Dear all,
I would like to inform you about an event which might be of interest to you. I am taking part in organizing a workshop on Arab women writers in diaspora that will be held at the University of Manchester on December 10th, 2009. People are invited to give papers or attend (confirmation of attendance is required). Kindly find information, written by the main organizer Yousef Awad, about the workshop:
Arab Women Writers in Diaspora: Horizons of Dialogue
A one-day interdisciplinary workshop on the works of Arab women writers in diaspora.
December 10th, 2009
University of Manchester
There has been an increasing interest in the writings of Arab women that has manifested itself in a viable number of books and articles in academic journals. However, there is a kind of an oversight for the works of Arab women writers in diaspora. Furthermore, very few conferences, seminars and workshops have been held on this topic in the UK.
This workshop will focus on the works of Arab women writers in diaspora. The event is expected to be platform for exchanging ideas on some of the political and literary challenges facing Arab women writers in diaspora, especially in the UK. Nevertheless, papers on Arab women writers living in Europe and the US will make a good contribution to the seminar. The workshop is all about the cultural horizons of dialogue, of which Arab women writers in diaspora are pioneers.
The workshop will host two Arab women writers who live in the UK. Fadia Faqir is a Jordanian-British novelist who has published three novels so far. Ghada Karmi is a Palestinian-British political activist and a researcher who published four books. The two writers will speak from two different perspectives and will help the participants contextualise the complexity of the experience of Arab women writers in diaspora.
The workshop will also bring some prominent specialists on Arab women writings. Confirmed respondents/discussants include Lindsey Moore, Geoffrey Nash, Anastasia Valassopoulos, Dalia Mostafa and Michelle Obeid. The workshop is an interdisciplinary event and will benefit from the different academic backgrounds of the participating authors and academics.
Hence, researchers and postgraduate students are invited to contribute to the event. The seminar will give the future scholars an opportunity to be introduced to the established scholars and exchange ideas of mutual interest.
Potential topics:
Challenges facing Arab women writers in diaspora after 9/11 and 7/7
In what way(s) is the experience of Arab women writers in diaspora different from their peers in the Middle East
The (selective) publishing process and the expectations of the (Western) audience
Representation of Arab women: Who talks for who?
How Arab women writers in diaspora are received by Arabic speaking audience/critics
Cultural capital in the works of Arab women writers in diaspora
Can language be a vehicle for literary/journalist resistance: resisting the hegemony of Western thoughts and perceptions of Arab women.
Arab women writers in the ethnic borderland: Are Arab women writers in diaspora interested in opening corridors of talks with other marginalized groups in the West?
The representation of masculinity: Do Arab women writers in diaspora contribute to re-cycling/correcting some stereotypes about Arab men?
In what way(s) do Arab women writers in diaspora engage with Islam?
Challenges facing Arab-American women writers.
Please send abstracts of no more than 300 words and a short biography by Friday October 2nd to: yousef.awad@manchester.ac.uk
I would be also grateful if you could forward this note to people you think will be interested in either attending or giving papers.
Many thanks in advance,
Farah Aboubakr
Graduate Teaching Fellow at the University of Manchester
