Middle East Centre Booktalk
Episodes
A keynote conversation with Saeb Eigner about Artists of the Middle East - 1900 to Now
25 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this lecture, Saeb Eigner offers a journey through more than a century of modern and contemporary art from the Middle East and North Africa, as doc...
Contemporary Islamist Opposition in Morocco: Resisting Inclusion and Moderation
17 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Alfonso Casani (Complutense University of Madrid) discusses their recent book.
A Modern History of Syria
27 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This book talk was delivered at the Middle East Centre on Tuesday 10 February 2026 by author, Dr Daniel Neep (Brandeis University), and chaired by Pro...
Fire in Every Direction
27 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This book talk was delivered at the Middle East Centre on Thursday 24 February 2026 by Tareq Baconi (author) in conversation with Dr Ammar Azzouz (Som...
Order and Region Making in the Middle East
23 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This seminar was delivered at the Middle East Centre on Thursday 19 February 2026 by Professor Simon Mabon (Lancaster University), and was chaired by ...
Kingdom of Football: Saudi Arabia and the Remaking of World Soccer
23 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This book talk was delivered at the Middle East Centre on Thursday 12 February 2026 by Dr Kristian Coates Ulrichsen (Rice University) and was chaired ...
Breaking New Ground on the Global Stage: Memoirs of Kuwait’s First Woman Ambassador
17 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this seminar, Ambassador Nabeela Al Mulla, author, is in conversation with Professor Eugene Rogan, MEC Director, about her new book ‘Breaking New...
Food and Language: Rhetorical-Cultural Excavations in Arab Heritage / الطعام والكلام: حفريات بلاغية ثقافية في التراث العربي
13 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Seminar in English and Arabic. Professor Said Laouadi, winner of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award 2025, discusses his book ‘Food and Language: Rhetorical...
Safe Corridor
11 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This seminar discusses the inaugural Bait AlGhasham DarArab International Translation Prize winner, ‘Safe Corridor’; a bold, unforgettable novel o...
Slavery, Abolition and Islam: Debating Freedom in the Islamic Tradition
03 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this Contemporary Islamic Studies seminar, Dr Haroon Bashir discusses his new book ‘Slavery, Abolition and Islam: Debating Freedom in the Islamic...
East of Empire: Egypt, India, and the World between the Wars
08 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this joint seminar with the Asian Studies Centre, Dr Erin MB O’Halloran, University of Cambridge, presents her new book 'East of Empire' (2025 St...
East of Empire: Egypt, India, and the World between the Wars (Transcript)
08 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this joint seminar with the Asian Studies Centre, Dr Erin MB O’Halloran, University of Cambridge, presents her new book 'East of Empire' (2025 St...
Understanding Syria through Syrian Voices: Refugees’ Stories of Revolution, War, and the Struggle for Home
24 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this joint seminar with Oxford University’s Refugee Studies Centre, Wendy Pearlman, Professor at Northwestern University, shares personal testimo...
From Jihad to Politics: How Syrian Jihadis Embraced Politics
11 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this Friday seminar, Jérôme Drevon discusses his book ‘From Jihad to Politics: How Syrian Jihadis Embraced Politics’ (OUP 2024). Bio Jérôm...
Genocide in Gaza
07 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On Tuesday 18 February 2025, the Middle East Centre hosted the launch for St Antony’s Emeritus Fellow, Professor Avi Shlaim’s, new book ‘Genocid...
The Oxford Handbook of Religion in Turkey
30 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A launch event for ‘The Oxford Handbook of Religion in Turkey’ (OUP), jointly convened by the MEC and SEESOX, with panellists Caroline Tee, Fabio ...
Writing Middle Eastern Lives: Biography in Modern Arab History
29 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sonja Mejcher-Atassi, author of ‘An Impossible Friendship’, Marilyn Booth, author of ‘The Career and Communities of Zaynab Fawwaz’, and Peter ...
The Abraham Accords: The Gulf States, Israel, and the Limits of Normalization
29 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this talk, Dr Elham Fakhro, a Research Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, launches her new book ‘The Abraham Accords: The Gulf States, Israel,...
God’s Man in Iraq: The Life and Leadership of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani
29 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this talk, Iraqi political analyst, Sajad Jiyad, discusses his new book ‘God’s Man in Iraq: The Life and Leadership of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-S...
Tahrir, Gaza, and beyond: revolution, liberation, and praxis
31 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Researcher and writer, Rusha Latif, gives a talk based on her new book ‘Tahrir’s Youth: Leaders of a Leaderless Revolution’ Abstract: In this t...
The challenges of writing Middle East history after 7 October: from Gaza to the climate crisis
25 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dr Ibrahim Al-Marashi reflects on the process of researching and writing the latest edition of his book, ‘A Concise History of the Middle East’. T...
The New Spirit of Islamism: Interactions between the AKP, Ennahda and the Muslim Brotherhood
22 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Journalist and scholar, Dr Ezgi Başaran, presents her book which traces the links between the AKP, Tunisia’s Ennahda, and the Egyptian Muslim Broth...
