Subject Librarian
Dartmouth College
25 N Main ST
Hanover, NH 03755
Course description
How may films serve as a starting point for revisiting the past and rethinking the present? In what ways may representations of the Middle East differ over time and across places? And why do the stories told by filmmakers in documentaries, historical dramas, and other cinematic productions matter? Movies depicting the Middle East routinely draw mass audiences and consequently shape popular perceptions of the region the world over. The very same films, however, are all too often understood by many people as mere entertainment. In this class, we will consider what movies, if treated critically, may teach us about Middle East history. Beginning with a brief introduction to film and media studies, we will contemplate where the Middle East fits into this field of inquiry. Once establishing how we will approach movies and the Middle East throughout the term, we will navigate a number of key themes together, from war, memory, and migration to (mis)information, revolution, and representation. Along the way, we will watch everything from indie films to big budget blockbusters. Regardless of the exact form these projects assume, all of the pictures we explore will generate debate and discussion around the past and present. Among the topics we will cover are the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, European colonialism, and America’s legacy in the Arab world. To assist us on this journey across the Middle East and well beyond its boundaries, we will engage several primary sources, with motion pictures at the forefront. These thought-provoking items will empower us to partake in conversations that traverse languages, national borders, historical eras, and artistic genres, enabling us to view the Middle East in an entirely new way.
[Source: ORC/Catalog, 08/28/2023]; Dist:ART; WCult:NW
In the Library's collections
You can use one of these subject headings to start your research in the library's online catalog:
- motion pictures middle eastCall number range PN 1993.5 .M638 on Baker Level 4.
Introductory reading(s)
Arabs in the mirror: images and self-images from pre-Islamic to modern times by ISBN: 9780292794481This book is unique in that it lets its subjects speak for themselves, allowing readers to share some of the most intimate thoughts of the Arabs. . . . The work humanizes a people who have frequently been dismissed by many in the West as without culture and the capacity for reflection. This, in my view, is what makes the book a very significant contribution to the field. . . . It should broadly appeal to the general reader in the United States, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Relationships with the Arab world are central to all of these regions.
Arab voices: what they are saying to us, and why it matters by Call Number: Baker-Berry DS 36.7 .Z64 2010ISBN: 9780230102996The Arab World is a region that has been vastly misunderstood in the West. Arab Voices asks the questions, collects the answers, and shares the results that will help us see Arabs clearly. The book will bring into stark relief the myths, assumptions, and biases that hold us back from understanding this important people. ...
Historical dictionary of Middle Eastern cinema by Call Number: Baker-Berry PN 1993.5 .M53 G56 2010ISBN: 9780810860902The Historical Dictionary of Middle Eastern Cinema covers the production and exhibition of cinema in the Middle East and in communities whose heritage is from the region and whose films commonly reflect this background. It covers the cinemas of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. In addition, it includes the non-Arab states of Turkey and Iran, as well as the Jewish state of Israel. ...
Selected book title(s)
Familiar and foreign: identity in Iranian film and literature by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781927356869The current political climate of confrontation between Islamist regimes and Western governments has resulted in the proliferation of essentialist perceptions of Iran and Iranians in the West. Such perceptions do not reflect the complex evolution of Iranian identity that occurred in the years following the Constitutional Revolution (1906-11) and the anti-imperialist Islamic Revolution of 1979. Despite the Iranian government's determined pursuance of anti-Western policies and strict conformity to religious principles, the film and literature of Iran reflect the clash between a nostalgic pride in Persian tradition and an apparent infatuation with a more Eurocentric modernity. In Familiar and Foreign, Mannani and Thompson set out to explore the tensions surrounding the ongoing formulation of Iranian identity by bringing together essays on poetry, novels, memoir,and films. ...
New voices in Arab cinema by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9780253015280New Voices in Arab Cinema focuses on contemporary filmmaking since the 1980s, but also considers the longer history of Arab cinema. Taking into consideration film from the Middle East and North Africa and giving a special nod to films produced since the Arab Spring and the Syrian crisis, Roy Armes explores themes such as modes of production, national cinemas, the role of the state and private industry on film, international developments in film, key filmmakers, and the validity of current notions like globalization, migration and immigration, and exile. ...
Surviving images: cinema, war, and cultural memory in the Middle East by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9780199390168Surviving Images explores the prominent role of cinema in the development of cultural memory around war and conflict in colonial and postcolonial contexts. It does so through a study of three historical eras: the colonial period, the national-independence struggle, and the postcolonial. Beginning with a study of British colonial cinema on the Sudan, then exploring anti-colonial cinema in Algeria, Egypt and Tunisia, followed by case studies of films emerging from postcolonial contexts in Palestine, Iran, Lebanon, and Israel, this work aims to fill a gap in the critical literature on both Middle Eastern cinemas, and to contribute more broadly to scholarship on social trauma and cultural memory in colonial and postcolonial contexts. ...
Other library resource(s)
Transnational and diasporic cinema from Oxford Bibliographies Online by Call Number: Electronic resourceISBN: 9780199791286Although from the earliest years film production, marketing, and reception involved extensive national border crossing, the rubric “transnational cinema” has emerged only comparatively recently. Taken up from other disciplines such as anthropology and migration and postcolonial studies, the concept of “transnational” in this still-emerging area of cinema studies remains highly varied, pointing to sometimes contested working definitions and analytic approaches.
Finding scholarly articles & journal title(s)
You can find scholarly literature for Arab cinema in a variety of journals. However, if you want to do targeted searching, you can use a subject specific database such as Film & Television Literature Index. You can also use the search box at the top of the page.
- Entertainment industry magazine archiveCall Number: Electronic resourceAn archival resource containing the essential primary sources for studying the history of the film and entertainment industries, from the era of vaudeville and silent movies through to 2000. The core US and UK trade magazines covering film, music, broadcasting and theater are included, together with film fan magazines and music press titles.
Film & television literature indexCall Number: Electronic resourceThis index covers over 300 journal and magazine titles for film and television reviews, scholarly and critical analysis of cinema and television, and articles of popular interest about film and television. About half the journals and magazines are film periodicals and the other half cover film and television with some regularity. Subject coverage includes film & television theory, preservation & restoration, writing, production, cinematography, technical aspects, and reviews.
Web of science citation databases by Call Number: Electronic resourceThe online version of 3 separate ISI indexes: Arts & Humanities Citation Index, Science Citation Index and, Social Sciences Citation Index.
Internet resource(s)
- The Middle East in the Film Studies: National Cinemas guideIf want to see more resources on motion pictures of the Middle East, take a look at this page.
Citing and Tracking Your Bibliographic References
Use this guide to help you learn how to correctly cite and keep track of the references you find for your research.
Keeping up with Film Studies journal literature
Want an easy way to keep up with the journal literature for all facets of Film Studies? And you use a mobile device? You can install the BrowZine app and create a custom Bookshelf of your favorite journal titles. Then you will get the Table of Contents (ToCs) of your favorite journals automatically delivered to you when they become available. Once you have the ToC's, you can download and read the articles you want from the journals for which we have subscriptions.
You can get the app from the App Store or Google Play.
Don't own or use a mobile device? You can still use BrowZine! It's also available in a web version. You can get to it here. The web version works the same way as the app version. Find the journals you like, create a custom Bookshelf, get ToCs and read the articles you want.