The Making of pragmatist feminism in Arab American women cultural productions - Roaa Ali
| Dates: | 19 June 2025 |
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| Times: | 13:00 - 14:30 |
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| What is it: | Seminar |
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| Organiser: | Centre on Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE) |
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| Who is it for: | University staff, External researchers, Current University students |
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In this CoDE lunchtime seminar, Roaa Ali from the University of Manchester shares her research.
This talk explores the emergence of pragmatist feminism within the cultural productions of Arab American women playwrights, particularly in the context of post-9/11 theatre. In this talk, Ali investigates the complex interplay of feminism, activism, and pragmatism in the works of Arab American women playwrights. Ali argues that the increased demand for Arab American theatre voices after 9/11 stemmed from two main factors: the exploitation of narratives around terrorism and oppression for market gain, and the progressive liberal response to racial backlash against Arab Americans. However, this supposed support was complicated by neoliberal and neo-Orientalist influences within cultural production. In this context, Arab women, often wrongly assumed to be Muslim, find themselves in a position where their voices are shaped by white-led “empowerment” initiatives, limiting their agency.
This talk argues that these women artists skilfully engage with the politics of representation, using their art to contest the reductionist portrayals of Arab women as passive victims, while negotiating the racial and gendered dynamics of the American cultural industry. Through a lens of pragmatist feminism, the talk highlights how Arab American women playwrights assert their voices and reshape narratives of gender, culture, and identity, while simultaneously engaging with the limitations imposed by their social and political contexts.
More details to follow.
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