Why is it so difficult for Palestine to become a state and join the UN? [at 2'24; 5'19, 7'22 and 11'19]
The Code of Karam: How Literature Shapes Post-Revolutionary Social Spaces in Cairo
In this talk, I will present my upcoming book project on the role of literary practices in recreating spaces of sociability and solidarity in post-revolutionary Cairo. Over the past two decades, Egypt’s literary worlds have been reconfigured by two major phenomena. First, the digital disruption of publishing since the mid-2000s has expanded access to literary authorship, allowing many new writers to enter the market.
Stranger Visions: Ghuraba’ and Egypt’s Ideological Crisis
My paper examines a moment of ideological crisis in modern Egyptian history, refracted through the film Ghuraba’(strangers, directed by Sa‘d ‘Arafa and written by ‘Arafa and Ra’fat al-Mihi). The film was screened in 1973, at a postcolonial inflection point in which Marxism, existentialism and an extreme formulation of Islamism were all depicted as exhausted and inadequate. Ghuraba’ gropes toward, but stops short of fully articulating, an Islamic moral engagement with secular society and ideology.
Breaking New Ground on the Global Stage: Memoirs of Kuwait's First Woman Ambassador
Seeds in the Rubble: Cultural Vitality in the Arab World
The past century has been a time of great turmoil in much of the world. Europe, perhaps, bore the brunt of this turmoil, with millions killed and entire cities, such as Rotterdam, Dresden, and Warsaw largely reduced to rubble along with their museums, and cultural institutions. The Arab World has also suffered its share of conflicts, compounding the adverse impact of colonialism on everyday life and culture.
Morocco’s Party of Justice and Development in Government: The Experience and the Future
Food and Language: Rhetorical-Cultural Excavations in Arab Heritage / الطعام والكلام: حفريات بلاغية ثقافية في التراث العربي
Winner of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award 2025 for Literary and Art Criticism, Dr Said Laouadi, will be in conversation with Professor Michael Willis and Professor Eugene Rogan on his book 'الطعام والكلام: حفريات بلاغية ثقافية في التراث العربي' / 'Food and Language: Cultural Excavations in Arab Heritage’ (2023).
Translation from Arabic to English will be provided by Taj Kandoura.
About the book:
Translation from Arabic to English will be provided by Taj Kandoura.
About the book:
Safe Corridor
About the book:
‘Safe Corridor’ is a bold, unforgettable novel of war, imagination, and survival. Thirteen-year-old Kamiran is fleeing the collapse of Syria when his body begins to harden—literally—turning to chalk. As his transformation unfolds, he pours his memories, secrets, and darkly funny confessions into a piece of chalk he stole at school. Through the eyes of this precocious, resilient boy, Safe Corridor explores what it means to survive the unthinkable—with tenderness, fury, and imagination.
‘Safe Corridor’ is a bold, unforgettable novel of war, imagination, and survival. Thirteen-year-old Kamiran is fleeing the collapse of Syria when his body begins to harden—literally—turning to chalk. As his transformation unfolds, he pours his memories, secrets, and darkly funny confessions into a piece of chalk he stole at school. Through the eyes of this precocious, resilient boy, Safe Corridor explores what it means to survive the unthinkable—with tenderness, fury, and imagination.
Gaza Genocide as a Symptom: Fragile World Order and Regional Impacts
Speaker Bio:
Ahmet Davutoglu, former Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye, is a world-renowned professor of international relations. Davutoglu, who gives conferences in many parts of the world, is the author of many books such as 'Systemic Earthquake' and 'Alternative Paradigms'.
Ahmet Davutoglu, former Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye, is a world-renowned professor of international relations. Davutoglu, who gives conferences in many parts of the world, is the author of many books such as 'Systemic Earthquake' and 'Alternative Paradigms'.