Islamism in Arab Fiction and Film

Islamism in Arab Fiction and Film, 1947 to the Present was funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) UK under the auspices of the Religion & Society programme. Taking account of the term's shifting, often controversial meanings, the project mapped and is now critically assessing ways in which 'Islamism' is imaginatively reflected, transmitted, critiqued and contested. It examines fiction and film in Arabic, French, and English produced by artists closely affiliated to the Arab world, from 1947 to the present.

The funded part of the project - defined by archiving and preliminary analysis - ran from February 2010 to February 2011. In that period, the project team produced an open-access electronic catalogue of fiction and film addressing Islamism in terms of theme, context, organising consciousness, and/or aspect of characterization or plotting (please see 'Database' link on the left). We also ran two public film screenings at Dukes Cinema, Lancaster, and an international symposium at the Storey Creative Industries Centre (see 'Conference' link on the left).

The project will result in a major publication, or series of publications. See our 'News' link for further information as this becomes available.