M?NA2506 ¨C Mass Media in the Middle East

Course content

This course will explore the role of mass media in the Middle East and their impact on society and cultural debates. The course is designed to assist students in understanding the evolving mass communication media in the Middle East, with an emphasis on Arabic language media. It draws on existing scholarship in the field of history, literature, social sciences, popular culture and visual cultures, and it privileges a historical and cultural approach. Indeed, the implementation of digital media, that has attracted much academic attention in the last decade, will be studied as the last development of a longer media history that dates back to the 9th century. We will start with the transition from oral to script culture that took place in the Abbasid period and its effect on knowledge production; we will proceed with analysing the spread of print technologies after several centuries of a flourishing manuscript culture in the 19th century; the emergence of audio-visual media (radio, TV, film) in the 20th century; we will conclude with the emergence of Internet technology in the 21st?century.

Students will be exposed to and engage in discussions about various media theories, issues, forms and practices. A broad range of topics will be covered including the history and development of the Arab press, the role played by radio and television in the national-building process, the relationship between cinema and literature, the rise of satellite television and the Al-Jazeera phenomenon, and the advent of digital media. Media will be analysed in relation to the rise of specific genres, such as cultural journalism, soap operas, reality shows, autofictional blogs and YouTube comedies. Special attention will be paid to the role that media has played in the momentous changes which shook the region, such as the 1919 revolution in Egypt and the Arab Spring uprising. Equally of interest is the relationship between media and language, questions of access and gender, and how media practitioners deal with censorship and authoritarian regimes.

The teaching will be focused on Arabic language media, but alternative readings may be arranged for students interested in Persian or Turkish-language media.

Learning outcome

After having followed this course, you will have:

• learned about important media issues and trends in the Middle East
• evaluated the role media play in Middle Eastern culture and politics, in relation to specific historical events
• familiarized yourself?with a growing and diverse body of literature and scholarship and a variety of approaches to studying Arab media
• read, watched and analysed examples of media content from the Arabic mediascape in Arabic or in translation
• addressed open questions related to the mass media and Middle East, such as questions of access, gender, censorship, cultural and political change.?

Admission to the course

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