Houssem Ben Lazreg

Bio: Houssem Ben Lazreg is an academic researcher from University of Alberta. The author has contributed to research in topics: Middle East & Diaspora. The author has an hindex of 3, co-authored 6 publications receiving 30 citations.

Marjane Satrapi and the Graphic Novels from and about the Middle East

Abstract: IntroductionMarjane Satrapi is one of the best-known graphic novelists in the world today. She rose to fame after publishing Persepolis, a graphic novel in which she describes the history and context of a life lived in part in the turbulent political context of the contemporary Middle East. This book was published between 2000 and 2003 in France, then quickly translated into English and published in two volumes by Pantheon Books in 2003 and 2004. It was also translated into many languages including Arabic (2001), Hebrew (2005), Turkish (2009), and Farsi (2011),1 the four main languages of the Middle East.The success of Persepolis within the rising movement of the graphic narratives on a world scale,2 the importance of the Middle East during the global "War on Terror" (after 9/11), and subsequent "Arab Spring" (after 2011) have produced many comparable titles of varying quality and emphasis. As a result, it is now common to read graphic novels set in or about the region. Some follow Satrapi's autobiographical voice, while others deploy a reportage approach (as developed by Joe Sacco), take up a more historical fiction or even fantasy-like fiction genre. In each case, powerful visual and literary representations are emerging, which provides some of the best-known "accounts" and "representations" of the region.The limits of the Middle East were and still are defined according to one's perspective. In this article, out of about 15 countries and six languages (Arabic, Turkish, Farsi, Hebrew, English, and French), we limited our corpus to five main countries (alphabetically: Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, Palestine, Turkey) during the last 15 years. We will also add the Maghreb since the connection with the Middle East through colonialism, languages (Arabic, English, and French), and religions is very strong. However, since our knowledge is limited to three languages (French, English, and Arabic), we had to rely on translation or access to mostly English sources for the two others-Turkish and Farsi.Moreover, we will concentrate more on graphic narratives produced in the Middle East and/or made by Middle Eastern artists in exile and from the Diaspora. We will also limit our corpus to graphic novels for adults, and with few exceptions will exclude the ones for children. Finally, although, as shown by Massimo di Ricco3 and by a search on the Internet, the connections between graphic narratives and magazines, newspapers, fanzines, and online creativity and sales are very strong, and growing stronger every day, we will not address directly these connections in order to focus on the book format. Finally, we will not be able to analyze all the graphic novels published in or about the Middle East. Therefore, we selected the ones that play a key role for aesthetic and/or ideological reasons in the Middle East and beyond.Influences and SimilaritiesIt is often not easy to trace the connections between Persepolis and the graphic narratives produced in the Middle East after 2000. Some graphic novels are not autobiographical but could claim Persepolis' influence from other perspectives, such as the aesthetic "Oriental" style, the child mind-set, and/or the struggle against dictatorship. Therefore, it is reasonable to say that not all graphic narratives produced in the Middle East are necessarily connected to Persepolis. Some have chosen a very different path such as fiction, like the thriller (Metro), and even the fantasy-genre (Cairo). Some are created with intended escapist tendencies, using them either as a way to promote some ideas (patriotism, pan-Arabism, pan-Islamism), or as a way that will appeal to a Western public that is not familiar with anything from, and about, the Middle East. Such is the case of the development of the superhero genre. That, as we know in the Western hemisphere, has blurred the boundaries with the graphic narratives since at least 1985.4 The new Ms Marvel, Kamala Khan, is certainly a recent and interesting example of that trend. …

What is Russia up to in the Middle East

Abstract: By the mid 2000s, and as Russia had recovered from its post-Soviet Union domestic crisis, so did its global ambitions. Particularly, the Middle East is back on its radar screen. Interestingly, Mosc...

Bibliometrics and Research Evaluation: Uses and Abuses,: Gingras, Yves. Cambridge, Ma: The mit press, 2016, 136 pp., $26.00, ISBN: 9780262035125

Abstract: Described by one reviewer as a “manifesto,” Bibliometrics and Research Evaluation: Uses and Abuses has a clear thesis: “Bibliometrics have no real scientific validity and rarely measure what they s...