Middle East Studies Association Conference Presentation: “Subverting Narratives of Occupation in Science Fiction: Larissa Sansour’s Nation Estate and In the Future They Ate From the Finest Porcelain”

Middle East Studies Association Conference Presentation: “Subverting Narratives of Occupation in Science Fiction: Larissa Sansour’s Nation Estate and In the Future They Ate From the Finest Porcelain”

Grant:
Lecturers' Professional Development Fund (LPDF)
Academic Year:
2019 - 2020 (June 1, 2019 through May 31, 2020)
Funding Requested:
$2,000.00
Project Dates:
-
Applicant(s):
scrasnow
Overview of the Project:
I am applying for funding to attend the Middle East Studies Association annual conference in New Orleans, LA November 14-17, 2019. I will be presenting my paper “Subverting Narratives of Occupation in Science Fiction: Larissa Sansour’s Nation Estate and In the Future They Ate From the Finest Porcelain” at this conference alongside scholars of art and design history of the Middle East and North Africa, a relatively young field of which I am a part. A number of my courses directly relate to the paper topic: Palestinian Art, Art & Conflict of the Modern Middle East, and Art & Resistance: Global Responses to Oppression (all of which carry the course number RCHUMS 334 and which are frequently listed as meets-with courses in Arab American Studies, Islamic Studies, and Art History). Attending this conference will aid in my professional development in two crucial ways. First, after the conference the paper will be expanded for publication in a special issue journal about science fiction in modern and contemporary Middle Eastern and North African art based on the panelists’ papers. Secondly, the discussions generated at the conference are ones that I will bring into the classroom with my students in the courses mentioned above (two of which I will be teaching this academic year). Ultimately, I also plan to teach a course on science fiction across the arts in, attending this conference, both my panel and those that address the genre of science fiction across other media, will be instrumental.
Final Report Fields
Project Objectives:

The objective of the project was to attend the 2019 Middle East Studies Association (MESA) Conference in New Orleans and present my paper "Subverting Narratives of Occupation in Science Fiction: Larissa Sansour's Nation Estate and In the Future They Ate From the Finest Porcelain." Other objectives included attending other panels on contemporary art and culture from the MENA region, and going to the Book Bazaar to locate books useful for future teaching and research.

Project Achievements:

Both my presentation and attending the other panels at the conference will enhance my teaching. The two works by Larissa Sansour that I presented on are videos that I teach in my Palestinian Art class each Winter term. The feedback I got on the paper I presented will be brought into the classroom discussions I have about Sansour's work. Additionally, the other panels introduced me to works that will be included in a number of my future classes. The books I was able to pick up at the Book Bazaar will inform future class discussions and syllabi, in terms of artists discussed and concepts introduced, as well as being the source for future readings.

Continuation:
Yes. This paper will be revised and expanded as an article to be included in an edited journal volume of ARTMargins on Science Fiction in Modern and Contemporary Art from the Middle East.
Dissemination:
I send the information regarding my presentation to Robby Griswold, the Residential College's Communications and Outreach Coordinator, and he disseminated this information to colleagues and students via the Residential College's social media accounts. This presentation will also be included in my end of the year report to the RC about what my teaching and scholarly activities over the course of the academic year have been.
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