ABSTRACT
Middle school is typically when students begin to study Islam and the Middle East. However, by the time students study these topics in depth, they have already received a lifetime of negative and biased media schooling about them through cultural pedagogies. Textbooks then reinforce negative messages through orientalist content. Visual representations of Muslims and people from the Middle East are a key means through which these messages are conveyed. This chapter provides educators with examples and resources to build critical visual literacy for middle school students through exploring what orientalism is and how it operates to perpetuate stereotypes. It also provides example activities, and graphic novel texts for students and educators to engage with about Muslims and the Middle East, alongside formal textbooks. In our visually saturated society, wherein one is surrounded by representations of Muslims and people from the Middle East, visual narratives offer a powerful pedagogical opportunity to engage middle school students in discussions of racial and religious difference and representation.
