“What comes to mind when you see a bloke shrouded in black, masked, and machete in hand,” I asked my final year journalism students.  “What about these names - Daniel Pearl, James Foley, Steven Sotloff?” 

They sensed where I was leading with the question. When an Asian teacher, such as I, steer class discussions among an all-white student cohort to the reporting of race, religion and terrorism – we end with more unresolved concept questions than clear practical answers.