Baghdad college and the geopolitics of desire: The Jesuit presence and Al-Futuwa nationalists

Wisam Kh Abdul-Jabbar*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

By exploring the hegemonic implications of the Jesuits’ presence in Iraq, this paper examines the geopolitics of desire and cultural dominance that schools may exercise as a representation of institutional power. The Jesuit endeavour in Iraq, including the formation of Baghdad College in the 1930s, is often romanticized and popularized as a true civilizing mission. Baghdad College is often treated as a fetishized commodity that needs to be de-romanticized if it is to be better understood in light of the historical and educational milieu of the time. In what ways can Baghdad College, for instance, be considered a representation of what Ashcroft, Griffiths and Tiffin refer to as ‘the locus classicus of [the] hegemonic process of control’? (2000, p. 63). This paper also argues that the Arab nationalistic movement of Al-Futuwa, which was gaining ground in the first half of the twentieth century, played a crucial role in subverting the hegemonic apparatus exercised by Baghdad College through the use of English and the appropriation of certain worldviews and narratives.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)198-210
Number of pages13
JournalMiddle Eastern Studies
Volume53
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 4 Mar 2017
Externally publishedYes

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