Urban Cultures in the Gulf from a Historical Media Perspective

Ed. by Bettina Gräf and Laura Hindelang

 

Islamic studies scholar Bettina Gräf and art historian and Manazir member Laura Hindelang have collaborated on editing the special issue “Urban Cultures in the Gulf from a Historical Media Perspective” in the Middle East Journal of Culture and Communication. The goal of their approach is to use a media-historical approach to examine the Gulf cities’ presumed lack of history. The contributions of the special issue engage with the past and present of the Gulf region’s urban cultures viewed through the lens of one selected medium, e.g. the film Roll’em, architectural writing in Saudi Arabia, youtubers in Dubai, and the illustrated magazine Al-Arabi. They reflect the history of each medium and its defining characteristics in relation to the history of the Gulf cities to understand the trajectories of the region beyond very recent developments.