4.621
Orientalism and Representation
Instructor: Nada Shabout
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Units: 3-0-9
Level: H
Prerequisites: Permission of instructor
In the post-9/11 and US-led invasion of Iraq era, representations centered on the Arab/Islamic world are in the forefront again. These representations vary from the cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed that initiated a series of destructive confrontations between “West” and “East,” to exhibitions of the arts of the region. Edward W. Said (1935-2003) Orientalism in 1978 generated the development of postcolonial studies which examines the voice and agency of the “other” which were silenced or absent in the colonial discourse. Nevertheless, a new wave of exhibiting the “Orient” in today’s “global” age attest to the contrary. A popular theme in promoting Arab/Islamic exhibitions in the West has been the concept of “building bridges.” On their outset, these exhibitions claim to reflect a change in Western attitudes towards art outside its boundaries, and declare that visual arts have become a global phenomenon. They are meant to assert that the notion of fine arts as “a peculiarly Western activity” is no longer the only acceptable standard; where in today’s postmodern (or is it global?) art world artistic centers are not limited to certain Western capitals. Nevertheless, it has been widely argued that under the effect of globalization, defined by most non-Western nations as post-imperialism where the postmodern methodological reevaluation of modernism did not necessarily abandon its principles, the identity of contemporary art is unrecognizable.
This seminar addresses a number of key encounters (events, texts, architectural projects, and images) during the modern age and explores contemporary "new Orientalist" political ideologies and how they inform the construction and reproduction of the current knowledge about the Middle East, Arab and Islam. The discussion will particularly focus on exhibitions organized by Western and/or local curators in the West and the Middle East presenting contemporary cultural production from the Middle East in terms of choices, criteria, ethics and themes of display. "Neo Orientalism" will be investigated in relationship to both traditional orientalist and nationalist narratives. Central in this discussion is questioning postmodernism’s relative acceptance of the “other,” in view of the general inclination of the West to be more sympathetic and acceptable of postcolonial production which falls within postmodern formulations of hybridity, syncretization, and pastiche.
The course includes weekly reading and writing assignments and requires active participation in discussions. A research paper is to be first presented in class during and then submitted at the end of the term. Topics should be decided in consultation with the instructor by the end of the third week of the semester. A short abstract and preliminary bibliography should be submitted by the fourth week.
