NYUAD Institute
Episodes
The Ethicist Speaks of Identity
28 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This talk navigates the complex waters of ethical understanding, guided by insights from the author of The New York Times Sunday Magazine's The Ethici...
What Is the Role of Motherhood in the Public Domain?
22 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The roles of mothers across the public/private divide have long been contested and negotiated. How have women leveraged their identities as mothers to...
Harmonizing Hope
22 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this talk, Dr. Sarmast, Founder and Director of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM), shares the inspiring journey of ANIM—a remark...
Territory and Self-Determination
22 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this talk, the speaker discusses the often overlooked significance of territory—the geographical domain of the modern state—in political theory...
Shehan Karunatilaka: Writing Across Borders
22 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Explore the captivating realm of Shehan Karunatilaka’s fiction, which masterfully intertwines the surreal and humorously dark. "The Seven Moons of M...
Sands, Seas, and Stars: Tracing Emirati History and Culture through Its Cuisine
21 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In celebration of UAE National Day, this talk offers an overview of the origins and evolution of Emirati cuisine as an expression of Emirati culture a...
Can Our Understanding of Climate Keep Up With Observed Changes?
21 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Climate change is increasingly apparent to the general public through increasing heat waves, intense rainfall, flooding events, and sea level rise. Ho...
Nine Parts: A One-Woman Film About the Lives and Loves of Iraqi Women
21 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Nearly 20 years ago Heather Raffo’s play, 9 Parts of Desire, premiered to widespread acclaim in London and Off-Broadway, later becoming a global the...
Exposing the Secrets of Black Holes
21 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Black holes are one of the most interesting and confusing objects in the universe. Their inevitable possibility is predicted by Einstein’s theory of...
The Search for a Contemporary Art Scene in the UAE: From the Sand Palace to the Venice Biennale
21 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Does the UAE have an art scene? A group of European curators concluded it did not, after they visited in search of contemporary art and artists in the...
The Parrot and the Igloo: Sherwood Rowland’s Question
21 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sherwood Rowland was a Nobel-winning climate scientist who asked, in 1986, in The New Yorker: “What’s the point of having developed a science well...
NYUAD Alumni: On Training and Becoming Professional Artists
21 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This panel focuses on the journeys of four outstanding theater professionals who found their voices at NYU Abu Dhabi and are making their way in the U...
The Necessity of Young Adult Literature: A Conversation
21 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What can young adult literature teach us about the problems confronting the world today? Can these books possibly help us find potential solutions to ...
How Is Biological Form Encoded?
06 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This talk explores morphogenesis, the fascinating process of form development in biology. It examines how complex 3D organisms evolve from a single fe...
System Error: Where Big Tech Went Wrong and How We Can Reboot
06 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This talk explores the unintended consequences of technology's pursuit of optimization, unveiling how it perpetuates discrimination, compromises priva...
True Grit: Striving in the Face of Adversity
06 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This talk discusses how it's common to embark on a challenging pursuit without knowing the likelihood of success. As we encounter hurdles and setbacks...
Field Notes from Aridly Abundant Landscapes
06 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Faysal Tabbarah, the 2023 NPUAE Curator, leads a compelling exploration into the potential of arid environments at the National Pavilion UAE during th...
Climate Law and Net Zero: Challenges and Opportunities
06 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Addressing the urgency of climate change and the foundational role of international agreements like the Paris Agreement of 2015, countries are urged t...
Climate Change and the Rights of Nature
06 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This talk explores the rise in greenhouse gas concentrations since 1992, leading to the 2023 declaration that "Climate breakdown has begun." Tradition...
On Water: A Natural Perspective!
06 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this talk, the speaker will trace humanity's bond with water, from historical ties to future implications. Despite water's perceived abundance, mos...
The Jazz of the Cosmos
06 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Explore the intriguing connections between the realms of physics, cosmology, and quantum physics with the music that defines an era. This talk examine...
Mobility Diplomacy: How States Maximize Passport Power
05 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Passport rankings demonstrate that access to visa-free travel is highly stratified globally. How do states ascend these ranks? This talk introduces th...
Developing Competencies in Medicine and Biotechnology for the UAE
05 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this talk, the speaker will discuss the evolution and importance of advancing competencies in medicine and biotechnology tailored for the UAE's uni...
The Abbasid Caliph and His People: A View From the Centre
05 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This talk explores the conventional representations of the Abbasid dynasty, highlighting its perceived trajectory from its rise in the mid-eighth cent...
Source of Life: Water Management in the Premodern Middle East
05 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the challenging climatic conditions of the Middle East, providing clean water has always been a significant concern. Yet, ancient cities like Abbas...
