Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Research Seminar Series: Sarah Irving In brief Date - 19 March 2024 Guest speaker - Dr Sarah Irving (Staffordshire University) Title - Disasters, Disciplinarity and Decolonisation: thinking with the 1927 Jericho earthquake Format - Talk, Q&A and reception Email for joining details About the event by Sarah Irving Histories of disaster have, until recently, been a very Euro-American genre. From the popular to the densely scholarly, titles on the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, the Lisbon tsunami and fire of 1755 or Hurricane Katrina have proliferated, whilst those on disasters in Asia, Africa and Latin America have been few and far between, despite the fact that they have seen many of the world’s biggest ‘natural’ catastrophes. Drawing on my case study of the earthquake that shook mandatory-ruled Palestine, Transjordan, Lebanon and Syria in July 1927, this seminar explores how looking at ‘natural’ disasters can offer insights into the processes of colonialism in South-West Asia and North Africa and the experiences of indigenous populations under imperial rule, and how studying catastrophes in colonised spaces can help to challenge some of the Eurocentric trends that run through disciplines such as disaster studies and the history of science. About the speaker Dr Sarah Irving is a Lecturer in Modern Middle Eastern history, specialising in the social and cultural history of Late Ottoman and Mandate Palestine and the broader Levant region. She is also a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, researching a social history of the 1927 Jericho earthquake. She published widely on Palestinian engagement in history and ethnographic writing, archaeology and education between 1890 and the Nakba, and also on representations of Arab-Jewish and Muslim-Jewish romances in Arabic fiction. She is also editor-in-chief of the journal Contemporary Levant, published by the Council for British Research in the Levant. About the seminar series This seminar series critically employs the concept of decoloniality, a term coined by sociologist Anibal Quijano. By questioning the boundaries of knowledge production, agency and representation more specifically within the curriculum in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, the series will bring together a diverse range of perspectives on historical and contemporary topics, interrogating some unexamined framings that shape our understanding of the Middle East. Seminars will be interdisciplinary, covering diverse themes, such as: Arabic teaching pedagogy; archiving and the production of history during and after the British Mandate in Scotland, Lebanon, Palestine and Somalia; Saudi Arabia’s progressive narratives; the role of libraries and librarians in the UK. The series also explores new avenues in the study of the region, reflecting on its positionality within Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies and by looking into consolidating interdisciplinarity and dialogue with other fields. How to join Events 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 details. All talks are followed by a reception. Email for joining details 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 Mar 19 2024 13.00 - 14.30 Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Research Seminar Series: Sarah Irving Join us on campus for a seminar by Dr Sarah Irving (Staffordshire University) on examining colonialism and imperial rule through the lens of natural disasters in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Project Room 1.06 50 George Square Edinburgh EH8 9LH Find the venue: 50 George Square Email for joining details
Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Research Seminar Series: Sarah Irving In brief Date - 19 March 2024 Guest speaker - Dr Sarah Irving (Staffordshire University) Title - Disasters, Disciplinarity and Decolonisation: thinking with the 1927 Jericho earthquake Format - Talk, Q&A and reception Email for joining details About the event by Sarah Irving Histories of disaster have, until recently, been a very Euro-American genre. From the popular to the densely scholarly, titles on the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, the Lisbon tsunami and fire of 1755 or Hurricane Katrina have proliferated, whilst those on disasters in Asia, Africa and Latin America have been few and far between, despite the fact that they have seen many of the world’s biggest ‘natural’ catastrophes. Drawing on my case study of the earthquake that shook mandatory-ruled Palestine, Transjordan, Lebanon and Syria in July 1927, this seminar explores how looking at ‘natural’ disasters can offer insights into the processes of colonialism in South-West Asia and North Africa and the experiences of indigenous populations under imperial rule, and how studying catastrophes in colonised spaces can help to challenge some of the Eurocentric trends that run through disciplines such as disaster studies and the history of science. About the speaker Dr Sarah Irving is a Lecturer in Modern Middle Eastern history, specialising in the social and cultural history of Late Ottoman and Mandate Palestine and the broader Levant region. She is also a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, researching a social history of the 1927 Jericho earthquake. She published widely on Palestinian engagement in history and ethnographic writing, archaeology and education between 1890 and the Nakba, and also on representations of Arab-Jewish and Muslim-Jewish romances in Arabic fiction. She is also editor-in-chief of the journal Contemporary Levant, published by the Council for British Research in the Levant. About the seminar series This seminar series critically employs the concept of decoloniality, a term coined by sociologist Anibal Quijano. By questioning the boundaries of knowledge production, agency and representation more specifically within the curriculum in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, the series will bring together a diverse range of perspectives on historical and contemporary topics, interrogating some unexamined framings that shape our understanding of the Middle East. Seminars will be interdisciplinary, covering diverse themes, such as: Arabic teaching pedagogy; archiving and the production of history during and after the British Mandate in Scotland, Lebanon, Palestine and Somalia; Saudi Arabia’s progressive narratives; the role of libraries and librarians in the UK. The series also explores new avenues in the study of the region, reflecting on its positionality within Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies and by looking into consolidating interdisciplinarity and dialogue with other fields. How to join Events 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 details. All talks are followed by a reception. Email for joining details 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 Mar 19 2024 13.00 - 14.30 Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Research Seminar Series: Sarah Irving Join us on campus for a seminar by Dr Sarah Irving (Staffordshire University) on examining colonialism and imperial rule through the lens of natural disasters in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Project Room 1.06 50 George Square Edinburgh EH8 9LH Find the venue: 50 George Square Email for joining details
Mar 19 2024 13.00 - 14.30 Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Research Seminar Series: Sarah Irving Join us on campus for a seminar by Dr Sarah Irving (Staffordshire University) on examining colonialism and imperial rule through the lens of natural disasters in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
