"Epic Encounters" examines how popular culture has shaped the ways Americans define their 'interests' in the Middle East. In this innovative book - now brought up-to-date to include 9/11 and the Iraq war - Melani McAlister argues that U.S. foreign policy, while grounded in material and military realities, is also developed in a cultural context. American understandings of the region are framed by narratives that draw on religious belief, news media accounts, and popular culture. This remarkable and pathbreaking book skillfully weaves lively and accessible readings of film, media, and music with a rigorous analysis of U.S. foreign policy, race politics, and religious history. The new chapter, titled "9/11 and After: Snapshots on the Road to Empire," considers and brilliantly analyzes five images that have become iconic: New York City firemen raising the American flag out of the rubble of the World Trade Center, the televised image of Osama bin-Laden, Afghani women in burqas, the statue of Saddam Hussein being toppled in Baghdad, and the hooded and wired prisoner in Abu Ghraib. McAlister's singular achievement is to illuminate the contexts of these five images both at the time they were taken and as they relate to current events, an accomplishment all the more remarkable since - to paraphrase her new preface - we are today struggling to look backward at something that is still rushing ahead.

About the Author
Melani McAlister is Associate Professor of American Studies and International Affairs at The George Washington University.

Reviews
"A vitally important book because it warns against easy explanations of U.S. foreign policy." - Diplomatic History "It is one of the achievements of McAlister's subtle and complex book that her analysis allows one to situate public perceptions...and the responses of the U.S. Government within a coherent and persuasive framework. [An] excellent book." - Times Literary Supplement"



Book Information
ISBN 9780520244993
Author Melani McAlister
Format Paperback
Page Count 426
Imprint University of California Press
Publisher University of California Press
Weight(grams) 590g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 25mm