The Arab Council for the Social Sciences, the Afro-Asian Futures Past Research Program (American University of Beirut), and the Centre for Indian Studies in Africa (University of the Witwatersrand) jointly organized a five-day School entitled “Theorizing from the Global South: African and Arab Imaginaries and Circulations”. The event was held on October 21-25, 2019 at the ACSS offices in Beirut, Lebanon.
The school hosted 18 junior researchers from African and Arab countries including: Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Lebanon, Tunisia, Morocco, Syria, Palestine and Egypt.
The school was led by Professor Syed Farid Alatas (National University of Singapore), Dr. Anaheed Al-Hardan (American University of Beirut), Dr. Mjiba Frehiwot (University of Ghana) and Dr. Dilip Menon (University of the Witwatersrand), and focused on theories and concepts such as, what does theorizing from the Global South mean, common intellectual traditions of liberation, and thinking decolonialy with Ibn Khaldun.
Organized amidst the October uprising happening in Lebanon, the school also focused on histories and contemporary expressions of intellectual and political solidarity between Africa and the Arab region.
Moreover, in response to requests from some students, the ACSS organized a walk in Downtown Beirut led by Dr. Jamil Mouawad (Co-founding Member of the Critical Security Studies Working group at the ACSS, and Lecturer at the American University of Beirut). His talk focused on the need to understand how the space, city and protests intersect.
