Undergraduate Course: Gender and Media in the Arab World (IMES10085)
Course Outline
| School | School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course provides a gender-centric analysis of various media (including print, broadcast, and online media) in the Arab world. Focusing on women in particular, the course will visit several central themes: Arab media as potential feminist counterpublics, representations of women in Arab media, Arab women's media activism, Arab women within media institutions, sexuality in Arab media, representations of Arab/Muslim women in Western media, and women in the media during the so-called Arab Spring. The course will highlight different approaches to the study of gender in Arab media, and will focus on critically assessing these approaches while grounding the analysis in the socio-economic realities of the Arab world today. |
| Course description |
1- Understanding media landscapes in the Arab world
This class sets the stage for subsequent sessions by visiting some of the key features of media landscapes in the Arab region.
2- Gendering the Arab world
Also setting the stage for the following weeks, this class examines gender politics in Arab countries, with an emphasis on themes such as the body and sexuality.
3- Locating gender in Arab media and popular culture
This class places the study of gender squarely within the media and culture of the Arab world.
4- Arab media as a public sphere: a 'feminist counterpublic'?
Can Arab media provide an alternative 'public sphere' where feminist concerns and issues are approached openly?
5- Representations of women in Arab media
Arab media represent women in a multitude of ways. This class explores these representations in various media.
6- Sexuality in Arab media
The focus in this session is specifically on female sexuality in Arab media messages, but some attention will also be paid to male sexuality.
7- Representations of Arab/Muslim women in Western media
To provide a comparative angle to the course, this class examines how Arab/Muslim women are represented in Western media. Students will be expected to draw on critical insights gained in previous weeks to compare between Arab and Western media representations.
8- Arab women as media professionals: does critical mass matter?
This session problematises the idea that female Arab media professionals can create change towards gender equality in Arab media.
9- Gender media activism in the Arab world
Following from the previous session, this class investigates the various ways the media are used as platforms for gender equality activism in the region.
10- In the eye of the media: women and the Arab spring
The emphasis in this session is on Arab women's use of the media during the so-called Arab Spring and the different representations of female activists/agitators in the media.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Before enrolling students on this course, you are asked to contact the IMES Secretary to ensure that a place is available ( e-mail imes@ed.ac.uk). |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should have at least 3 courses in a suitable subject area at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). Only University/College level courses will be taken into consideration. This will be checked by the Visiting student office. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2022/23, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Quota: 18 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22,
Summative Assessment Hours 3,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
171 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Presentation: 15%
1500 word essay: 30%
2000 word essay: 55%
|
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course successful students will be able to:
- Critically evaluate the theoretical and methodological approaches applied in the study of gender in Arab media
- Explain and critique the role of the media in perpetuating, or challenging, gender stereotypes in the wider Arab society
- Demonstrate advanced awareness of the relationship between socio-economic conditions, gender, and media in the Arab world
- Apply this critical familiarity with gender and media towards the successful completion of their coursework
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Reading List
Select bibliography
Abdel-Nabi, S., J. Agha, J. Choucair, and M. Mikdashi. Pop Goes the Arab World: Popular Music, Gender, Politics, and Transnationalism in the Arab World. Hawwa. Vol. 2., No. 2., 2004 , pp. 231-254.
Al Ali, N. (2012). Gendering the Arab Spring. Middle East Journal of Culture and Communication. Vol. 5., No. 1., pp. 26-31
Al Jenaibi, B.N.A. (2011), 'The changing representation of the Arab Woman in Middle East advertising and media', Global Media Journal, 1 (2), pp. 67-88.
Al Mahadin, S. (2011), 'Arab Feminist Media Studies', Feminist Media Studies, 11 (1), 7-12.
Al Mahadin, S.(2011). 'Five marriages and a funeral: Constructing the sexually transgressive female on Arab satellite channels', International Journal of Media & Cultural Politics, 7 (2), 173-87.
Al Mahadin, S. (2003), 'Gender Representations and Stereotypes in Cartoons: a Jordanian Case Study', Feminist Media Studies, 3 (2), 131-51.
Al Malki, A., D. Kaufer, et al. (2012). Arab Women in Arab News: Old Stereotypes and New Media, London, Bloomsbury.
Alsultany, E. (2013), 'Arabs and Muslims in the Media after 9/11: Representational Strategies for a "Postrace" Era', American Quarterly, 65 (1), 161-69,261.
Amin, H. (2002), 'Freedom as a Value in Arab Media: Perceptions and Attitudes Among Journalists', Political Communication, 19 (2), 125-35.
Amin, Hussein and Gher, Leo (1999), 'New and Old Media Access and Ownership in the Arab World', International Communication Gazette, 61 (1), 59-88.
