Saginaw Valley State University will host Fareed Ben-Youssef, assistant professor of film and media at Texas Tech University, for a lecture titled “‘The Beauty and the Horror’: Sensing the Muslim as Enemy and as (Super)Hero in Post-9/11 Film.” The event, part of the Raana Akbar Memorial Lecture Series, will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 18, at 6:30 p.m. in the Rhea Miller Recital Hall, located in SVSU’s Curtiss Hall. The lecture is free and open to the public, with a book signing and refreshments following the event. It will also be streamed online at svsu.edu/akbarlecture.
Ben-Youssef’s lecture will explore the portrayal of Muslim and Arab characters in film and media since the September 11, 2001 attacks. His analysis will focus on how these characters are often “othered” in films, even in those that aim to present a positive view of Muslim and Arab cultures.
“I’m excited to introduce this year’s topic and our speaker, Dr. Ben-Youssef, to this lecture series,” said Dr. Waheed Akbar, a Saginaw orthopedic surgeon and the founder of the lecture series. “We are into a decade and a half of this ongoing series, and I am proud we are able to host a diversity of topics and speakers. I remain grateful for our community and to SVSU for their support over the years.”
Ben-Youssef holds a Ph.D. in film and media from the University of California, Berkeley, and has authored books and academic papers on post-9/11 film. His research includes the book “No Jurisdiction: The Law and Post-9/11 Genre Film,” which examines how law is depicted in films following 9/11. At Texas Tech, Ben-Youssef has organized university film series and hosted master classes with award-winning directors.
The Dr. Raana Akbar Memorial Lecture on Islam and Culture was founded in 2011 by Dr. Waheed Akbar in memory of his wife, Dr. Raana Akbar, a former SVSU Board of Control member and community leader. The lecture is supported by the Dow Visiting Scholars and Artists Endowment, established by the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation to enhance regional cultural and intellectual opportunities.
