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Al-Maktoum College Lecture to Examine Orient and Occident

A specialist in Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies will deliver the sixth Al-Maktoum College of Higher Education Open Lecture in the current series on Thursday, April 21.

Professor Zahia Salhi, Professor of Modern Arabic Studies at the University of Manchester (School of Arts, Languages and Cultures), will deliver a lecture examining Edward Said’s “Orientalism” under the title of:  “Orient and Occident: Seeing through a convex mirror”.

In this lecture, Professor Salhi will focus on “Occidentalism” as a discourse based on the Maghrebi experience. This will allow her to explain that Orientalism and Occidentalism are both outcomes of lengthy cultural encounters between the East and the West.

A specialist in Arabic Literature Classical and Modern and Gender Studies, Professor Salhi has published extensively in these fields.

“This is a very interesting topic which is the focus of Professor Salhi’s current research project,” said College Principal and Vice Chancellor, Dr Hossein Godazgar.

“Given the great impact of Said’s Orientalism on later discussions of the relationship between the ‘Orient’ and ‘Occident’ and current questions about this relationship, I have no doubt Professor Salhi’s speech will shed new light on the understanding of Orientalism from a literary perspective and its application to the contemporary issues”.

“We try to make our Open Lecture topics as diverse as possible and I’m certain our audience will welcome the knowledge and insight of our latest guest speaker.”

The lecture takes place at Al-Maktoum College on Thursday, April 21, 2016 at 6 pm.

It is FREE to attend and open to the public. However registration is required due to capacity.

To register email: openlectures@almcollege.org.uk

Refreshments will be available half an hour before the lecture and there will be socialising and networking with light nibbles afterwards.

There is also a free car park available adjacent to the College.