2015 AAR Annual Meeting Paper

“That’s Not Islam”: YouTube as a Site for Alternative Representations of Muslim Women.  Presented at the 2015 American Academy of Religion Annual, November 21-24, Atlanta, GA

A PDF of the paper can be found here:  That’s Not Islam-KRW

Abstract

This study provides a textual analysis of YouTube videos produced by two popular English-speaking vloggers, Amenakin and Nye Armstrong using Guo and Lee’s hybrid vernacular discourse framework. Vernacular discourse is defined as speech and culture that includes music, art, and fashion, which resonates within a local community. The framework focuses on three components: content, agency, and subjectivity. I extend this framework by examining audience response to the new images through analyzing comments and response videos. Recognizing that the boundaries between vernacular and mainstream discourse are blurred, my research is guided by the following question: How are Muslim women rearticulating and renegotiating mainstream and vernacular discourses to introduce new and complex images of Muslim womanhood that challenge mainstream Western representations of Muslim women?

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