Chetty, A. (2004). Media images of women during war¿vehicles of patriarchy's agenda? Agenda: Empowering women for gender equity. Vol. 13, No. 59., pp. 32-41
Elsadda, H. (2010), 'Arab Women Bloggers: The Emergence of Literary Counterpublics', Middle East Journal of Culture and Communication, 3 (3), 312-32.
Falah, G. (2005) The Visual Representation of Arab/Muslim Women in Daily Newspapers in the United States. In Falah, G., C. Nagel, eds. Geographies of Muslim Women: Gender, Religion, and Space. New York, The Guilford Press.
Ftouni, L. (2012), 'Rethinking Gender Studies: Towards an Arab Feminist Epistemology', in Tarik Sabry (ed.), Arab Cultural Studies: Mapping the Field (London: I. B. Tauris & Co), 162-85.
Hammond, A. (2007). Women, Sex, and Gender in Arab Culture. In Hammond, A. Popular Culture in the Arab World: Arts, Politics, and the Media. Cairo, The American University in Cairo Press.
Ibroscheva, E. (2013), 'The First Ladies and the Arab Spring: A textual analysis of the media coverage of the female counterparts of authoritarian oppression in the Middle East', Feminist Media Studies, 13 (5), 871-80.
Kirat, M.(2004), 'A profile of women journalists in the United Arab Emirates', Journal of International Communication, 10 (1), 54-78.
Klaus, E., S. Kassel. (2005). The Veil As A Means Of Legitimization: An Analysis Of The Interconnectedness Of Gender, Media And War. Journalism.Vol. 6., No.3. pp. 335-355.
Kraidy, M.(2012), 'The Revolutionary Body Politic: Preliminary Thoughts on a Neglected Medium in the Arab Uprisings', Middle East Journal of Culture and Communication, 5 (1), 66-74.
Matar, D. (2007) Heya TV: A Feminist Counterpublic for Arab Women? Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Vol. 27, No. 3. pp. 513-524.
Mellor, N. (2013), 'Gender boundaries inside pan-Arab newsrooms', Journal of Gender Studies, 22 (1), 79-91.
Mourad, S. (2014), 'The Naked Body of Alia: Gender, Citizenship, and the Egyptian Body Politic', Journal of Communication Inquiry, 38 (1), 62-78.
Picherit-Duthler, Gaelle and Yunis, Alia (2011), 'Tramps vs. Sweethearts: Changing Images of Arab and American Women in Hollywood Films', Middle East Journal of Culture and Communication, 4 (2), 225-43.
Radsch, Courtney C. and Khamis, Sahar (2013), 'In Their Own Voice: Technologically mediated empowerment and transformation among young Arab women', Feminist Media Studies, 13 (5), 881-90.
Sabry, T. (2008), 'Arab Media and Cultural Studies: Rehearsing New Questions', in Kai Hafez (ed.), Arab Media: Power and Weakness (New York: The Continuum International Publishing Group), 237-51.
Sakr, N. (2004). Friend or foe? Dependency theory and women's media activism in the Arab Middle East. Critical Middle Eastern Studies. Vol. 13., No. 2, pp. 153-174.
Sakr, N. (2008), 'Gaps in the Market: Insights from Scholarly Work on Arab Media Economics', in Kai Hafez (ed.), Arab Media: Power and Weakness (New York: The Continuum International Publishing Group), 185-98.
Sakr, N. (2002). Seen and Starting to Be Heard: Women and the Arab Media in a Decade of Change Social Research. Vol. 69, No. 3, The Status of Women in the Developing World, pp. 821-850.
Sakr, N. (2004). Women And Media In The Middle East: Power Through Self-Expression. N. Sakr. London, I.B. Taurus.
Sakr, N. (2008). 'Women and Media in Saudi Arabia: Rhetoric, Reductionism and Realities', British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 35 (3), 385-404.
Salamandra, C. (2012), 'The Muhannad Effect: Media Panic, Melodrama, and the Arab Female Gaze', Anthropological Quarterly, 85 (1), 45-77.
Skalli, L. (2006). Communicating Gender in the Public Sphere: Women and Information Technologies in the MENA Region. Journal of Middle East Women's Studies. Vol. 2, No. 2. pp. 35-59.
Skalli, L. (2011), 'Constructing Arab Female Leadership Lessons from the Moroccan Media', Gender & Society, 25 (4), 473-95.
Skalli, L. (2013), 'Young women and social media against sexual harassment in North Africa', The Journal of North African Studies, 1-15.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
- Academic writing and referencing
- Oral presentation competency
- Time management |
| Keywords | IMES Gender&Media |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Ebtihal Mahadeen
Tel: (0131 6)50 4463
Email: |
Course secretary | Mrs Anne Budo
Tel: (0131 6)50 4161
Email: |
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