[csaa-forum] The Seen and Unseen: The Visual Culture of Imperialism

[John Gunders]

The Seen and Unseen: The Visual Culture of Imperialism

Much of the perception of the world around us is constructed visually. This visual representation, which includes drawings, paintings, artworks, photography, and more recently moving images such as films, cartoons, book covers, posters, and advertisements illuminates the ways we see ourselves and those around us. Derived and informed by social, political and historical shifts these visual representations form what scholars call a 'visual culture' of representation.

This visual culture of representation plays a significant part in social and political power relations and control.  What has been continuously represented or seen gradually can form a preferred mode of reading and viewing of certain cultures. On the other hand, what is unseen, due to continuos misrepresentations, silences, or inabilities of expressions, as well as social and political censorships and control, can lead to an inability of those represented to break free from preferred modes of representation.

This edited collection brings together essays and scholarly examinations of the visual representation of the Islamic Identity within a wide visual context, including on film, posters, photography, book covers, etc.  In particular, it aims to examine how visual imperialism through the seen and unseen, has formed and constructed an already established visual culture of representation which has defined Muslim identities. By focusing on the broad theme of "representation", this edited volume seeks for an interdisciplinary re-thinking of the sociopolitical and cultural issues of the visual imperialims in the conetxt of Muslim representation. We invite papers on a broad range of topics pertinent to the theme of visual culture of imperialism including but not limited to:

*      Visual Orientalism/Imperialism of Muslims

*      Theoretical discussion of the concept of representation

*      Representation of the "other"

*      Orientalism and self-orientalism

*      Rethinking Muslim identity

*      Representation of gender and sexuality

Please send a 500 word abstract along with your affiliation and biographical statement to Dr. Sanaz Fotouhi at sanaz.fotouhi at gmail.com<mailto:sanaz.fotouhi at gmail.com> Dr. Esmaeil Zeiny at mehdizeiny at gmail.com<mailto:mehdizeiny at gmail.com>  by November 25. Full paper must be submitted no later than March 31, 2015.



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