Indiana University Press Journals Weblog

Memory studies and Gender studies link insights

JMEWS 8.1, Special Issue: Gendered Memory in the Middle East and North Africa: Cultural Norms, Social Practices, and Transnational Regimes

While memory studies have long excluded the Arab Middle East, many Arab countries have recently started to come to terms with their violent pasts. This special issue of the Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies, entitled “Gendered Memory in the Middle East and North Africa: Cultural Norms, Social Practices, and Transnational Regimes,” presents five case studies from Lebanon, Morocco, and Iraqi Kurdistan, where spaces have opened up for the production of alternative or counter forms of remembering. The papers brought together in this issue tie in with two different fields of research—memory studies and gender studies—linking theoretical insights from both fields to gain a deeper understanding of the ongoing processes of societal and political change in the Middle East and North Africa. The papers explore the tensions and interactions between different forms of memory politics. They seek to answer the question: To what degree did officially controlled efforts to process primary experiences, historiography, public images, and debates into a unified and simplified make-up of narrative, iconic, and ritual elements catered to the wider audience change over time? Introduced and edited by Bettina Dennerlein and Sonja Hegasy, this special issue addresses the broad spectrum of rituals and material manifestations of memory culture, which are a form of representation that gradually changes social orders, particularly in situations of accelerated transformation. Iraq, Lebanon and—the countries dealt with in research articles by Bettina Dennerlein, Susan Slyomovics, Karin Mlodoch, Andrea Fischer-Tahir, and Sune Haugbolle—provide strong examples of how political change is mediated through competing views of the past that always also interpret the present and constitute and prescribe models for the future.

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JMEWS, extremely timely and important

Marcia C. Inhorn, Ph.D,  William K. Lanman Jr. Professor of Anthropology and International Affairs, Yale University is the editor of the Journal of Middle East Womens Studies (JMEWS.) She spoke with us about the journal and its unique scholarly impact.

IU PRESS/Journals: What is it about JMEWS that energizes you the most as a scholar?

Marcia Inhorn: JMEWS is now the major scholarly site for Middle East gender scholars across the globe. The journal publishes the work of senior feminist scholars, as well as many young scholars, who are pushing Middle East gender studies in fascinating new directions. The new work in this area is extremely timely and important, especially given events in the Middle Eastern region during the past decade and, most notably, during the past year.

IU PRESS/Journals: Why do you think JMEWS is an important contribution to the body of scholarly research in your field? What difference does it make? 
 

Marcia Inhorn: JMEWS highlights the importance of Middle Eastern women throughout history and in the contemporary period. In addition, JMEWS is the only journal that actively welcomes contributions on Middle Eastern masculinities and sexualities. So much is changing in the Middle Eastern region, in terms of gender, sexuality, politics, social media, and the like. The gender studies scholars who publish in JMEWS are capturing these transformations in very nuanced fashion. The journal offers its readers a wide spectrum of issues to consider, and is truly eye-opening for those who are unfamiliar with the Middle East region.

IU PRESS/Journals: What influence or impact do you hope that your research has on the world and culture?

Marcia Inhorn: For the past 25 years, I have been following the gender impacts of infertility and the emergence of assisted reproductive technologies, such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), in the Middle Eastern region. I have explored the transformative effects of these technologies on women’s lives, as they search for solutions to their childlessness. In addition, I have explored the impacts of the newest assisted reproductive technologies to overcome male infertility, a condition that is a highly prevalent but hidden across the region. Men’s engagement with these technologies is the theme of my new book, The New Arab Man: Emergent Masculinities, Technologies, and Islam in the Middle East (Princeton UP, 2012), which explores the dynamic transformation of masculinity in conjunction with these new technologies.  The book is a humanizing portrayal of the joys and sorrows of ordinary Middle Eastern men, as they engage in assisted reproduction with the women they love. It debunks many stereotypes of “hegemonic” masculinities in the Middle East, as brought to us by both Western media and some scholars.

IU PRESS/Journals: How would it benefit scholars of different disciplines to read the work of scholars outside their field of expertise?

Marcia Inhorn: At the current historical moment, there is no world region more important than the Middle East. Readers of JMEWS will realize that the Middle Eastern region is not monolithic in its history, languages, religions, cultures, and many other important social attributes.The transformations continuously occurring in Middle Eastern women’s and men’s lives are important, and are part and parcel of the revolutionary protests being enacted across the region today.

IU PRESS/Journals: Who do you hope will read the articles in JMEWS?

Marcia Inhorn: Scholars in Gender Studies, Middle East Studies, Islamic Studies, Anthropology, Sociology, Political Science, Religious Studies, and History. Educated lay readers interested in empirically based knowledge about Middle Eastern gender.

IU PRESS/Journals: Is there anything else you would like to say to students in your area of research that would entice them to explore the articles in the journal?

Marcia Inhorn: JMEWS has a fantastic new website, which provides visitors with excellent entrée into the journal, its editorial board, its authors, and its essays. Find it here: www.jmews.org.

