Arab, Muslim, Woman: Voice and Vision in Postcolonial Literature and Film (Transformations)

Given a long history of representation by others, what themes and techniques do Arab Muslim women writers, filmmakers and visual artists foreground in their presentation of postcolonial experience? Lindsey Moore’s groundbreaking book demonstrates ways in which women appropriate textual and visual modes of representation, often in cross-fertilizing ways, in challenges to Orientalist/colonialist, nationalist, Islamist, and ‘multicultural’ paradigms. She provides an accessible but theoretically-informed analysis by foregrounding tropes of vision, visibility and voice; post-nationalist melancholia and mother/daughter narratives; transformations of ‘homes and harems’; and border crossings in time, space, language, and media. In doing so, Moore moves beyond notions of speaking or looking ‘back’ to encompass a diverse feminist poetics and politics and to emphasize ethical forms of representation and reception. __Aran, Muslim, Woman__ is distinctive in the eclectic body of work that it brings together. Discussing Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the Palestinian territories, and Tunisia, as well as postcolonial Europe, Moore argues for better integration of Arab Muslim contexts in the postcolonial canon. In a book for readers interested in women's studies, history, literature, and visual media, we encounter work by Assia Djebar, Mona Hatoum, Fatima Mernissi, Ahlam Mosteghanemi, Nawal el Saadawi, Leila Sebbar, Zineb Sedira, Ahdaf Soueif, Moufida Tlatli, Fadwa Tuqan, and many other women.

Given a long history of representation by others, what themes and techniques do Arab Muslim women writers, filmmakers and visual artists foreground in their presentation of postcolonial experience?

Lindsey Moore’s groundbreaking book demonstrates ways in which women appropriate textual and visual modes of representation, often in cross-fertilizing ways, in challenges to Orientalist/colonialist, nationalist, Islamist, and ‘multicultural’ paradigms. She provides an accessible but theoretically-informed analysis by foregrounding tropes of vision, visibility and voice; post-nationalist melancholia and mother/daughter narratives; transformations of ‘homes and harems’; and border crossings in time, space, language, and media. In doing so, Moore moves beyond notions of speaking or looking ‘back’ to encompass a diverse feminist poetics and politics and to emphasize ethical forms of representation and reception.

Aran, Muslim, Woman is distinctive in the eclectic body of work that it brings together. Discussing Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the Palestinian territories, and Tunisia, as well as postcolonial Europe, Moore argues for better integration of Arab Muslim contexts in the postcolonial canon. In a book for readers interested in women's studies, history, literature, and visual media, we encounter work by Assia Djebar, Mona Hatoum, Fatima Mernissi, Ahlam Mosteghanemi, Nawal el Saadawi, Leila Sebbar, Zineb Sedira, Ahdaf Soueif, Moufida Tlatli, Fadwa Tuqan, and many other women.

Book Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 6 Copyright......Page 7 Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgements......Page 10 Note on transliteration......Page 11 List of plates......Page 12 Introduction......Page 14 1 Historical contexts: ‘Layer after layer’......Page 38 2 Visibility, vision, and voice: Algerian women in question (again)......Page 61 3 Melancholia in the Maghrib: Mother–daughter plots......Page 90 4 Heterotopias: Reimagining home......Page 113 5 Border crossings, translations......Page 141 Notes......Page 172 Works Cited......Page 179 Filmography......Page 194 Index......Page 196 Humanities Book Cover 1 Title 6 Copyright 7 Contents 8 Acknowledgements 10 Note on transliteration 11 List of plates 12 Introduction 14 1 Historical contexts: ‘Layer after layer’ 38 2 Visibility, vision, and voice: Algerian women in question (again) 61 3 Melancholia in the Maghrib: Mother–daughter plots 90 4 Heterotopias: Reimagining home 113 5 Border crossings, translations 141 Notes 172 Works Cited 179 Filmography 194 Index 196 This groundbreaking book analyses a wide range of literary and visual texts, many of which have not received treatment elsewhere, and promotes an emergent canon of women's writing and film. This groundbreaking book analyzes a wide range of literary and visual texts, many of which have not received treatment elsewhere, and promotes an emergent canon of women's writing and film