Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Research Seminar Series: Raad Khair Allah In brief Date - 9 February 2026Venue - Room LG.09, 40 George SquareSpeakers - Dr Raad Khair Allah (University of Edinburgh)Title - Diasporic Imaginaries: How Palestinian Women Rebuild Nationhood through Art, Literature, and Digital Space Email an IMES colleague to join online About the eventHow do exiled communities sustain and reimagine the idea of the nation?This lecture delves into the vital yet often overlooked cultural and intellectual labour of Palestinian women in the Western diaspora. Moving beyond conventional narratives of victimhood or passivity, it explores how these women act as central architects of diasporic nationhood, navigating the intersecting challenges of migration, legal status, and hybrid identities.Drawing from an interdisciplinary digital humanities project, the lecture examines a vibrant archive of literary works, films, arts, and digital activism. It investigates how creators leverage cultural tools to preserve collective memory, assert political identity, and forge transnational solidarities. Crucially, we will explore how cultural productions become contested spaces where feminist praxis meets national imagination, allowing for the subversion of both orientalist and patriarchal narratives.The event is co-badged with The Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH).About the speakerDr Raad Khair Allah is an IASH Postdoctoral Fellow in Digital Humanities. She is researching reimagining nationhood in Arab cultural and digital feminism.She has a PhD from the Faculty of Arts/ Department of English and Comparative Literary Studies, University of Warwick. She was a former member of the seminar series organising committee at CSWG/Center for the Study of Women and Gender at the same institution for two years.She is also the organiser of the international hybrid Conference Radical Traditions: The Role of Contemporary Arab Women in Revolutionising Arab Patriarchal Society at the University of Warwick in 2024 to be a basis for a volume she is currently editing for Routledge.View Raad's staff profileAbout the seminar seriesThe Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies research seminar series, taking place during the spring semester 2026, draws upon theories and methodologies from the Humanities and Social Sciences to study Palestine through temporal and spatial narratives.The series aims to bring together academics, writers, and artists, both in person and online, to engage critically with knowledge production in Palestine Studies. Our guest speakers will unpack timely questions about colonial violence and various creative counternarratives in academia, literature, music, cinema, and the digital world.Some of the events are co-badged with: The Alwaleed Centre for the Study of Islam in the Contemporary World, The Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, and The School of Social and Political Sciences. We welcome you all to join us for these timely debates and discussions!How to attendEvents are free and everyone is welcome. No booking is required. If you wish to join online, you can email a colleague in IMES for joining information.All talks are followed by a reception. Email an IMES colleague to join online Are you interested in studying with us?We are the only university in Scotland to offer courses in the Muslim world's three main languages, placing Arabic, Persian and Turkish in the context of history, literature, culture, religion and politics, past and present.Choose from a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, including PhD programmes. Find out more about Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at Edinburgh Tags Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Feb 09 2026 17.15 - 18.30 Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Research Seminar Series: Raad Khair Allah Join us for a hybrid seminar by Dr Raad Khair Allah (University of Edinburgh) examining the cultural and intellectual labour of Palestinian women in the Western diaspora, and the ways in which it is often overlooked. Room LG.09 40 George Square University of Edinburgh EH8 9JX Find the venue: 40 George Square Email an IMES colleague to join online
Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Research Seminar Series: Raad Khair Allah In brief Date - 9 February 2026Venue - Room LG.09, 40 George SquareSpeakers - Dr Raad Khair Allah (University of Edinburgh)Title - Diasporic Imaginaries: How Palestinian Women Rebuild Nationhood through Art, Literature, and Digital Space Email an IMES colleague to join online About the eventHow do exiled communities sustain and reimagine the idea of the nation?This lecture delves into the vital yet often overlooked cultural and intellectual labour of Palestinian women in the Western diaspora. Moving beyond conventional narratives of victimhood or passivity, it explores how these women act as central architects of diasporic nationhood, navigating the intersecting challenges of migration, legal status, and hybrid identities.Drawing from an interdisciplinary digital humanities project, the lecture examines a vibrant archive of literary works, films, arts, and digital activism. It investigates how creators leverage cultural tools to preserve collective memory, assert political identity, and forge transnational solidarities. Crucially, we will explore how cultural productions become contested spaces where feminist praxis meets national imagination, allowing for the subversion of both orientalist and patriarchal narratives.The event is co-badged with The Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH).About the speakerDr Raad Khair Allah is an IASH Postdoctoral Fellow in Digital Humanities. She is researching reimagining nationhood in Arab cultural and digital feminism.She has a PhD from the Faculty of Arts/ Department of English and Comparative Literary Studies, University of Warwick. She was a former member of the seminar series organising committee at CSWG/Center for the Study of Women and Gender at the same institution for two years.She is also the organiser of the international hybrid Conference Radical Traditions: The Role of Contemporary Arab Women in Revolutionising Arab Patriarchal Society at the University of Warwick in 2024 to be a basis for a volume she is currently editing for Routledge.View Raad's staff profileAbout the seminar seriesThe Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies research seminar series, taking place during the spring semester 2026, draws upon theories and methodologies from the Humanities and Social Sciences to study Palestine through temporal and spatial narratives.The series aims to bring together academics, writers, and artists, both in person and online, to engage critically with knowledge production in Palestine Studies. Our guest speakers will unpack timely questions about colonial violence and various creative counternarratives in academia, literature, music, cinema, and the digital world.Some of the events are co-badged with: The Alwaleed Centre for the Study of Islam in the Contemporary World, The Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, and The School of Social and Political Sciences. We welcome you all to join us for these timely debates and discussions!How to attendEvents are free and everyone is welcome. No booking is required. If you wish to join online, you can email a colleague in IMES for joining information.All talks are followed by a reception. Email an IMES colleague to join online Are you interested in studying with us?We are the only university in Scotland to offer courses in the Muslim world's three main languages, placing Arabic, Persian and Turkish in the context of history, literature, culture, religion and politics, past and present.Choose from a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, including PhD programmes. Find out more about Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at Edinburgh Tags Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Feb 09 2026 17.15 - 18.30 Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Research Seminar Series: Raad Khair Allah Join us for a hybrid seminar by Dr Raad Khair Allah (University of Edinburgh) examining the cultural and intellectual labour of Palestinian women in the Western diaspora, and the ways in which it is often overlooked. Room LG.09 40 George Square University of Edinburgh EH8 9JX Find the venue: 40 George Square Email an IMES colleague to join online
Feb 09 2026 17.15 - 18.30 Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Research Seminar Series: Raad Khair Allah Join us for a hybrid seminar by Dr Raad Khair Allah (University of Edinburgh) examining the cultural and intellectual labour of Palestinian women in the Western diaspora, and the ways in which it is often overlooked.
