Centre for Women’s Studies will host the Arab Women, Media, and Sexuality Conference at the University of York on the 26th of May 2012. This one-day conference will be a great opportunity for the participants to enrich their knowledge on the interdisciplinary study of sexuality, media, and gender from an Arab perspective and the intersection between all three. The aim of the conference is to offer participants a platform for discussion, debate and research on these three disciplines.
The Center is inviting scholars, early career researchers, and practitioners to submit 250-300 word abstracts on the following themes for inclusion in the conference.
Themes
– Representations of Arab women’s sexuality in Western and/or Arabic media (media as an umbrella term encompassing traditional, online, new media, and so on). How are Arab women’s sexualities represented in various forms of media? Do these representations differ between Western and Arabic media? Are women active agents in these representations or passive images? What do these representations reveal about Arab and Western societies’ perceptions of Arab women’s sexualities? What do they reveal about gender and power relations inside and outside Arab cultures, and where do Arab women fit in this picture?
– Approaches to sexuality in Arabic media. How does media content like home-grown talk shows and foreign series present sexuality to Arabic audiences? What can we make of the ubiquity of provocative music video channels alongside conservative Islamic channels beamed to Arab homes? What sexualities are socially acceptable and what, on the other hand, are some of the unacceptable sexualities as presented by the media? How are these sexualities reinforced or challenged by media?
– Arab women’s perceptions of their sexuality vis-à-vis the media. How do Arab women claim their sexuality in light of media emphasis on certain sexual images and certain sexualities? What meanings do sexual symbols such as the veil and virginity hold to contemporary Arab women? How do Arab women navigate the images, expectations, and stereotypes of their sexuality as portrayed in different media?
The organizers welcome papers and posters for this interdisciplinary conference. The organizers may be able to arrange long-distance conferencing services for participants who are not able to travel to York. Accepted presenters will be notified by January 10th, 2012.
Last date for submitting the abstracts is November 30, 2011.
For more information and details, you can visit this link.
