other immigrant populations in America. As an immigrant herself, Dr. Javed experienced the firsthand challenges all immigrants face in assimilation, acculturation, parenting and family dynamics. From those experiences, her interest turned toward Applied Sociology. She got herself certified as an applied sociologist in 2007. In the past two decades, she has built an Applied Sociology practice alongside her teaching. She was affiliated with International Institute of Metropolitan Detroit  as an acculturation specialist, and  has designed diversity training workshops for schools, head start programs and various health and human service agencies. Her work has focused on many different immigrant groups in the Detroit area, including Arabic, Bosnian, Bangladeshi, Chaldean, Indian and Pakistani immigrants.

This website is a showcase of her ongoing efforts promoting pluralism and social integration.

A sociologist by training and profession, Dr. Javed’s research interests have been in areas of social transformation and minorities and ethnicity focusing the interplay of faith, race and culture in the formation and reformation of one’s social identity.  Ever since she moved to the United States, her focus broadened to include the role immigration, acculturation and changing family dynamics play as a cause or an effect in the overall social transformation of immigrant minorities and ethnic groups. 

After having taught sociology at Wayne State and University of Michigan- Dearborn since the late 90s, she started making documentaries depicting the cultural diversity here in Michigan in 2014. Currently she is at Eastern Michigan University. 

Her first film Essential Arrival- Michigan’s 21st Century Indian Immigrants, premiered in East Lansing Film Festival, and the next one, Season in the Mist -A Story of Sikhs in America, premiered at the Sault Ste. Marie Film Festival . Her third documentary, Many Passages of Time- A Story of Indian Muslims in America, premiered in the Great Lakes Film Festival. Dr. Javed just completed her fourth documentary Cross Culture and Religion-Indian Christians in America. This got nominated in the category of best documentary for The North Film Festival of New York City .

Get in Touch
Contact

Transcultural Bridges

An Initiative to promote a productive coexistence by enhancing the cultural capital in today's globalized world

About Dr. Arifa Javed

Sociologist and Documentarian

Early in her career, she authored a book called Muslim Society in Transition: A Case Study of Hyderabad. This book focuses on an ethnic Muslim community from Hyderabad, India, highlighting social changes following India’s independence, the creation of one state from many formerly sovereign territories and the impact of repatriation on Hyderabad Muslims. After immigrating to the United States in 1995, Dr. Javed continued researching the Hyderabadi community, this time focusing on Hyderabad immigrants to America. From there she expanded her research to other immigrant populations in America. As an immigrant herself, Dr. Javed experienced the firsthand challenges all immigrants face in assimilation, acculturation, parenting and family dynamics. From those experiences, her interest turned toward Applied Sociology. She got herself certified as an applied sociologist in 2007. In the past two decades, she has built an Applied Sociology practice alongside her teaching. She was affiliated with International Institute of Metropolitan Detroit  as an acculturation specialist, and  has designed diversity training workshops for schools, head start programs and various health and human service agencies. Her work has focused on many different immigrant groups in the Detroit area, including Arabic, Bosnian, Bangladeshi, Chaldean, Indian and Pakistani immigrants.

This website is a showcase of her ongoing efforts promoting pluralism and social integration.

A sociologist by training and profession, Dr. Javed’s research interests have been in areas of social transformation and minorities and ethnicity focusing the interplay of faith, race and culture in the formation and reformation of one’s social identity.  Ever since she moved to the United States, her focus broadened to include the role immigration, acculturation and changing family dynamics play as a cause or an effect in the overall social transformation of immigrant minorities and ethnic groups. 

After having taught sociology at Wayne State and University of Michigan- Dearborn since the late 90s, she started making documentaries depicting the cultural diversity here in Michigan in 2014. Currently she is at Eastern Michigan University. 

Her first film Essential Arrival- Michigan’s 21st Century Indian Immigrants, premiered in East Lansing Film Festival, and the next one, Season in the Mist -A Story of Sikhs in America, premiered at the Sault Ste. Marie Film Festival . Her third documentary, Many Passages of Time- A Story of Indian Muslims in America, premiered in the Great Lakes Film Festival. Dr. Javed just completed her fourth documentary Cross Culture and Religion-Indian Christians in America. This got nominated in the category of best documentary for The North Film Festival of New York City .

Latest Updates

Dr. Arifa Javed’s latest documentary film Cross Culture and Religion-Indian Christians in America was nominated in the Best Film Category at The North Film Festival of  New York City.

Get in Touch
Contact

Transcultural Bridges

An Initiative to promote a productive coexistence by enhancing the cultural capital in today's globalized world.

About Dr. Arifa Javed

Sociologist, Documentary Film Maker

A sociologist by training and profession, Dr. Javed’s research interests have been in areas of social transformation and minorities and ethnicity focusing the interplay of faith, race and culture in the formation and reformation of one’s social identity.  Ever since she moved to the United States, her focus broadened to include the role immigration, acculturation and changing family dynamics play as a cause or an effect in the overall social transformation of immigrant minorities and ethnic groups. After having taught sociology at Wayne State and University of Michigan- Dearborn since the late 90s, she started making documentaries depicting the cultural diversity here in Michigan in 2014. Currently she is at Eastern Michigan University. 

Her first film Essential Arrival- Michigan’s 21st Century Indian Immigrants, premiered in East Lansing Film Festival, and the next one, Season in the Mist -A Story of Sikhs in America, premiered at the Sault Ste. Marie Film Festival . Her third documentary, Many Passages of Time- A Story of Indian Muslims in America, premiered in the Great Lakes Film Festival. Currently she is working on her fourth film on Indian Christians in America.

Early in her career, she authored a book called Muslim Society in Transition: A Case Study of Hyderabad. This book focuses on an ethnic Muslim community from Hyderabad, India, highlighting social changes following India’s independence, the creation of one state from many formerly sovereign territories and the impact of repatriation on Hyderabad Muslims. After immigrating to the United States in 1995, Dr. Javed continued researching the Hyderabadi community, this time focusing on Hyderabad immigrants to America. From there she expanded her research to other immigrant populations in America. As an immigrant herself, Dr. Javed experienced the firsthand challenges all immigrants face in assimilation, acculturation, parenting and family dynamics. From those experiences, her interest turned toward Applied Sociology. She got herself certified as an applied sociologist in 2007. In the past two decades, she has built an Applied Sociology practice alongside her teaching. She was affiliated with International Institute of Metropolitan Detroit  as an acculturation specialist, and  has designed diversity training workshops for schools, head start programs and various health and human service agencies. Her work has focused on many different immigrant groups in the Detroit area, including Arabic, Bosnian, Bangladeshi, Chaldean, Indian and Pakistani immigrants.

This website is a showcase of her ongoing efforts promoting pluralism and social integration.

The Mission Statement

The mission of this project is consolidating cultural capital through dialogue.

It seeks to build

an understanding of diversity of cultures, races and religions, and focus on the common goals of all groups in our society: to survive, thrive and give back.

Philosophy

The philosophy of this initiative is based on cultural relativism and a pluralistic approach to social integration.

The focus is on two-way communication and reciprocal acculturation, promoting mutual acceptance and appreciation of race, religion and ethnic differences. In this era of accelerated globalization, these issues need to be revisited with proper perspective of dialogue, reciprocal trust and respect.

Clientele

The Clientele of this project are professionals and paraprofessionals in fields of business, education, law, medicine 

and any other health or human service. Additionally, bi-cultural families who consume these services are also among the project’s intended beneficiaries.