The Spring 2022 seminar in the ‘Sketching/Scripting Women’ series of the Centre for the Study of Contemporary Women’s Writing will explore the work of Francophone female graphic novelists from the Arab World, with contributions from academic speakers focusing on different historical and socio-political contexts spanning from the Maghreb to the Middle-East, and a talk by prize-winning Beirut-born bande dessinée author Michèle Standjofski. Flourishing comics production by graphic novelists originating from Maghreb and Mashriq countries has seen an increasing contribution of female authors since the start of the millennium, and later the Arab Spring, who have explored issues such as war, memory, identity, gender, and youth culture. Such cultural production is also characterised by its multilingualism which lies at the heart of the creative process; discussions on Arab comics will therefore offer an opportunity to reflect on the engagement of authors with the question of creative multilingualism.

This seminar will be of relevance to anyone interested in comics, gender, and contemporary Arab culture.

Image credit: Drawing by Michèle Standjofski (Copyright Des ronds dans l’O)