Iraq | Glocal Notes - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

To echo the University of Illinois President’s statement regarding the Trump Administration’s order barring some immigrants, the International and Area Studies Library shares the University’s value of international students, scholars, exchanges, and perspectives as a central aspect of the University’s mission. The International and Area Studies Library would like to reiterate to the campus community that it provides a safe space for students, scholars, and the community to study, research, and discuss any topic or subject, including the current policies regarding immigrant and refugee access to the United States.

In addition, the individuals at the International and Area Studies library are able to provide all students, scholars, and members of the community with access to important resources to learn about and make sense of the rapidly changing policy environment that relates directly to many regions of the world and issues of international importance. From print and electronic resources to human expertise, the International and Area Studies Library is available to assist you.

Support for Research on the Topic and Regions Affected

If you are specifically interested in learning more about the seven countries targeted by the Trump Administration, please contact Laila Hussein, Middle East and North African Studies Librarian. Professor Hussein has expertise in Middle East and North African Studies and Human Rights. She can also help people interested in accessing and understanding contemporary research and journalistic resources from these regions in Arabic and Persian.

Assurance of Privacy and Confidentiality

The University Library’s faculty and staff are professionally obligated and committed to maintaining patron confidentiality. No question you ask, resource you use, or book you read will be shared without your consent (Library Privacy Policy).

Librarians can also provide advice and instruction on privacy enhancing technologies that you may wish to consider using in online research and electronic communications. (See Library Freedom Project: https://blog.torproject.org/blog/guest-post-library-freedom-project-bringing-privacy-and-anonymity-libraries or Heritage Foundation for more information on privacy and technology issues: http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2004/05/technologies-that-can-protect-privacy-as-information-is-shared-to-combat-terrorism)

Contacts

To contact an expert in Middle East Studies, get help with research on this topic, or learn more about services, resources, and advice that the Library can offer please contact:

International and Area Studies Library: Room 321, Main Library; 1408 W. Gregory Dr.; Urbana, IL, (217) 333-1501 Email: internationalref@library.illinois.edu

For specific visa advice, and counseling, please contact International Student and Scholar Services

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: International Student and Scholar Services, (217) 333-1303 (isss@illinois.edu)

Steve Witt
Associate Professor
Head, International and Area Studies Library
Director, Center for Global Studies
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, Illinois 61820 USA
Phone: 217.265.7518
Email: swwitt@illinois.edu

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“Violins and Bases” by Sundus Abdul Hadi (via http://sundusah.tumblr.com/warchestra)

On Monday, September 15, 2014 I gave a presentation entitled “Sundus Abdul Hadi and the Narcicyst: From Weapons of Mass Destruction to Instruments of Creation.” The presentation dealt with two married artists of Arab descent who use their artistic mediums of expression to defy and transform the image of traditional marriage and hip-hop. However, it is important to note that the music and art Abdul Hadi and the Narcicyst produce is part of a movement of Arab artists who use hip-hop as a medium to challenge not just the commercialization of a youth culture, but also to redefine and recreate the image of underrepresented communities abroad.

Since the tragedy of 9/11, Iraqi-Canadian multimedia artists Abdul Hadi and the Narcicyst had begun to produce art and music that defied the negative stereotypes broadcasted by the media. Warchestra, a multimedia art project, was their response in order to challenge the misinformation and marginalization of Arab society by mainstream media. Through the creation of a soundscape, Abdul Hadi and the Narcicyst worked to “replace weapons of war with musical instruments . . . [in order] to re-imagine, re-define, and re-invent the war in Iraq as it was represented in the media” (Abdul Hadi). Instead of wielding an automatic weapon or explosives, the men’s weapons are replaced with tubas, trombones, saxophones, and clarinets. While media broadcasts images of violent and radical Arabs, Sundus and the Narcicyst use Warchestra to encourage dialogue and transform the image of the Middle East and its people.

New discussions about the future of Iraq are taking place worldwide concerning the threat of a militant group named the Islamic State, or ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), as they are commonly referred to. President Obama has commented about his stance against ISIS, but has also been careful not to declare war. Recent news developments mention the US has conducted airstrikes on ISIS targets in Syria. And with each new day, more images of war-stricken foreign lands emerge, thus reinforcing the negative stereotypes of Arabs and the Middle East. Fortunately, artists like Sundus Abdul Hadi and the Narcicyst provide an alternative to such negative stereotypes with their art and message of peace.

The International and Area Studies Library at the University of Illinois is home to many resources related to the history and current events of Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries.

For more information about Abdul Hadi and the Narcicyst’s multimedia project Warchestra and other projects, go to the following link: http://sundusah.tumblr.com/warchestra

For links to subject headings, databases, news updates, articles, encyclopedias, dictionaries, blogs and more on Iraq and neighboring Middle Eastern and North African countries, go to the following links:

http://uiuc.libguides.com/content.php?pid=517878&sid=4261171

http://uiuc.libguides.com/ArabDemocracy

For additional electronic references, go to the following link:

http://www.library.illinois.edu/eref/formats/countries.html

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Glocal Notes

from the International and Area Studies Library

Tag Archives: Iraq

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