[Bilimsel Haber] International Conference: "Veiled Orient ? Unveiled Occident? Stagings in Politics, Law, Art, and Culture since the 19th Century ", University of Zurich, 3 - 5 June 2010

[onurinal at onurinal.com]

International Conference: "Veiled Orient ? Unveiled Occident? Stagings  
in Politics, Law, Art, and Culture since the 19th Century ",  
University of Zurich, 3 - 5 June 2010

When talking about Islam and in particular about Islamism and ?Islamic  
fundamentalism?, Western societies tend to focus on the imagery of the  
veiled woman. ?The veiled woman? seems to symbolise in a nutshell the  
threat to Western values presented by oppression and terror. Even  
though today, not only scientific publications, but also the press,  
broadcasting and television try to approach the issue in more  
differentiated ways, such clichés prove persistent in the debate  
regarding the ? by Western standard ? alien religion and culture. In  
apprehensive arguments, Islam and Islamism are being conflated into  
one and the same phenomenon, both seem to embody a threat to  
democratic values, or are read to stand for terrorism. Negative  
stereotypes of these kinds have been criticised from different angles,  
and rightly so: it is inappropriate to equate Islam with Islamism.  
When generalising Islam so crudely, distinctions between individual  
Islamic countries are being erased. Moreover, Western countries buying  
into the mantra of the threat of terror posed by ?Islamic  
fundamentalism?, might serve the purpose of limiting civil rights and  
as sidetracking from a society?s own crises and problems.

Criticism of such Islamic enemy stereotyping, as often encountered in  
Western countries, presents a pressing but complicated issue for  
feminist studies and politics alike. It is important to stress the  
discrimination of women in Islamic oriented cultures, and to identify  
the violations of human rights which often run along gender specific  
circumstances and confines. However, Western media frequently resorts  
to undifferentiated lines of argument when reporting on ?the role of  
the woman? in the Middle East. It might be tempting to oppose the  
clichéd imagery of the veiled woman illustrating the oppression in  
Muslim countries with the ?freedom oriented Western society?; yet,  
such images are not suitable to call attention to injustices. On the  
contrary, these images rather serve to stabilise these injustices, as  
demonstrated lately by academics of different disciplines. Also, the  
enemy stereotyping of ?the misogyny of Islam? often works as a cover  
for antifeminism, political conflicts and social injustices in our own  
society.

The conference wishes to approach the topic of ?The Veil? from a  
historic as well as a current socio-political perspective. The  
practices and representations of veiling and unveiling in Muslim as  
well as Western societies since the 19th century shall be analysed,  
thereby identifying the cultural and gender specific codes employed.  
One important aspect will be the relationship between modernism and  
colonialism. Contributions are welcome on topics like the Western view  
of the ?mysterious harem woman? in art, film and literature,  
representations of veiling/unveiling of truth in religion, philosophy  
and ideology, as well as their historic and political semantics.

Furthermore, religious forms of veiling/unveiling in different  
societies and cultures and their respective embedding in social and  
political situations shall be looked into. Concepts like religious  
freedom, transnational feminism, civil rights and human rights can be  
discussed. Forms of veiling/unveiling in Western culture could be a  
topic as well: for example the elegant city lady or the diva in art,  
fashion, culture and film. Deconstructions of Western clichés of the  
veiled woman in Islam, as presented in the works on violence and  
migration of contemporary artists, will be looked into as well. Last  
but not least, one can analyse how the image of the veiled Muslim  
woman is used in Western media. The conference will explore the  
question of how veiling and unveiling in Europe and the nations of the  
Islamic world is being politically and juridically regulated.

Paper proposals should include title of the paper, name, affiliation,  
short CV, email and a 500 word abstract. Proposals must be submitted  
by November 30, 2009 to: elke.frietsch at access.uzh.ch. Publication of  
selected papers is envisaged

Organiser: Gender Studies, Universität Zürich,  
http://www.masternebenfachgenderstudies.uzh.ch

Conference conveners: Prof. Dr. Bettina Dennerlein, Dr. Elke Frietsch,  
Prof. Dr. Therese Steffen

Contact: Dr. Elke Frietsch, elke.frietsch at access.uzh.ch, Tel: ++41(0)446344835