Study Afternoon 22 November 2013

Organisers: Frauke Mathes and Lizzie Stewart, University of Edinburgh

Islam at the Edge of Words

Rationale

This study afternoon brings together postgraduate and early career researchers as well as undergraduate students to discuss contemporary manifestations of Islam in European literature and film. At a time when the tensions between ‘Islam’ and ‘the West’ seem particularly noticeable, artistic explorations of the role of Islam in Europe reveal, and engage with, the often sharp ‘edges’ of discourses concerning the impact of Muslim migration on European societies. At the same time, Muslim writers and filmmakers have often perceived these tensions as creative opportunities: they can help them approach Islam-related issues / questions of Muslim identity within their own work thereby going beyond seemingly stable concepts of ‘Islam’ and also addressing the impact of ‘European’ discourses of belonging on Muslim subjects in Europe.

What happens at the edges of these words, however? How do words resist or even enable Islamic religious experience and an engagement with being Muslim in Europe for contemporary artists? In an already loaded public sphere, and in languages infused with a history of Christian religious practice, what happens when European artists articulate as Muslims? And what is taking place in the spaces, languages and media in which these words move from a point of articulation to reception? As researchers based in European Languages and Cultures we want to explore the ways in which we can situate and contribute to a discussion of Islam at the Edge of Words and how contact and collaboration with those working on Islamic Studies can enhance this. This leads us to our final questions. In what ways does Islam belong to Europe/European culture? Is Islam to be located at the edges or the centre of Europe’s articulation of its self? Who defines those edges?

The event comprises three research papers and a final discussion that will aim at comparisons between representations of Islam across European literatures and film. We also hope to discuss challenges and opportunities for researchers from DELC interested in working on Islam in Europe.

Following on from Frauke’s Honours option ‘Germany and Islam’, the event also highlights the interaction between our research and teaching: ‘Germany and Islam’ students are invited to participate actively at the discussions, having prepared questions beforehand and during the presentations.

Form

From 1:30pm: Arrival

2pm: Welcome and Introduction

Frauke Matthes and Lizzie Stewart

2.15-2.45pm: Lina Mohamad (PhD Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Edinburgh)

The Terrorist in Focus: John Updike’s Terrorist and Yasmina Khadra’s Les sirènes de Baghdad (The Sirens of Baghdad)

2.45-3.15pm: Peter Cherry (PhD Comparative Literature, University of Edinburgh)

“Coming out ‘In-Between’”: British Muslim Masculinity and Homosexuality in Hanif Kureishi’s My Beautiful Laundrette (1985) and Sally El Hosaini’s My Brother the Devil (2012)

3.15-3.45pm: coffee/tea break

3.45-4.15pm: Joseph Twist (PhD German, University of Manchester)

Islamic Identity and the Mêlée of Culture in The Book of Those Killed by Neil Young (Das Buch der von Neil Young Getöteten, 2002) by Navid Kermani

4.15-4.30pm: short break

4.30-5pm: Final Discussion on ‘Islam and the Edge of Words’ with all participants and audience