Framing Muslims: Structures of representation in Culture and Society post-9/11

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Since September 11 2001, Muslim communities in Europe and America have come under increased scrutiny in a variety of cultural forms as part of a renewed concern to define and delimit the parameters of the nation and of western civil society more generally. This network will foster and support research into the cultural, artistic, social and legal structures which 'frame' contemporary debates about Muslims in the west. The network will bring together experts in various fields to interrogate the way Muslim subjects have been positioned and 'spoken for', and how the communities concerned have responded to these externally imposed definitions. This network will be of interest to academics, researchers and students in a variety of disciplines including postcolonial studies, anthropology, law, and cultural studies. Its topical remit will contribute to an awareness of the shaping force of representation in a multicultural society, and will extend understanding of the processes by which such representations gain currency.The transnational collaborative dimension will allow for comparative study of the discursive framing of Muslims in both Europe and America, understood in terms of its longer history and its contemporary manifestations. This will be facilitated by cooperation with the Working Group for the Study of Transnational Networks, University of California, Irvine, the Centre for Religion and Media at New York University, ISIM in the Netherlands, CADIS-EHESS in Paris. The interdisciplinary remit allows for a broader perspective on issues of representation in both its political and aesthetic senses, with implications for policy making and intercultural relations.