The programme and exact location for the 24th meeting of the Platform for Postcolonial Readings are now available. The event will take place at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Etterbeek Campus, Pleinlaan 2 1050 Brussels, Room P2.0.06 (& online).
The meeting is open to all researchers working in the fields of Arab Literary Studies, East Asian Studies, postcolonial and globalization studies. Active participation by junior researchers (doctoral students/ research masters) are strongly encouraged. Participation is free of charge, but please register (via https://forms.gle/97XBsUkcuohSaPzM7) to receive the reading material and the link if you join digitally. For more information you can contact Platform coordinator Prof. dr. Elisabeth Bekers (elisabeth.bekers@vub.be) and guest organizer Alice Königstetter (alice.konigstetter@vub.be).
Programme
9.30 Welcome by Platform coordinators Prof. Dr. Elisabeth BEKERS (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) & Prof. Dr. Liesbeth MINNAARD (Universiteit Leiden)
followed by a round of introductions
9.40 Introduction by guest organizer Alice KÖNIGSTETTER (Universität Wien/Vrije Universiteit Brussel)
10.00 Keynote Lecture: "The Roots of Sudanese Magical Realism" by Prof. Dr. Xavier Luffin (Université libre de Bruxelles)
followed by short Q&A
10.40 Coffee Break
11.00 Joint Discussion of Readings moderated by Alice KÖNIGSTETTER
Readings in preparation of this discussion will be sent to all registered participants:
- Luffin, Xavier. “Sudanese Magical Realism: Another Kind of Resistance to the Colonial/Imperialist Power?” Interventions (London, England), vol. 20, no. 2, 2018, pp. 243–53.
- Daniëls, Helge. “The Politics and Poetics of Language Use in “The Parisian or Al-Barisi” of Isabella Hamad”. Code-Switching in the Arts, edited by Johanna Domokos et al., L’Harmattan Publishing, 2023. pp. 23–44.
- Alshammari, Shahd. Head Above Water. Neem Tree Press, 2022. pp. 23–34.
11.50 Lunch Break
13.00 Conversation with Kuwaiti author Dr. Shahd Alshammari about her memoir Head Above Water (2022) (Online) moderated by Alice KÖNIGSTETTER
13.50 Coffee Break
14.15 – 15.45 Hybridity and Innovative Forms in Current Research moderated by Elisabeth BEKERS
- 14.15 “Riwāyat al-Nahḍa as a Hybrid Genre” by Jonathan JONSSON (University of Oslo)
- 14.40 “Voices of the In-between: Narratives of Generation 1.5 Moroccan Writers in Catalonia” by Zahra EL MORABIT SGHIRE (Universiteit Gent)
- 15.05 “Genre Hybridity and Innovative Forms in Anglophone Women’s Literature from Kuwait” by Alice KÖNIGSTETTER (Universität Wien/Vrije Universiteit Brussel)
presentations 15 min followed by 10 min discussion
15.25 Concluding Reflections
by Platform coordinator Elisabeth BEKERS and guest organiser Alice KÖNIGSTETTER
16.00 Networking Reception
Venue: Bar Pilar, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Building I