Marcia also has a website: http://www.marciainhorn.com.

john powell talks about the journal, Race/Ethnicity

 

"The Faces of Scholarship", an interview with john a. powell*, editor or Race/Ethnicity

1. Why is the study of race important?

The study of racial dynamics and historic relationships leads to an understanding of other perspectives on political and social issues today.

2. How important is Africa as a subject of study to specialists around the world?

• The study of Africa is very important because it is where complex inter-institutional dynamics of global politics play out and continue to marginalize many in the Global South.
  • For instance, the legacy of colonialism and Trans Atlantic Slave Trade explains why African nations are still extremely marginalized – even within a global system that claims to incorporate Africa into the global economy.
• Race is central to many of these issues in national and international politics.
  • It frequently shapes policies on conflicts over natural resources, identities, and languages that continue to emerge in post-Cold War politics between the Global North and Global South.
  • We often see “racialized” disputes within global social movements and political establishments - both geographically and socioeconomically.
  • The study of race – and of Africa – is more important today than ever to help us understand its impact on sociopolitical issues in a global dimension.

3. What disciplines are represented within African studies and how do various discussions within the discipline relate to global debates and dialogues?

• At the Kirwan Institute we take a multidisciplinary approach – which encompasses the humanities and social sciences, law, political science and international studies – to name a few. Along with African studies, many –even most – academic disciplines are connected in some critical aspect to race & ethnicity due to history and human movements.
• Race studies – and African studies in particular – bring an understanding to global human rights issues.
• Through research, conversations, and dialogue, studies of race also help to reach out and capture public and media awareness about how severely racialized politics continue to harm two-thirds of the world’s population.
• Race studies also help us underscore the marginalization and human rights violations that indigenous peoples around the world have endured for hundreds of years – and to consider the best mechanisms for true democratic representation and social inclusion.

4. Describe the role African studies plays or can play in understanding the world today?

Race & ethnicity, and many issues rooted in African studies, are at the heart of conversations about economic development, conservation of the environment, health, and human rights – because racialized structures have been inflicted upon the people of the Global South and continue to harm marginalized populations.

For example, the current financial crisis has an impact on fundamental aspects of life –such as food and health – for the majority of Africa’s population.

• In the global South, over one billion people – or 16% of the world’s population – suffer from hunger.
• Women and children are disproportionately affected by food insecurity and poverty – and Sub-Saharan Africa carries the greatest burden of this tragedy.
• The cause is not a lack of natural resources, or work force, but this problem is due to the imbalances in the international trade regime as systems of monopolies and privatization.
• These systems undermined the viability of rural and agrarian communities of most countries in the global South which had functioned under radically different social and economic systems.
• For many individuals, this system perpetuates brutal material realities which present enormous threats to global peace and security which are too important to be ignored.
• To change these material conditions would require reforms in our global system of trade and agricultural production.

5. Tell us a bit about Race/Ethnicity: its focus, contributors, audience, mission.

• FOCUS: fresh, innovative, accessible thinking on the challenges and opportunities presented by race and ethnicity in our increasingly interconnected world the 21st century
• MISSION: to inform and educate and therefore to move us toward a better understanding of the dynamics of racial and ethnic hierarchies and to help us fashion the tools needed to dismantle them.
• CONTRIBUTORS: researchers from inside and outside the academy, as well as advocates, activists, and practitioners of all kinds
• AUDIENCE: all those concerned about or engaged in these issues, those wanting to understand more/better

6. Why did you choose to work with Indiana University Press on the journal?

• IUP has substantial journal publishing experience and networks, including in re race in particular. We needed to work with proven professionals in what for us was a vital endeavor
• Given the unique features of our journal – the range of formats, the “classic” piece, the inclusiveness in re contributors – flexibility and partnership from a publisher was key.
• They really appreciated the value of what we had to offer, in part because of their familiarity with the field
•  Folks at one other press we considered actually recommended IUP over their press!

7. What value has the Press’s imprint brought to the Journal?

• Of course, we’d like to think we produce an excellent journal, but the fact is that the market for journals is very tough and a lot of excellent content gets no attention. We’re off to a good start and have no doubt that IUP’s expertise and reputation have a lot to do with it.
• IUP is home not simply home to many journals, but to many superb journals and is widely known for its especially strong record in publications related to race. The IUP imprint is well-known and highly respected.
• IUP also provides a comprehensive distribution and marketing program designed to increase readership, circulation, and awareness of the journal.

- In less than three years since the Journal’s launch, circulation has grown to 1753 subscribers, And 95% of those subscribers are large institutions such as libraries.

- The journal also was quickly picked up by two popular electronic journals services. (Project MUSE and EbscoHost Electronic Journals Service.) Both are considered premier research sources for scholars at all levels.

• We appreciate all the resources and capabilities Indiana University Press has brought to the table for our journal.

*john a. powell: john a. powell is an internationally recognized authority in the areas of civil rights, civil liberties, and issues relating to race, ethnicity, poverty and the law. He is the Executive Director of the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at The Ohio State University, and holds the Williams Chair in Civil Rights & Civil Liberties at the Moritz College of Law and is the editor of the journal Race/Ethnicity.

