Public Culture

Today I attended the dissertation defense of my friend Ben Koerber. His book-in-progress is titled: The Aesthetics and Politics of Rumor in Egyptian Public Culture Although he identifies many kinds of rumors, they are all kinds of tales that are unauthorized by authorities–they are disturbances in symbolic systems (such as a political order). Rumor is…

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Fantasy Finds

YA Arabic Fantasy Fiction I recommend anything by Ahmed Salah Al Mahdi, a bright new talent in the Arab World. I’ve dedicated another post to his work here. Adult Arabic Fantasy Fiction ‘Warrior’ by Matt Leines Historical/Classical Selections: Science Fiction: Speculative fiction fans, tune in to these two Intralingo Spotlight interviews with author Dr. Monther…

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Folkarts in Contemporary Pop Culture

Paintings by English book illustrator Arthur Rackham Films by Japanese artist Hayao Miyazaki Fantasy novels and short stories around the world Illustrations by American book designer Thomas Canty Arabic folk hero Antar. Film on YouTube here (in Arabic). Margari Aziza wrote about her discovery of Antar. Egyptian feminist working group, Women & Memory Forum, published…