Cooling the Arab Gulf: How Air-Conditioning Changed Everything
05 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the Arab Gulf, air-conditioning consumes about 60% of the domestic consumption of electricity. Yet, the ascendency of this technology is far from s...
Community Archives as a Model for Documenting the UAE's Recent Past
24 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This talk explores the significance of communal efforts in capturing history by focusing on the concept of "community archives," that is, archives cre...
Researching the Leadership of the Prophet Muhammad
24 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Evaluating historical leadership effectiveness poses challenges, particularly when analyzing figures like the blessed Islamic Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, a ...
An Alchemist of the Self
24 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Join us for an engaging evening with Francisco Goldman, a distinguished and multi-award-winning author renowned for his remarkable contributions to bo...
Documenting a Performing Arts History
24 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Key figures involved in The Arts Center’s creation explore the significance and meaning of arts documentation while reflecting on their collaborativ...
Why Experiment with Ancient Technologies?
24 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This talk explores the groundbreaking achievements of our ancestors in ancient Abu Dhabi, highlighting the complexity and significance of their pionee...
Pharaonica, Flora, and Human Flesh
24 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This talk explores the profound insights of Abd al-Latif al-Baghdadi, an intellectual luminary who connected Aristotle's teachings with the emerging s...
Connecting Worlds
24 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Presenting two captivating works by director Ursula Biemann, explore the profound connections of Indigenous communities to their natural environments....
Shattered Glass of Beirut: Conserving Lebanese History Together
28 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The explosion at Beirut's port in 2020 wreaked havoc on the American University of Beirut (AUB) Archaeological Museum, shattering 72 valuable glass ar...
The Power of Authenticity: A Conversation with Dr. Raja Al Gurg
21 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Raja Al Gurg is one of the most successful businesswomen in the Arab world. Discover the insights behind her latest book, The Power of Authenticit...
The Wolf King: Ibn Mardanīsh and the Construction of Power in al-Andalus
07 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Al-Andalus is often depicted as a site of particular religious tolerance, and the twelfth century as its denouement, with foreign interlopers locked i...
Surviving the Heat: The Struggle of Marine Turtles Against Climate Change
12 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The life of a marine turtle is a struggle for survival from the day they hatch, facing obstacles, natural predators, and various anthropogenic threats...
The Way We Move: Can Information and Technology Change It?
12 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This talk focuses on the issue of urban mobility and the associated traffic congestion that is a concern in cities worldwide. With the increasing urba...
The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in the Ottoman Period
12 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
By 1535, the Ottoman Empire gained control of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers from mountain to sea. This talk discusses the ramifications of this dras...
Crystals in Health and Disease
16 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This talk explores the fascinating world of crystals and their role in biology and medicine. Crystals have always been admired for their beauty and va...
The Intellectual Crossroads of Al-Andalus
16 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Living in a land situated in one of the edges of the Islamic world, the inhabitants of al-Andalus saw themselves as somewhat isolated, an island surro...
Urban Modernity in the Contemporary Gulf: Obsolescence and Opportunities
16 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This panel delves into the 20th century architectural production in the modernization era of the Arabian Gulf and its impact on the notions of localit...
What Should 6G Be?
09 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The role of Internet and Communication Technology (ICT) in bringing about a revolution in almost all aspects of human life needs no introduction. It i...
Decoding Mars with the "Hope" Probe: Uncovering the Red Planet's Secrets of Life
09 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This talk will examine the question of whether life existed on Mars and its transformation from a warm, wet planet to a cold, dry desert world. The sp...
Can We Cure Aging?
09 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Recent research has yielded a much better understanding of how aging happens and how it leads to the ills of old age. There is now a lot of interest i...
The Voyage of the Crooked: A Connected History of the Gulf and Indian Ocean
09 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This talk charts out an oceanic microhistory, grounded in the voyages of the dhow called The Crooked from the port of Kuwait, captained by the Nakhoda...
The Cairo Genizah as a Treasury of Arabic Literature
09 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Cairo Genizah is a collection of Jewish manuscripts from the Middle Ages found in an ancient synagogue in Al-Fustat, Egypt. It is a valuable resou...
Narratives of the Moriscos’ Expulsion in Spanish and Arab Thought (English)
22 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This talk analyzes the different representations of the Moriscos’ history in Spanish and Arab thought from the early modern era to today. First, it ...
Narratives of the Moriscos’ Expulsion in Spanish and Arab Thought (Arabic)
22 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
نحاول من خلال هذه المحاضرة تحليل مُختلف التمثلات الإسبانية والعربية للتاريخ المور...
