The End of Civilization as We Know It—a Catastrophology
A review of how some of history’s greatest civilizations' collapse presents ominous parallels with our present predicament.
History
Ahlat Reimagined—Birthplace of Turkish Rule in Anatolia
The Turkish government has reintegrated Ahlat into the national narrative, but its history is more complex than acknowledged.
Ordinary People, Extraordinary Violence in The Horrors of Adana
A book addressing the Adana massacre and exploring the events and dynamics that lead to acts of violence and why ordinary people commit them.
Mohammad Hafez Ragab: Upsetting the Guards of Cairo
Maha Al Aswad sheds light on Egyptian writer Mohammad Hafez Ragab, a literary figure of the 1960s whose works have been vastly overlooked.
In and Between Languages: Writing on the Fault Line
Nektaria Anastasiadou writes about her decision to pen her works using the historically fractured language of the Istanbul dialect of Greek.
Reza Aslan’s An American Martyr in Persia Argues for US-Iranian Friendship
Dalia Sofer reviews Reza Aslan's latest book on American Howard Baskerville, "martyred" alongside revolutionary students in Iran in 1909.
The Postcard Women’s Imaginarium: Decolonizing the Western Gaze
Salma Ahmad Caller reflects on curating a unique museum-quality exhibition of postcards and objects orientalizing women
Translating Walter Benjamin on Berlin, a German-Arabic Journey
Ahmed Farouk, the Arabic translator of Günter Grass, W. G. Sebald and Rosa Luxemburg, among others, struggles with Walter Benjamin.
My Berlin Triptych: On Museums and Restitution
Filmmaker and historian Viola Shafik muses on German art, colonialism and restitution in Berlin.
The Mystery of Tycoon Michel Baida in Old Arab Berlin
Film curator and scholar Irit Neidhardt searches for clues to the Berlin disappearance of gramophone tycoon Michel Baida.