The Humanities Center Lectures, 2010-11:
Identities in Conflict: The Recognition of Migrants

Moslem Immigrants, Inhospitable Europeans

Ali Behdad, Thursday, April 7, 2011

4:30 pm, Giant Eagle Auditorium, A51 Baker Hall

Ali Behdad, Professor and Chair, Department of English, UCLA

In my talk, I will focus on the way Muslim immigrants are perceived and represented by politicians, academicians, political pundits, and journalists throughout Western Europe, representations that are simultaneously produced by and productive of inhospitable policies towards them. More specifically, my interest lies in the cultural and political implications of such views in the context of the everyday lives of Muslim immigrants, and in what this might mean for the prospect of harmonious co-existence. What do representations of Muslim immigrants reveal about the broader politics of immigration in Europe? How do these representations contribute to contemporary political debates about immigration ideologically? And how do these representations prevent Europeans to live harmoniously with their Muslim neighbors?