BOOK LAUNCH | Nine Quarters of Jerusalem A New Biography of the Old City
Book launch
Brief: In Jerusalem, what you see and what is true are two different things. The Old City has never had “four quarters” as its maps proclaim. And beyond the crush and frenzy of its major religious sites, many of its quarters are little known to visitors, its people ignored and their stories untold…
September Majlis - An Overview of Cryptocurrencies in the Middle East and North Africa
Lecture
Abstract Since Bitcoin was introduced in 2009, different uses have been created for blockchain technology including the rise of thousands of blockchain enabled cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrency market capitalisation reached $2.9 trillion in 2021 before plummeting to $1 trillion in September…
Conversation with Professor Ghassan Hage
Lecture
This panel will discuss Professor Ghassan Hage’s most recent publication The Diasporic Condition Ethnographic Explorations of the Lebanese in the World (2021). Ghassan Hage is Professor of Anthropology and Social Theory at the University of Melbourne. He is the author of many works…
August Majlis - The Changing Security Dynamics of the Arab Gulf States
Lecture
Abstract: World politics is going through a significant transformation at present – the most significant since 1991, and perhaps even since 1945 – as Russia struggles in its war in Ukraine; as the US shifts its global focus east and renews its alliances; as China continues its rise, albeit with…
Oirats: Between Empires
Lecture
Abstract: The Oirat Mongols came to prominence after the last remnants of the Mongol Empire began to crumble in East Asia. Their rise however, coincided with the rise of Russia and the Manchus as well as the Ottoman interest in Central Asia. During the 17th and 18th centuries, as the …
Governing Covid-19 in Lebanon: Territories of Sectarianism and Solidarity
Lecture
Rather than merely consolidating and reproducing its sectarian political system, the governance of the pandemic in Lebanon also reveals tensions between powerful political parties, weakened public agencies, as well as multiple solidarity groups with diverging aspirations, colliding over the…
A Cognitive Arab Uprising? Paradigm Shifts in Arab Social Sciences
Lecture
This lecture focuses on the notion of knowledge production in the Arab world in the last decade. It contributes to the debate about how scholarship in the Arab region has struggled with some dichotomies before being able to partially transcend them. The author presents different research trends…