The Gulf region is often portrayed as a timeless domain of tribes and tradition, untouched by the modern socio-political dynamics experienced in the wider Arab world. This lecture will challenge this stereotype through a detailed examination of the muthaqqafūn in Kuwait, a social stratum composed of those who received a modern, Western-style education. First coalescing in the 1930s, the muthaqqafūn became extremely influential in the 1950s. They radically transformed Kuwaiti society and culture and pioneered new forms of ideological politics. 

Bio:
Talal Al-Rashoud was a Visiting Fellow at the Middle East Centre, and is an Assistant Professor of Modern Arab history at Kuwait University.  
He obtained his PhD in history from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), and holds master’s degrees in history and government from King’s College London and Georgetown University respectively. Al-Rashoud specialises in the history of modern ideological movements in the Gulf region and their transnational connections. His current research deals with the relationship between Arab nationalism and education in Kuwait (1911–61), and Arab nationalist activism among Omani exiles in the 1950s and 1960s.