Introduction
The Critical Cultural Journalism (CCJ) is a training program launched by the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC) in partnership with the Counter Academy for Arab Journalism (CA), managed by Febrayer network - a network of four independent media organizations: Mada Masr, Al-Jumhuriya, Megaphone and Sowt. The program is designed for emerging journalists from the Arab region and aims to expand the production of critical, creative, and engaging cultural media content in Arabic. It focuses on equipping emerging journalists in the cultural sector by offering them training and capacity building in cultural journalism, and providing them with access to a wider network of experts in the field.
Over the past 15 years, the major political transformations have paved the way for independent online media platforms that challenge the status quo and reshape the Arab media landscape. In parallel, the region has witnessed a surge in creativity and cultural production, generating a significant body of work that engages with the most pressing issues of our time. Yet, critical engagement with cultural production remains confined to small circles, and often disconnected from broader audiences.
In response to that, the Critical Cultural Journalism program seeks to revive the role of cultural critique, fostering a deeper appreciation for culture and encouraging critical reflection and dialogue among broader audiences.
The program achieves this through:
- A tailored curriculum that equips participants with the tools to analyze and contextualize artworks and cultural productions using artistic theories, socio-political analysis, and anthropological methodologies. By the end of each course, participants produce in-depth, critical writings that contribute valuable perspectives to Arab cultural institutions and media platforms.
- A network of exchange, where participants engage with experienced professionals in the field, fostering connections and expanding their reach.
Partnering with the Counter Academy for Arab Journalism (CA) brought the expertise, knowledge, and networks needed to support the program’s objectives and reach. Additionally, building on AFAC’s previous initiatives, namely the Creative and Critical Writings Program and the Research on the Arts Program, which have sought to promote critical thinking within the region's arts sector, served as a solid foundation for the identification of the needs on the ground, and the subsequent design and implementation of the Critical Cultural Journalism program.
Pilot Edition
AFAC and CA launched a pilot edition of the program in 2023 with a five-day in-person workshop in Deir el Qamar, Lebanon. During the workshop, participants took part in courses, conversations and panels led by experts and guest artists.
At the outset, an academic committee was formed to design a one-year pilot curriculum focused on critical journalism in the context of arts and culture. Comprising academics Zeina Halabi and Nisrine Al Zahre with hands-on experience in critical writing and cultural journalism, the committee shaped the curriculum framework, selected qualified lecturers—practicing journalists and academics—and collaborated with them to develop engaging online session plans that balanced theoretical and practical aspects of critical cultural journalism.
The committee ensured that the curriculum stayed contemporary, relevant, and aligned with participants' learning needs and practices. Journalists and graduates of Febrayer's Counter Academy for Arab Journalism were invited to apply for the pilot edition. Thirteen young journalists from seven Arab countries—Yemen, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, and Tunisia—participated in this pilot edition.
Program Components
Courses
The following curriculum was implemented during the program’s pilot edition:
-
Cultural Critique: Currents, Texts, and Questions by Zeina Halabi:
This course delves into the most prominent theoretical and intellectual schools of literary criticism from the beginning of the twentieth century until the rise of radical cultural criticism in contemporary times.
Historical Critique by Khaled Fahmy:
This course deals with different types of historical writing. It focuses on theoretical approaches that discuss the relationship of history to the novel, and how to construct a historical text.
TV Series Critique by Hilal Chouman:
The series criticism course covers different methods of critical writing about series and their production by focusing on texts published on Arabic websites. These texts provide ideal experiences covering different critical approaches for discussion and criticism. The course also shares clips from series for quick criticism during the sessions.
Film Critique by Ikbal Zalila:
The film criticism course introduces the contexts, critical approaches and currents of Arab and world cinema, deconstructing existing critiques and drawing on the knowledge gained to criticize films at different levels. Cinema criticism and interpretations in the “South” are also scrutinized, questioning Western cultural hegemony and its role in stereotyping Arab films.
Music Critique by Maan Abu Taleb, Abdulhadi Bazarbachi and Rami Abadir:
In this course, the specificities of music as a type of cultural writing is addressed. The course also addresses what this difference requires of the writer in terms of using linguistic, research, and critical tools. Through the course, keys to reading general and broad societal and cultural phenomena are addressed.
Critical Writing: How to Write a Review? by Shady Lewis, May Telmissany, Rached Issa, Ismail Fayed and Fayrouz Karawya:
The most important question in this process of critical writing is the “how” question: How do we review cultural material? How do we review books? How do we write about theatre, about art exhibitions, about cinema? How do we apply gender lenses in our reading of a literary work or a work of art, music or plastic? Where do we monitor what is new in the world of culture? What cultural thing can we write about? What aspects can we address when approaching a literary or artistic work?
How can we connect a particular work to a broader cultural, political and social context?
Final Graduation Project
The program culminated in a graduation project for all participants who passed 4 out of 5 intensive courses. Over the course of 4 weeks, participants worked with professional editors in journalism with highly qualified experience working with independent journalism platforms (Asmaa’ Azaizeh, Hilal Chouman, Maan Abu Taleb, Samer Frangie and Hoda Omran) to produce their final project, which was then published on the platform provided it met the publication requirements.
Networking
In addition to its curriculum of courses offered by seasoned writers and critics of the Arab region, the program offers participants the opportunity to connect with professional editors and independent journalism platforms and a wider audience.
Outcomes
The participants of the pilot edition have already published some of their final articles on renowned online platforms, with more to follow. The published articles can be found through the links below: