This afternoon at 7 pm, Casa Árabe organizes in its headquarters in Madrid the inaugural event and conference of the cycle Aula Árabe Universitaria 7, with the lecture Pensamiento árabe contemporáneo: de las primaveras al genocidio en Gaza (Arab thought from the springs to the genocide in Gaza), by Elizabeth S. Kassab (Doha Institute). Free entry until capacity is full. In English, with simultaneous interpretation into Spanish. The event can be viewed online at this link.
In this first lecture of the cycle, the teacher will address the importance and challenges of writing contemporary Arab intellectual history today. His paper will be structured around two main axes: on the one hand, the current state of Arab studies; and, on the other, the situation in the region and its recent dramatic upheavals.
In the first part, Kassab will discuss to what extent the study of contemporary Arab thought has benefited from neighbouring areas of study, such as Arab cultural studies and the history of contemporary Arab art, paying special attention to graphic design and visual arts. In the second part, he will reflect on the impact on Arab thought of the upheavals that have taken place in the region, from the Arab revolts to the war in Gaza. What did these developments reveal about the pre-2011 Arab intellectual debates? How have they been able to transform the structures of semantic relevance of these debates, their themes and approaches? And finally, how does Gaza reverberate in the new contemporary intellectual scene?
Organized in Madrid in collaboration with the Master in Contemporary Arab and Islamic Studies of the Autonomous University of Madrid, representing this program, will participate and present to the speaker Luz Gómez, Professor of Contemporary Arab and Islamic Studies at UAM. Olivia Orozco, coordinator of Education and Economics at Casa Árabe will be the moderator.