Blog

Further reading on race, gender, and belly dance.

Several people have been asking me about further reading materials in response to Randa Jarrar’s article on white belly dancers.  You can find some of these through Google Scholar (scholar.google.com).  Others you will have to find at your library or through Inter-Library Loan.  This is by no means a complete list, and it is belly dance- and Middle East-specific.  For reading about broader race and privilege issues, I’m afraid I am of little help.

That said, here are a few to get you started:

Ahmed, Leila. “Western Ethnocentrism and the Perception of the Harem.” Feminist Studies 8:3 (1982): 521-534.

Bullock, Katherine. “Challenging Media Representations of the Veil: Contemporary Muslim Women’s Re-Veiling Movement.” American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 17:3 (2000): 22-53.

Dox, Donnalee. “Dancing around Orientalism.” TDR/The Drama Review 50:4 (2006): 52-71.

Fromkin, David. A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1989.

Jarmakani, Amira. “Belly Dancing for Liberation.” In Arabs in the Americas: Interdisciplinary Essays on the Arab Diaspora, ed. Darcy Zabel, 145-168.  New York: Peter Land Press, 2006.

——— Imagining Arab Womanhood: The Cultural Mythology of Veils, Harems, and Belly Dancers in the US. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.

Karayanni, Stavros Stavrou. Dancing Fear & Desire: Race, Sexuality, & Imperial Politics in Middle Eastern Dance. Ontario: Wilfred Laurier University Press, 2004.

Maira, Sunaina.  “Belly Dancing: Arab-Face, Orientalist Feminism, and U.S. Empire.” American Quarterly 60:2 (2008) 317-345.

Said, Edward W. Orientalism. New York: Vintage Books, 1979.

Shaheen, Jack. Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People. Northampton, MA: Interlink Publishing Group, 2001.

Shay, Anthony and Barbara Sellers-Young. “Belly Dance: Orientalism: Exoticism: Self-Exoticism.” Dance Research Journal 35:1 (2003): 13-37.

Stone, Rebecca. “Reverse Imagery: Middle Eastern Themes in Hollywood.” In Images of Enchantment: Visual and Performing Arts of the Middle East. Edited by Sherifa Zuhur, 247-263. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 1998.

Van Nieuwkerk, Karin. A Trade Like Any Other: Female Singers and Dancers in Egypt. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1995.

Wilkinson, Linda (Latifa). “The Harem: Contrasting Orientalist and Feminist Views.” Habibi 19:1 (2002). Accessed December 26, 2013. http://thebestofhabibi.com/vol-19-no-1-feb-2002/the-harem/

Source: Bellydance Paladin

391A3360-de_Small

Hi! I'm Abby!

Welcome to my blog!

Here you’ll find my thoughts on everything from history and culture, to fusion and hybridity, to performance and training tips. I’m passionate about excellence, curiosity, and education in dance… in the studio and beyond.

In addition to holding Level 5 (Teaching Certification) in the Salimpour Formats, I also have an MA in Dance Studies at Mills College.

While belly dance and its related forms are my first love, I also teach American Modern Dance History at Mills College.

As director of the Salimpour School Berkeley, I hold weekly community belly dance classes in Berkeley, California.

Search

Join My Newsletter