UK's first course in women, Islam and the media launched

University of East Anglia degree module will cover topics including veil wearing, 'honour' crimes and arranged marriages
David Shariatmadari
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 19 January 2012 05.02 EST

Women, Islam and the media are topics often found in close conjunction, and not always in the happiest of circumstances. So in a canny move, the University of East Anglia (UEA), which often gives better-known institutions a run for their money in terms of column inches, has developed a course entitled exactly that.

The 12-week module, which the university claims is the first of its kind in the UK, will cover the often inflammatory topics of veil wearing, arranged marriage and "honour" crimes – looking at how they are portrayed in contemporary film, TV and other media, and how this reflects cultural biases in both the east and west.

It launches this week and 18 third-year students have enrolled. Roughly equal numbers of men and women have signed up.

The course was developed by Dr Eylem Atakav, a graduate of Ankara University and lecturer at UEA. "Lots of people have written about women and Islam, lots of people have written about Islam and media or women and media, but they haven't been brought together before," she said.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/19/uk-first-degree-women-islam-media