In January of 2012 Executive Director john powell moves on to head the new Haas Diversity Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley. The Kirwin Institute will continue its mission with Andrew Grant-Thomas, Deputy Director of the Kirwan Institute and its capable staff while they actively work to identify a new executive director.

Call for Papers: Racism, Colonialism, and Law

Race/Ethnicity: Multidisciplinary Global Contexts

Volume 6, Number 1 (Spring 2013)  Racism, Colonialism, and Law

Papers must be received by April 1, 2012 to be considered for publication in this issue.

Please send manuscript submissions to the editor: shortlidge.2@osu.edu.

See Style Guidelines (www.raceethnicity.org/styleguide.html) to prepare your document in accordance with the style guidelines of Race/Ethnicity.

Submission of artwork for the cover that relates to the theme of the issue is welcome. See website at http://www.raceethnicity.org/coverart.html for submission guidelines.

Contributions are requested for the Kirwan Institute/Office of Diversity and Inclusion journal, Race and Ethnicity. The objective of the journal is to bridge the divide between voices from the academy and practice. The journal therefore contains work that adheres to the experience and traditions of academia, as well as those which illustrate the priorities and experiences of activists. We welcome all contributions which fit into either one of these categories, as well as work that bridges them.

Guest Editor Iyiola Solanke, Associate Professor at Leeds University Law School in England, and the editorial staff of Race/Ethnicity invite submissions for the first issue of its sixth volume, entitled “Racism, Colonialism and Law.”

The focus of this issue revolves around the ideas of racism, colonialism and law, considered together. We ask contributors to consider how ideas and practices associated with racism, colonialism and the law either help to reveal or unhelpfully obscure the social experience of marginalized groups. We also welcome reflections on the importance of critical social and legal interventions as responses to those everyday needs and realities that fall through the cracks.

We welcome contributions that engage questions such as the following:

1. What are the obstacles and opportunities for critical reflections on racism, colonialism, and law? Have blind spots emerged historically which are re-produced by concepts and categories used in debate and discussion? How does this affect the ability to identify contemporary occurrences of racial subordination and develop adequate political and legal responses?

2. What is gained or lost through the development of “universal” international legal frameworks and their application to peoples and groups with very particular histories and lives affected by racism, colonialism and law?

3. How does the legacy of colonialism and racism appear  in current rules, laws and practices  in everyday domains such as health, education, immigrant and refugee rights, employment, or other arenas? What major changes in legal doctrine and practice would authors welcome and why?

4. As an activist and practitioner working at the intersection of these issues, what have you been your experiences advocating for/initiating change (legal, community, etc.) at the intersections of issues of race, colonialism and law as defined in your locale?

Of course, this list is not meant to be exhaustive.  We welcome contributions that use these ideas as a point of departure as well as those which offer new insights not addressed here.

Call for Papers: Race, Ethnicity, and Appalachia

Race/Ethnicity: Multidisciplinary Global Contexts

Volume 6, Number 1 (Autumn 2012) Race, Ethnicity, and Appalachia

Papers must be received by January 15, 2012 to be considered for publication in this issue.

Please send manuscript submissions to the editor: shortlidge.2@osu.edu

See Style Guidelines (www.raceethnicity.org/styleguide.html) to prepare your document in accordance with the style guidelines of Race/Ethnicity.

Submission of artwork for the cover that relates to the theme of the issue is welcome. See website at http://www.raceethnicity.org/coverart.html for submission guidelines.

Though referring to a specific geographic space, the word “Appalachia” often conjures a set of stereotypes stemming from the notion that Appalachia is an isolated and homogenous region when in fact international migrations and markets have been true presences for more than 100 years.

We invite proposals from scholars, activists/practitioners, and creative non-fiction/fiction writers who consider a host of issues evoked by “Appalachia.”

 We invite papers that consider the following questions.

• What are the political and ideological implications of the gap between the demographic realities of Appalachia and outsiders’ perceptions of those same demographics? Do these perceptions have an impact on policymaking decisions that affect the region, including resource allocation?

• If misinformation and misperceptions about Appalachia have real consequences in terms of policy and resource allocation, in what ways are activists/practitioners working to counter these consequences?  In other words, what does it mean to do activist/practitioner work “on the ground” in Appalachia? 

• As the touchstone of many of the “white poverty” stories we tell ourselves, it’s important to consider the particular metaphorical space Appalachia occupies within these stories. If the realities that potentially call these narratives into question were more widely known and appreciated, then what? What lessons about race, culture, and class should we be drawing from the stories we tell ourselves about the Appalachian experience?

• The plight of Appalachia's natural resources defines Appalachian studies and politics. That is, national and international companies routinely create a boom and bust cycle in the region to the extreme detriment of the land, culture and political influence of the area.  How do these cycles influence cultural and political realities? What kinds of interventions by activists and practitioners do the misuses of natural resources demand?  In what ways does the notion of Appalachia as a region of great natural beauty often repress dialogues about the misuse of Appalachia’s natural resources?

• How are concerns of race/ethnicity implicated in geographical circumstances?