You are all invited to the following seminar:

Wednesday 29th May at 4pm in R3.41 (Ramphal Building)

Speaker: Professor Cathia Jenainati

Title: Les Raconteuses du Levant — untold stories of Female Hakawatis and the challenges they pose to sustainable development discourse in the Arabic-speaking world

Abstract: "My story I’ve told it, and in your heart I’ve stored it. Tell my story, repeat its detail but whatever you do protect my reputation and my family’s honour". I have been collecting stories by talking to women in Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan for the past 20 years. I have done this in various roles and for different purposes. The stories have shaped my understanding of the challenges facing some parts of the Arabic-speaking world and they have taught me the reality of life as a woman in an ever-changing, constantly “modernising” and increasingly unforgiving environment. In this talk, I hope to share with you some of these stories and to reflect on the challenges they pose to sustainable development discourse in this part of the world.