Waste Siege: The Life of Infrastructure in Palestine
22 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sophia Stamatopoulou-Robbins traces Palestinians’ experiences of waste to explore what their improvisations for mitigating the effects of what she c...
The Arrival of Late Modernism in Dubai
14 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“Old” and “new” Dubai represent the city’s dual cosmopolitan context. The almost drastic stylistic evolution from “old” Dubai’s areesh...
The (Impossible) Decolonization of the Western Museum
14 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For decades now, the “universal museum,” an institution invented in Western Europe, has been challenged, and its decolonization has become a subje...
Love’s Grammar
14 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Yasmine Seale presents The Dove’s Necklace, a fascinating text on the nature of love from 11th-century Cordoba, and reads from her translation in pr...
Tenth Anniversary of the Higgs Boson Discovery
05 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
July 4, 2012 marked the discovery of the Higgs Boson (also known as the "God Particle") after its prediction almost 50 years prior. With a ten-year re...
Photography as a Visual Record: Past, Present, Future
05 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Published on the occasion of the UAE's 50th anniversary, 50U tells the story of the UAE in 50 portraits of people, plants and places. Acclaimed royal ...
Speaking English: Staging the Dialectics of Identity, Culture and Survival
15 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The wildly successful world premiere of Iranian-American Sanaz Toossi’s award-winning play and production English (2022) captivated audiences who ha...
Extremism: A Philosophical Analysis
15 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We live in a world in which extremism is said to be on the rise. The 20th century was scarred by extremist movements and ideologies, and extremism con...
Making Decisions in a World of Uncertainty
10 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Pandemic, war, rising oil prices, food shortages, … there is no uncertainty about how uncertain these times are. Yet, we have to make decisions at a...
The Legacy of Al-Andalus: Material and Textual Sources
10 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For almost eight centuries the Arabs dominated much of the territory of the Iberian Peninsula (711-1492 C.E.). They called that region al-Andalus and,...
Plagued Legacies: Rethinking Black Death Narratives
10 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This talk addresses the lasting legacies of past plagues, in particular the Black Death, because they continue to shape the way we think about new pan...
How the Muslims of Canton Saved China in 1582
10 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Traveling from Canton to Lisbon and back via Aden and Jiddah, Hormuz and the Straights of Malaka, this talk connects China, India, and the Philippines...
Legacies of Violence
10 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Recent research in the social sciences suggests that families’ past experiences of violence –notably, war and displacement – shape descendants’...
Prophet Muhammad's Timeless Gifts to Humanity
10 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Prophet Muhammad has made a prodigious impact on the history of the world and continues to impact the contemporary world. How exactly did he manage to...
No Choice but to Keep Creating Futures: The Frontier of Climate Change
13 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Climate change is here—but it looks nothing like in the movies. Across the planet, the people most affected by natural disasters are somehow still l...
‘50U’: An Intimate Portrait of the UAE
13 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Published in the year of the 50th anniversary of the confederation of the United Arab Emirates, 50U paints an intimate picture of life in the Emirates...
The Future of Humans and AI
13 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Current advances in AI are phenomenal. However, we are still in the beginning of the AI “Industrial Revolution.” We are creating the steam engines...
Understanding Our Universe From 2 KM Underground
06 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
By going deep underground and creating ultra-clean conditions, it is possible to produce the lowest radioactivity laboratory in the world. There we ca...
Global Water Security Challenges Threats And Solutions For A Thirsty Planet
15 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Every part of existence is fueled by water. It supports the most important industries in society including the energy sector, agriculture, and transpo...
Sense and Intuition: A Conversation with Adonis
31 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This conversation with Adonis, the greatest living poet of the Arab world, focuses on questions regarding the intersection of visual art and poetry in...
The Role of Innovation in Scientific Research in the UAE
31 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This talk highlights the vital role of innovation in boosting and enhancing the mechanism of scientific research in the UAE from various areas, includ...
Fear of Black Universe
31 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Great physics requires us to think outside the mainstream—to improvise and rely on intuition. This talk explores three principles that shape all the...
Epigenetics: The Immortal Kiss of Our Grandparents
31 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As humans, we have evolved and survived because we are curious and critical thinkers. How do these traits shape our lives and science, and lead us to ...
Danger Zone: The Coming Conflict with China
31 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It is conventional wisdom that America and China are running a “superpower marathon” that may last a century. But the sharpest phase of that compe...
Sites of Suffering and Trauma: What to Remember and What to Forget
31 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This conversation explores how communities connect with places of suffering, like former prisons that have been turned into museums—specifically Esm...