The Making of the Modern Muslim State: Islam and Governance in the Middle East and North Africa
30 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Malika Zeghal (Harvard University) presents her new book 'The Making of the Modern Muslim State: Islam and Governance in the Middle East and...
The Loneliest Revolution: A Memoir of Solidarity and Struggle in Iran
06 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ali Mirsepassi in conversation with Stephanie Cronin about his new book
The Damascus Events Book Launch, Oxford
17 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Book Launch for "The Damascus Events: the 1860 Massacre and the Destruction of the Old Ottoman World" By Eugene Rogan, Published in hardback by Allen...
The United Nations and the Question of Palestine
07 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Ardi Imseis new book explores the UN’s management of the longest-running problem on its agenda, critically assessing tensions between the ...
Book Launch - Russia and the GCC 'The Case of Tatarstan's Paradiplomacy'
07 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Diana Galeeva introduces her book which examines the relations between the Gulf States and Russia from the Soviet era to the present day. In rece...
Israel's Covert Diplomacy in the Middle East
03 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This lecture explores Israel’s secret relations with its neighbors during the years 1948-2022. In order to survive in a hostile environment in the M...
Book Launch: Locked Out of Development: Insiders and Outsiders in Arab Capitalism
23 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dr Hertog presents the key arguments of his new short monograph “Locked Out of Development: Insiders and Outsiders in Arab Capitalism” published b...
Algeria: Politics and Society from the Dark Decade to the Hirak
10 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dr Michael Willis' new book offers an explanation of this unexpected development known as the Hirak Movement, examining the political and social chang...
Book Launch: Pacted Democracy in the Middle East: Tunisia and Egypt in Comparative Perspective
23 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A new theoretical framework for how democracy can emerge in the Middle East and wider Muslim world, where political conflicts over religion often pred...
Inside Qatar: Hidden Stories from One of the Richest Nations on Earth
06 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A talk based on John McManus’s book, Inside Qatar: hidden stories from one of the richest nations on earth. A social anthropologist, McManus lifts a...
In the Shade of the Sunna: Salafi Piety in the 20th-Century Middle East
06 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Aaron Rock-Singer presents their latest book "In the Shade of the Sunna: Salafi Piety in the 20th-Century Middle East". Salafis explicitly base their ...
All Necessary Measures? The United Nations and International Intervention in Libya
29 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ian Martin presents his latest book on Libya: All Necessary Measures? The United Nations and International Intervention in Libya. In the book, he asks...
The Making of the Modern Middle East
23 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A vivid and authoritative account of the making of the modern Middle East, from the BBC’s long-serving correspondent in the region. Jeremy Bowen, th...
Togo Mizrahi and the Making of Egyptian Cinema
21 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Join us for Booktalk Episode 9, Professor Deborah Starr (Cornell University) in conversation about her new book, Togo Mizrahi and the Making of Egypti...
Egypt’s Football Revolution: Emotion, Masculinity, and Uneasy Politics
29 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Join us for Booktalk Episode 8, Dr Carl Rommel (University of Helsinki) in conversation about his new book Egypt’s Football Revolution: Emotion, Mas...
Making Film in Egypt
18 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Join us as we listen to Dr Chihab El Khachab (King’s College, Cambridge) in conversation about his new book – Making Film in Egypt: How Labor, Tec...
Booktalk episode 6: Rivals in the Gulf: Yusuf al-Qaradawi, Abdullah Bin Bayyah, and the Qatar-UAE Contest Over the Arab Spring and the Gulf Crisis
12 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For our sixth episode of MEC Booktalk, guest author David Warren (Washington University in St Louis) discusses his recent book, Rivals in the Gulf, pu...
A Revolution in Rhyme: Poetic Co-option under the Islamic Republic
04 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Guest author Dr Fatemeh Shams (Assistant Professor of Modern Persian Literature, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, University of...
The Caliphate of Man: Popular Sovereignty in Modern Islamic Thought
16 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Join us for the fourth MEC Booktalk episode where Dr Usaama al-Azami talks with guest author Andrew March about his new book, The Caliphate of Man: Th...
Rediscovering the Islamic Classics: How Editors and Print Culture Transformed an Intellectual Tradition
07 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Join us for the third MEC Booktalk episode where Dr Usaama al-Azami talks with guest author Ahmed El Shamsy about his new book, Rediscovering the Isla...
The Idols of ISIS: From Assyria to the Internet
18 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Episode 2, with Dr Faisal Devji, (St Antony’s College, Oxford), talks with Joshua Craze (University of Chicago) and writer Aaron Tugendhaft about Aa...
Vision or Mirage: Saudi Arabia at the Crossroads
18 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
First episode of Booktalk, where host Professor Eugene Rogan (St Antony's College, Oxford) talks with David Rundell on his book Vision or Mirage: Saud...