Cultural Authenticity and the Politics of Identity lecture by Prof. Sami Zubaida
British Society for Middle Eastern Studies annual lecture Wednesday, 5th February 2014, 6.00 pm The Old Theatre, Old Building, London School of Economics
The Quest for Cultural Authenticity and the Politics of Identity
Sami Zubaida
Wednesday, 5th February 2014
6.00 pm lecture
British Society for Middle Eastern Studies annual lecture
The Old Theatre, Old Building, LSE
What constitutes authenticity in different spheres of culture is contested between political and religious groups and ideologies. Discourses of difference between Muslim/national cultures and ‘the West’, and the resistance to perceived cultural invasion have featured prominently in these contests, over the generations from the inception of modernity to the present, and accelerated globalisation. These themes are explored in relation to religion, national culture, sexuality, music and food.
Sami Zubaida is Emeritus Professor of Politics and Sociology at Birkbeck, University of London, Fellow of Birkbeck College, Research Associate of the London Middle East Institute, and Professorial Research Associate of the Food Studies Centre, both at SOAS. He has held visiting positions in Cairo, Istanbul, Beirut, Aix-en-Provence, Paris, Berkley CA and NYU, written and lectured widely on themes of religion, culture, law and politics in the Middle East, with particular attention to Egypt, Iran, Iraq and Turkey. His other work is on food history and culture. Books: Islam, the People and the State: Political Ideas and Movements in the Middle East (3rd edition 2009); A Taste of Thyme: Culinary Cultures of the Middle East (edited, with R Tapper, 2nd edition 2000); Law and Power in the Islamic World (2003) and Beyond Islam: A New Understanding of the Middle East (2011).