How Physics Answers Gauguin’s Questions About the Universe
31 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In a famous painting, Paul Gauguin posed three fundamental questions about our place in the Universe: “What are we? Where do we come from? Where are...
User Interfaces for the Complexity of Nature
31 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Quantum information theory has given us a new and interesting twist on the old problem of quantum gravity: the Universe as a Computation. As the compu...
The Steed, the Night and the Desert
31 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Why do many consider al-Mutannabi the first Arab poet? Why is his poetry still pulsing with life, modernity, uniqueness, and Arabness as if it was wri...
A Brief History Of The Universe
31 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A roller coaster through cosmic time, this talk truncates the 13.7 billion years of life of our Universe into 60 minutes. Starting from a very hot cos...
How Gen Z Can Get Stronger, Smarter, And Happier
08 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Rates of depression, anxiety, and self-harm are far higher for those in Gen Z (born after 1996) than any previous generation, including the Millennial...
“Migrants Through Time”; An Insight Into The Female Diasporic Voice
08 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This talk discusses the role of place in diasporic literature and the universality of women's voices. Who can speak for whom? What role do distance an...
Pride & Future- Cultural Heritage In Afghanistan
08 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
With the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan, many may remember the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas in 2001. Since then, Afghans in the c...
A Paper Trail Across The Lands Of Islam
08 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Paper, perhaps the most common manufactured item in everyday use, was invented in China over 2,000 years ago. One thousand years later, Muslims learne...
Five Days That Shaped The UAE
08 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The five days between November 28 and December 2, 1971 saw Abu Dhabi mark the fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed as Ruler, an invasion by Iran, and a n...
A Map Of Many Cities; The Making Of Building Sharjah
08 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This talk explores the collaborative research efforts to produce “Building Sharjah,” the first book--not only in the UAE but in the region--to doc...
Heritage Futures Oceans Of Connectivity
08 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Western paradigms of history about East and West, North and South, have enjoyed a privileged position in the global marketplace of ideas. However, the...
Space Exploration And Extraterrestrial Mining
08 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As population and pollution increase, humans are looking at high frontiers. Potential benefits of extraterrestrial mining are immense. For example, NA...
How Beauty Leads Physics Astray
08 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
To develop fundamentally new laws of nature, theoretical physicists often rely on arguments from beauty. Simplicity and naturalness in particular have...
Caste, Class And Race Writing, Rights And Violence
08 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sujatha Gidla, the author of Ants Among Elephants:An Untouchable Family and the Making of Modern India, in conversation with Toral Gajarawala, Associa...
Natq A Live Audiovisual Essay About Impossible Speech
08 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Lawrence Abu Hamdan presents "Natq," a live audiovisual essay on the politics and possibilities of reincarnation. Through listening closely to “xeno...
Improving Education for Refugee Children: Insights from Rigorous Research
05 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
By the start of 2018, 25 million refugees fled across international borders to seek protection. Over half of these refugees are under the age of 18. L...
The End of the Western Model
05 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Recent earthquakes, ranging from Brexit and the election of Donald Trump to the pandemic, have terminated the role that the United States and its West...
Making Social Spaces
05 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How do architectural design and users’ practices inform the creation of social space? In which spaces and through which modalities do people come to...
The Musical Citizen
05 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The making of citizens in and through music is a 19th-century commonplace. But the ground of this longstanding musicological discussion has shifted wi...
Stories We Continue to Tell: The Many Returns of the Thousand and One Nights
05 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Thousand and One Nights has been fueling the imagination and craft of storytellers since the 18th century. This conversation between two winners o...
How to Make a City: Dubai Circa 1960
05 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Even before its shores claimed an ounce of steel, Dubai was a modern city whose residents plied sea and desert routes to sustain it. This talk charts ...
Scientific Research and Development in the UAE: Challenges and Prospects
05 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The UAE has built an instrumental ecosystem of research around the local, governmental, and independent academic institutions, research and technology...
Sport in the Middle East: Promoting Gender Equality
05 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Women and women's sport are playing a growing role in promoting equality and cooperation across business and society in the Middle East. From the gras...
What to Do When the Sun Turns Violent in 2025?
05 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Sun generates huge magnetic storms with some regularity and streams billions of tons of charged particles. These storms are supposed to reach thei...
Science Diplomacy in the Middle East: Challenges and Opportunities
05 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
With all eyes on the Middle East, global leaders have recognized that science diplomacy is an extremely important mechanism for working toward stabili...
Liminal Spaces: Art and Migration Narratives of Women of the Guyanese Diaspora
05 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Grace Aneiza Ali’s recently-published Liminal Spaces: Migration and Women of the Guyanese Diaspora (OpenBook Publishers) is an intimate exploration ...