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Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies · ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences
This course will critically explore the diversity of Arab culture in the context of the complex history and societies of the Arabic speaking world looking at questions of religious and ethnic diversity, the impact of colonialism, nationalist movements, family structures and gender politics, media, diaspora and migration as well as cultural practices and concepts that are shared across the region. Students will be exposed to aspects of cultural studies theories to learn how to evaluate cultural practices and cultural production in the Arabic speaking world and to link them to socio-economic and political structures in these societies.
In-class participation
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Essay1, 2000 words
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Essay 2, 3000 words
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
130 hours of total student learning time made up of: a) 36 hours of contact over 12 weeks, including 24 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials; and b) 94 hours of independent student research, reading and writing. Other Information Arabic Major - ANU Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies Major - ANU Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies Minor - ANU
No required texts. Readings will consist of journal articles, professional papers, and book chapters, and various media such as film, videos, and social media may be used as appropriate. Preliminary Reading Andrew Hammond: Popular Culture in the Arab World (Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2007) Karima Laachir and Saeed Talajooy (eds) Resistance in Contemporary Middle Eastern Cultures (Routledge 2013). Hisham Sharabi (ed.) Theory, Politics, and the Arab World: critical responses (New York: Routledge, 1990). Anastasia Valassopoulos: (ed.) Arab Cultural Studies: History, Politics and the Popular (London and New York: Routledge 2015) Mona Baker (ed.) Translating Dissent: voices from and with the Egyptian Revolution (London: Routledge 2016) Anna Ball and Karim Matter: The Edinburgh Companion to the Postcolonial Middle East (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press 2018). Walid El Hamamsy and Mounira Soliman (eds.) Popular Culture in the Middle East and North Africa: A Postcolonial Outlook (London and New York: Routledge, 2013). Abir Hamdar and Lindsey Moore, (eds.) Islamism and Cultural Expression in the Arab World (London and New York: Routledge 2015) Lena Meari El Said and Nicola Pratt, (eds). Rethinking Gender in Revolutions: Lessons from the Arab World (London: Zed Books 2015)