Call for Paper: Teaching Contemporary Literature from the Middle East

My name is Masubah Nadeem and I have studied Iranian cinema through gender and politics in my past years at City College. I am very knowledgeable in this subject area and am willing to educate others on it as well. I am currently studying film more in depth and how it can be used to help spread the issues in society people might not be aware of. Iran is located in the Middle East and has faced many changes and issues in society. For a lot of kids, history might seem boring and sitting in a lecture about it isn’t that enjoyable. Classes like the one I took require intense reading and notes along with analyzing what you are reading. But we were also given another source for learning which was Iranian films. Iranian film directors have created beautiful films regarding issues in society such as gender inequality, poverty, and lack of government involvement in the country. I believe watching films along with the reading can help kids have a better understanding of what they need to know. They might not absorb all of the information from a book but maybe by hearing the word “movie” can lure their focus. By seeing images on the screen of the country they are learning about and seeing this is the life of the people living there can help them have a better understanding of the material. They are able to have the picture right in front of them instead of having to imagine it through just reading. I can take part in this because I will be producing films and videos in the future. I will soon be going to Iran to create a documentary on how different women of different classes and statuses live in their country. I want to compare and contrast their lives and if their status really has an effect on how they are treated. I would like to further present my information about films and details about my trip at the conference. I believe using films, videos, and documentaries is valuable for a student’s lifestyle of learning especially when it comes to an intense class of a country’s history where you are constantly thinking and analyzing information.

Conference Paper: Teaching Contemporary Literature from the Middle East

        Studying about the Middle East or any country can be tough. Reading about these countries and their history can often get confusing. I was once there myself too and learning about Iran required intense reading along with thinking and analyzing. Watching films is a creative and informative way to grasp the information students are missing out on. Studying Iran specifically can be hard as I was once studying it too. I am still studying it to this day. This country faced many issues in society such as unfair treatment in women’s workplace, unfair treatment of women in different classes, lack of government involvement with poverty, and much more. What helped me understand its history a bit better was by having visuals in front of me. We were able to have the picture right in front of us instead of having to imagine it through just reading. For most kids, it is easier to understand the material like this rather than having intense readings. However, along with films, other small activities will be included so students absorb the information really well.

          Activities that I will assign along with watching films might include giving them worksheets with important questions relating to the film. While the kids are watching the film, they will answer the questions which target a specific scene or person in it. After each film, discussions will take place so everyone can get to share out how they felt about the film or anything important they noticed. This is so everyone is on the same page and get to hear something they missed out on. It will be like a quick refresher to make sure everyone understands. Additionally, some of their homework assignments might require them to watch a film for the week and take notes on it. I strongly suggest notes in order for the student to remember key points and use this as a reference for their papers or any sort of writing. 

         Some films I watched during my time in college helped me better understand the issues taking place in Iran’s society. The film, The Blue Veil by Rakshan Bani-Etemed for example really gives insight on how badly the lower class struggles to live. Her purpose is to have females as main characters to show their struggle in society. She makes these films to portray the struggles of lower class people in society. This movie is an example where she portrays this young woman living a hard life juggling between work and her family that isn’t stable. It shows a typical life of people in the lower class might be living or even worse than this. Rakshan Bani-Etemed created this beautiful piece of work to show a struggling life of people in the lower class. They have a lot of responsibilities not only at work but at home which can be very interfering. This is a side of society the government will not pay much attention to. This is why there are filmmakers like this to educate others on issues they might not know about. This film maker accurately shows the lives of these people and there is a chance, others may have it worse.

         Foruq Farrokhzad is another female director and poet who brought awareness of women being mistreated in society or their own household. She wrote several poems and directed many films. One of them was a short documentary called The House is Black. Foruq Farrokhzad sheds light on the lack of government involvement with people struggling in society. In this documentary specifically she films various people in the leopard colony who have leprosy. Leprosy is an infection caused by bacteria but can be very severe leaving people with no eyes, ears, arms, hands, and legs. It seems as if society has just pushed these people to the side because of the way they look. This colony has been isolated for some time now but nobody is doing anything to help. Not a lot of people knew this colony even existed until this documentary came out. The government hasn’t been contributing anything to help. This is why films help educate people especially is it’s as real as this documentary.

        Another film, Bashu, The Little Stranger, showed how blackness exists amongst Iranian society. A young boy named Bashu struggled to assimilate in Iranian society due to his dark skin and features. He is constantly asked why he is dark and is made fun of by other boys. All because he is not light skinned like the others, it’s an issue. It shows how there is still some sort of racism in Iran and looking a certain way in society exists. Filmmakers like these don’t just make a story up. They either experienced this themselves or witnessed and learned about certain issues and thought there should be more awareness about this. This then helps educate people like us who did not know a thing before.

        These three films and films overall are meant to capture your imagination. All the scenes are kept in your head and you get to see how these characters look and act instead of thinking about it through a book. When I watched films in college, it was an extra help in my understanding of the content. When I wrote papers or any film reviews, it was very simple for me to write about the films using specific details I remembered. It is also a great way to use films as pieces of evidence in your writing by talking about certain scenes or quoting characters. Films are just fun to watch and create thoughtful discussions for students. Overall, technology should be used in a way to benefit a student. As teachers, we should take advantage of the technology we have now. Showing videos or documentaries is a way we must use to teach our students. Sometimes there is information only in videos that can’t be found through just reading. It’s our job to make sure we are giving what our students need that will benefit them in the long run. I am aware, history can sometimes be one of those subjects someone might not want to hear or say if it’s even necessary. But if we use the right resources, everyone will be engaged to this.