DISP: Rethinking Development's ArchivesMain MenuDeconstructing DevelopmentIntroductionThis collection of works explores the idea and practice of "development", seeking to challenge what has been taught in the Western canon by bringing forth scholarship from the Middle East, mainly written by womenI. Gender"The ungendered body does not exist"II. Modernization"Thinking otherwise" on modernity and progressIII. SovereigntyPracticing culture, community, and self without dominationIV. DignityHolding onto inherent self-worthReview of Imagine Otherwise Podcast "Lila Sharif on the Settler Colonial Politics of Food"AfterwordMusings about the research process and situating this work in a broader agenda to "decolonize the curriculum"Jamila Beesley0366585770914f790635d09a826cc76f2c1be630
I Am My Own Guardian: Reflections on Resistance Art.
1media/i am my own guardian.jpg2020-05-09T21:10:17-07:00Jamila Beesley0366585770914f790635d09a826cc76f2c1be630373994by Safaa Hassaneinimage_header2020-05-10T11:55:16-07:00Jamila Beesley0366585770914f790635d09a826cc76f2c1be630In this reflection, Hassanein describes her resistance artwork titled I Am My Own Guardian, which was intended to critique the discriminatory policies of male guardianship over women in Saudi Arabia. Her work subverts traditional gender roles by placing a Saudi male headdress on a women with the words “ أنا ولية أمري ” meaning “I am my own guardian” across the mouth. This artwork went viral in 2016, inspiring Saudi women and allies to use this image on Twitter to advocate for women’s rights in Saudi Arabia. However, this movement was also met with backlash and criticism from men and women alike, leading to heated online discussions of gender roles and the implications of this artwork. This artwork and reflection reveal how art and social media can play active, dominant roles in resistance and changing cultural norms in contemporary society. However, it seems important to consider the positionality of Hassanein as an artist and scholar based in Sydney, Australia. Her distance from being situated in Saudi Arabia, and rather placed in a country in the West is likely very related to her ability to create and disseminate this form of resistant artwork intended to disrupt and potentially offend.[1]
Hassanein, Saffaa. “I Am My Own Guardian: Reflections on Resistance Art.” Journal of Middle East Women's Studies 14, no. 2 (2018): 236-241.https://www.muse.jhu.edu/article/701190.
1media/Manal Deeb.jpg2020-05-09T20:16:50-07:00Jamila Beesley0366585770914f790635d09a826cc76f2c1be630I. GenderJamila Beesley21"The ungendered body does not exist"visual_path9951632020-05-10T13:25:48-07:00Jamila Beesley0366585770914f790635d09a826cc76f2c1be630