Twentieth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

Travel literature as a genre of literary studies remains under explored. Hajj narratives in particular form a sub-genre in travel literature that is considered a valuable source of geographic, religious, political, economic, social, and ecological information about the area of Hejaz. They certainly form a valuable component to the system of knowledge production that created hierarchical oppositions between Europe and the “Other” emphasizing the power of presentation for the sake of colonial domination. Through applying a multiple concurrent analytic (re)reading using postcolonial, feminist and environmental literary theories tools to Sir Ricahrd Burton’s (1893) and Lady Cobbold’s (1934) Hajj travelogues, the study aims to provide a fresh outlook to the representation of Muslims in general and of women in particular. It also aims to reverse the prototype of the hostile portrayal of the environment that foreshadowed Hajj narratives for centuries. Burton’s account documenting his mission to explore the land of Hejaz exemplifies an important era in the relationship between Britain the “colonizer” and Islam the “colonized” as the majority of the population of British colonized land were Muslims. In contrast, Cobbold’s voyage takes a more objective position as oppose to the earlier subjective “traditional” writings about the Orient. Her account is of a particular importance to this study because of her freedom of mobility and accessibility to women secluded areas. This research is expected to create a fresh outlook to the study of Hajj narrative from a multilayered perspective that may take the East-West dichotomy to a new direction.