Author Archives: atoft

Montserrat Rabadán: Syrian refugees in Berlin

This week we welcome back one of UChicago’s former Arabic lecturers, Dr. Montserrat Rabadán, who currently resides in Berlin, where in addition to her academic work she has spent a considerable time volunteering for communities of Syrian refugees from the … Continue reading

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Amir Toft: Onomatopoeia in Arabic

This week’s speaker talks about the phenomenon of onomatopoeia in Arabic, as conceived in modern and classical terms, with a handful of examples to illustrate. Animal sounds are but one example of the very rich part of the active Arabic lexicon … Continue reading

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Khalid Alhindi: Arabian scholarship before the Wahhabi movement

In this week’s meeting, our guest, an advanced law student in Chicago who has served for some time in the Saudi judiciary and comes from a family of scholars and lawyers extend back over a century, discusses the fascinating mosaic of … Continue reading

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Noha Forster: Nostalgic images of Egypt’s past

In this week’s talk, one of our esteemed Arabic lecturers, in light of the recent passing of several iconic figures of Egyptian culture, shows images and discusses how they have evoked for some Egyptians a yearning for the past—as well as to … Continue reading

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Mariam Sheibani: Grammar of the heart

Surely, the (for some) cold and perhaps tedious subject of grammar has no affinity with the loftier purposes of Sufi aspirants. Our guest for this week, a PhD student in Islamic Thought in NELC, discusses an interesting and innovative hybrid genre of … Continue reading

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Usama Canon: Learning Arabic in its various forms

Our guest this week, who has lived for extended periods in several parts of the Arabic world, discusses his own journey in learning and teaching Arabic and offers some advice for students on how to navigate the language in its classical … Continue reading

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Orit Bashkin: Transit camps in early Israel

Our own Prof. Orit Bashkin presents on a current topic of her research, namely, transit camps in the early state of Israel, the lives of Jews therein, and related questions concerning race and class. Enjoy!
مخيمات اليهود العرب في دولة إسرائيل: عنصرية الدولة … Continue reading

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Kevin Blankinship: Death and decay in poetry

“I esteem the very ground to be but mortal remains.”   —Abū al-‘Alā’ al-Ma’arri
This week our guest, a PhD candidate in Arabic literature in NELC, gives us us a macabre look into death and decay as they appear in the poetry of … Continue reading

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Nareman Taha & Rima Najia: Arab-American Social Services

This week our guests, who work for Chicagoland-based nonprofit Arab-American Family Services (Bridgeview, IL), discuss the work they do as social workers and challenges they face therein, as well as the some of the contours of the Arab-American fabric. This presentation … Continue reading

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Ahmed Alqarni: What makes language beautiful?

How do poets translate their thoughts and emotions into mere words which, when uttered, move us to laughter or tears, or bring us to share in their joy or their anger or their wonder? In this our second session of the quarter, we welcome … Continue reading

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