Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Research Seminar Series: Reem Kelani In brief Date - 18 March 2026Venue - TBCSpeaker - Reem Kelani (Palestinian singer, composer, and musicologist)Title - From Palestine to Palestine: Songs and Stories of Existence, Expulsion, and Emigration Email an IMES colleague to join online About the eventPalestinian singer, composer, and musicologist Reem Kelani will lead a performative lecture tracing a spatio-temporal mapping of dispossession and migration. With the lecture participants, Kelani will explore traditional Palestinian songs and their pivotal role as testaments of existence and trauma.The journey moves from Palestine, past and present, to Egypt in 1919 through the music of Egyptian singer, composer, and social chronicler Sayyid Darwish (1892–1923). Andalusian poet, playwright, and cultural activist Federico García Lorca (1898–1936) completes the mapping with echoes of the underexamined expulsion of the Moriscos from Iberia between 1609 and 1614.The lecture concludes by returning to Palestine, which serves as the pulse for this journey, and at its centre, the voices of older Palestinian women to whom Kelani refers as “Big Mamas” — living repositories of cultural survival.This presentation is interactive, based on the compositional technique of call-and-response, realised through group singing with the participants. No prior musical experience is required — only a willingness to listen, sing, travel across time and history, and celebrate musical memory.The event is co-badged and sponsored by The Alwaleed Centre.About the speakerReem Kelani is a Palestinian singer, musician, broadcaster, translator and educator. Described as the 'unofficial ambassador for the culture and music of Palestine', Reem was born in Manchester and spent her formative years in Kuwait, where she was exposed to numerous styles of music from the Gulf, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, India and East Africa.Originally trained as a biologist, earning her bachelor's degree in Zoology & Computer Sciences from Kuwait University, Reem worked for 4 years in the fields of marine biolog and research management. A life-changing stint as a music workshop leader at the British Museum's acclaimed Palestinian Costume Exhibition (1990-1992), turned Reem's attention from researching fish and shrimp into researching traditional songs.Visit Reem's website to read the full bioAbout 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 Mar 18 2026 17.15 - 18.30 Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Research Seminar Series: Reem Kelani Join us for a hybrid performative lecture by Reem Kelani (singer, composer, and musicologist) that aims to trace a spatio-temporal mapping of dispossession and migration through interactive call-and-response activities with the audience. TBC Email an IMES colleague to join online
Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Research Seminar Series: Reem Kelani In brief Date - 18 March 2026Venue - TBCSpeaker - Reem Kelani (Palestinian singer, composer, and musicologist)Title - From Palestine to Palestine: Songs and Stories of Existence, Expulsion, and Emigration Email an IMES colleague to join online About the eventPalestinian singer, composer, and musicologist Reem Kelani will lead a performative lecture tracing a spatio-temporal mapping of dispossession and migration. With the lecture participants, Kelani will explore traditional Palestinian songs and their pivotal role as testaments of existence and trauma.The journey moves from Palestine, past and present, to Egypt in 1919 through the music of Egyptian singer, composer, and social chronicler Sayyid Darwish (1892–1923). Andalusian poet, playwright, and cultural activist Federico García Lorca (1898–1936) completes the mapping with echoes of the underexamined expulsion of the Moriscos from Iberia between 1609 and 1614.The lecture concludes by returning to Palestine, which serves as the pulse for this journey, and at its centre, the voices of older Palestinian women to whom Kelani refers as “Big Mamas” — living repositories of cultural survival.This presentation is interactive, based on the compositional technique of call-and-response, realised through group singing with the participants. No prior musical experience is required — only a willingness to listen, sing, travel across time and history, and celebrate musical memory.The event is co-badged and sponsored by The Alwaleed Centre.About the speakerReem Kelani is a Palestinian singer, musician, broadcaster, translator and educator. Described as the 'unofficial ambassador for the culture and music of Palestine', Reem was born in Manchester and spent her formative years in Kuwait, where she was exposed to numerous styles of music from the Gulf, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, India and East Africa.Originally trained as a biologist, earning her bachelor's degree in Zoology & Computer Sciences from Kuwait University, Reem worked for 4 years in the fields of marine biolog and research management. A life-changing stint as a music workshop leader at the British Museum's acclaimed Palestinian Costume Exhibition (1990-1992), turned Reem's attention from researching fish and shrimp into researching traditional songs.Visit Reem's website to read the full bioAbout 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 Mar 18 2026 17.15 - 18.30 Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Research Seminar Series: Reem Kelani Join us for a hybrid performative lecture by Reem Kelani (singer, composer, and musicologist) that aims to trace a spatio-temporal mapping of dispossession and migration through interactive call-and-response activities with the audience. TBC Email an IMES colleague to join online
Mar 18 2026 17.15 - 18.30 Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Research Seminar Series: Reem Kelani Join us for a hybrid performative lecture by Reem Kelani (singer, composer, and musicologist) that aims to trace a spatio-temporal mapping of dispossession and migration through interactive call-and-response activities with the audience.
