Includes bibliographical references and index.

Machine generated contents note: ch. 1 Introduction Arab Cultural Studies: Between 'Reterritorialisation' and 'Deterritorialisation' / Tarik Sabry -- ch. 2 History in Arab Media Studies: A Speculative Cultural History / Walter Armbrust -- ch. 3 Arab Media Studies Between the Legacy of a Thin Discipline and the Promise of New Cultural Pathways / Mohamed Zayani -- ch. 4 Cultural Studies in Arab World Academic Communication Programmes: The Battle for Survival / Muhammad Ayish -- ch. 5 In Search of the Great Absence: Cultural Studies in Arab Universities / Riadh Ferjani -- ch. 6 Rethinking the Arab State and Culture: Preliminary Thoughts / Dina Matar -- ch. 7 The Necessary Politics of Palestinian Cultural Studies / Helga Tawil-Souri -- ch. 8 Rethinking Gender Studies: Towards an Arab Feminist Epistemology / Layal Ftouni -- ch. 9 Disarticulating Arab Popular Culture: The Case of Egyptian Comedies / Iman Hamam.

Contents note continued: ch. 10 Placing Political Economy in Relation to Cultural Studies: Reflections on the Case of Cinema in Saudi Arabia / Naomi Sakr -- ch. 11 The Saudi Modernity Wars According to Abdullah Al-Ghathami: A Template for the Study of Arab Culture and Media / Marwan M. Kraidy -- ch. 12 Cultural Criticism: Theory and Method / Abdullah Al-Ghathami -- ch. 13 Language as Culture: The Question of Arabic / Atef Alshaer -- ch. 14 Internationalising a Media Studies Degree in Arab Higher Education: A Case Study Arising from an Agreement Between New Zealand and Oman / Rosser Johnson.

Arab Cultural Studies is a fast emerging field of research and study in Middle East and Western universities. In this book, prominent scholars, writing from both Arab and Western academia, discuss for the first time the ways in which this nascent area can be conceptualised and theorised. They provide a meta¿]narrative about how scholars have thus far thought and unthought the field, engaging with key complex, epistemic and methodological questions. At the same time they are articulating the new kinds of language and hermeneutics necessary in order to appropriate an historically conscious and coherent field of scientific enquiry into contemporary Arab media, culture and society. The book throughout reflects on and engages in an interdisciplinary discussion on the different facets of Arab cultural studies, including gender, economy, epistemology, language, method, politics, literary and cultural criticism, institutionalization, popular culture, creativity, and much more.