Appel à Communication

Arab Women, Media, and Sexuality

University of York - 26 May 2012

We are delighted to invite you to the Arab Women, Media, and Sexuality one-day conference at the University of York, to be held on the 26^th of May 2012. The conference is hosted by the Centre for Women’s Studies and focuses on the interdisciplinary study of sexuality, media, and gender from an Arab perspective and the intersection between all three. It aims to provide grounds for discussion and analysis of these three disciplines and to encourage debate, research and networking in these fields. Scholars, early career researchers, and practitioners are encouraged to submit 250-300 word abstracts to Ebtihal Mahadeen (im544@york.ac.uk) by November 30th, 2011 on or around the following 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?

We welcome papers and posters for this interdisciplinary conference and we may be able to arrange long-distance conferencing services for participants who are not able to travel to York. Invitation to this conference is open to all and the registration fee is £25 (to cover lunch, tea, coffee, water, and programme copies and payable by all attendees and presenters). Accepted presenters will be notified by January 10th, 2012.

Important details:

Abstract submission deadline: November 30th, 2011. Abstracts of 250-300 words should be submitted to Ebtihal Mahadeen (im544@york.ac.uk) containing the following information and in this order: name(s), email address, affiliation, abstract title, abstract body. Notification of accepted papers: January 10th, 2012. Registration deadline: March 1st 2012. If you have any queries or comments please contact Ebtihal Mahadeen: im544@york.ac.uk

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