Resistance and art: call for papers

‘Art and Resistance in the Middle East: History and Change’
BRISMES Graduate mini-conference
Department of Islamic & Middle Eastern Studies, University of Edinburgh
Saturday 16th November 2013

Artists across the wider Middle East have responded with an outburst of creativity – from murals to poems, rap to adaptations of Shakespeare – to the political change which is still unfolding in diverse ways across the region. But what does it mean for art – defined broadly as including literature, film, music, visual and physical arts – to be linked to resistance and rebellion in the Middle East? Does art affect/effect political, social and economic change, or merely reflect it? Is political art a middle class distraction or a key part of the revolution? And in a world of globalised social media, who are the audiences for political art coming from the Middle East, and how has that changed?

This graduate conference invites proposals for papers tackling these questions or related issues as they bear on the Middle East. Whilst we expect many submissions on contemporary political change, we also welcome historical perspectives, especially those covering resistance to Ottoman and colonial rule and other periods and movements. We also encourage recognition of ‘resistance’ by groups concerned with gender, class, sexuality, disability and the environment, as well as ethnic and national self-determination and popular dissent.

Whilst this conference is aimed particularly at postgraduate students and early-career researchers in Scotland and Northern England, submissions are welcome from anyone outside this area. We also welcome submissions from any discipline and department.

Deadline for submissions is strictly Friday 20th September 2013. Submissions should consist of 1) a one-page sheet giving your name, contact details, submission title and a brief summary of your CV, and 2) a second page which includes a 250-word abstract but NO information on your identity. Submissions should be emailed to: resistanceandart@gmail.com