Spotlight: Middle East Caucus

Abstract

Spotlight:Middle East Caucus Kareem Estefan (bio) and Viviane Saglier (bio) The Middle East has a rich and diverse history of film and media production, but Western film markets have consolidated hegemonic media narratives by overrepresenting subjects such as terrorism and the veil. Scholars of Middle Eastern media affirm such imperialist discourse, obscuring local understandings of screen cultures and the historical conditions they register and circulate within. The Society for Cinema and Media Studies' (SCMS) Middle East Caucus intervenes in this situation by promoting rigorous, transdisciplinary study of the cinema and media of the Middle East and its diasporas. The caucus's history reflects the geopolitical stakes of the Middle East and the political responsibilities of scholars who study the region's film and media. Since its founding in 1993, the caucus shifted from a Zionist orientation to one that engages scholarship critical of Israel when current caucus members Terri Ginsberg and Chris Lippard became co-chairs in the late 2000s. The caucus now actively grapples with legacies of colonialism that frame the Middle East as a coherent political, economic, and cultural space, as such discourse benefits colonial epistemologies, geopolitical domination, and resource extraction.1 The institutional location of SCMS in North America similarly implicates US and Western imperialism in the region, which persevere through a diverse and expansive media apparatus. In recent years, [End Page 1] media and area studies scholars have productively contested such colonial mapping. For example, studies of media circuits across the Indian Ocean are redefining the region's porous borders and underscoring the need to examine histories of South-South cultural exchange. Today, the caucus highlights the variety of approaches to studying Middle Eastern film and media by sponsoring multiple panels at SCMS's annual conference and by compiling an annual list of representative publications. In 2019, the caucus established an annual Graduate Student Essay Award to recognize the contributions of emerging scholars and foster mentorship opportunities within the caucus. Additionally, the caucus supports our subfield's most precarious scholars through academic activism. Although the material circumstances of Middle East film and media scholars differ sharply in relation to their citizenship status, geographic location, race, class, gender, and sexuality, many face severe restrictions on freedom of expression and mobility. The travel ban imposed on several Muslim-majority countries by the Trump administration is a much-cited example. Less discussed are ongoing difficulties non-Americans face in securing visas to enter the United States from (for example) Iran or Lebanon or the discriminatory treatment—including the very real threat of deportation—that Arab and Muslim American scholars wishing to conduct research in Palestine/Israel face when crossing Israeli-controlled borders. (This threat now exists for any academic critical of Israeli policy, including many prominent Jewish activists and intellectuals.) Film and media scholars also face severe limitations on academic expression when teaching in Egypt or Turkey and when supporting Palestinian rights or investigating Israeli settler-colonial practices within the United States and beyond. To address these issues, the caucus organized "Decolonization and Transnational Solidarity in Film/Media Studies: A Workshop Towards Action" at SCMS's 2021 conference. Facilitated by Dr. Layal Ftouni, the workshop investigated potential actions to decolonize knowledge production and support transnational antiracist struggles. Attendees—most of whom were not caucus members—brainstormed steps toward enacting transformative change within the field of film and media studies, SCMS, and the institutions to which we belong. The workshop highlighted the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which originated in Palestinian civil society in 2005 as a nonviolent campaign modeled on South African calls for solidarity against apartheid. In accordance with international law, BDS demands the end of the Israeli occupation and colonization of Arab lands, full equality for Palestinian citizens of Israel, and the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes.2 One element of BDS, the academic boycott, aims to expose Israeli universities' structural contributions to the ongoing dispossession of the Palestinian people; it does not impact collaborations with Israeli scholars, unless these collaborations are sponsored by Israeli [End Page 2] institutions or serve to normalize Israeli colonial rule.3 BDS asks scholars to refuse complicity with settler colonialism and actively support...