The Aesthetics of Exclusion: Minorities in Films from the Muslim World
Racial, ethnic, religious, and gender minorities in the Muslim world have become an increasingly popular topic of academic study, and with that interest, comes a wide range of film productions that address the topic. In this mixed media reading group, we hope to consider how visual representations can highlight the exclusion of minorities on psychological, socioeconomic, political and emotional levels. The reading group will include background readings on the particular minority of discussion as well as short readings on film theory concepts that are relevant to the film viewing. The reading group seeks to explore the methodological triangulation of film, historical and/or anthropological academic work, and film theory to gain a better perspective of the lived experiences of minorities in the Muslim World. Subsequent to the film screenings, a discussion will be led to consider how the racial/ethnic/gender or religious categories discussed in readings were reproduced in film. The reading group aims to consider how film can be a tool of exclusion or belonging. We aim to analyze how film has a potential to not only move people, but also perpetuate stigmas associated with minorities, or in some cases, strip minority groups of their agency. Ultimately, the reading group hopes to highlight how the medium of mixed media can convey the complicated experiences of minorities in the way that academic work might not be able to do.
Contact Info:
Moosa Waraich: moosa.waraich@merton.ox.ac.uk
Yesmine Abida: yesmine.abida@sant.ox.ac.uk
