Nuha Al-Shaar
AGYA Alumni Jointly building bridges into the future
About me
AGYA has provided me with an intellectual family and friendships with talented individuals. It is a wonderful platform for exploring ideas and innovative interdisciplinary projects.
From 2014 to 2019, I was a member of the Working Group on Common Heritage and the Working Group on Education. Together with fellow AGYA members, I organized a number of interdisciplinary events, like a 2018 workshop in Morocco on ‘Gender Equality in the Arab World and Germany: Challenges and Perspectives’; a 2018 panel discussion in Tunisia entitled ‘Teaching Literature at the Higher Education Level: The Scientific Mind and Experimental Pedagogies’; a 2018 conference on ‘Storytelling, Travel Writing, and Seafaring from Cross-cultural Perspectives’; and a 2019 conference in Italy on ‘Discovering Common Roots: Sicily and the Mediterranean – A History of Pluralistic Traditions.’
Now, as proud AGYA alumna, I remain actively involved in editing a collection of papers from a 2017 AGYA Tandem Project on ‘Sicily and Its Pluralistic Traditions’; editing a book on ‘Travel Writing and Storytelling Across Cultures’ with fellow AGYA member Beate Ulrike La Sala; and working with Barbara Winckler, Beate Ulrike La Sala, and Jenny Oesterle-El Nabbout to produce a contribution to the Berlin-based Forum Transregionale Studien’s book series titled ‘Areas and Disciplines’.
Academic Career
2018 - today | Associate Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Department of Arabic and Translation Studies, American University of Sharjah (AUS), United Arab Emirates | |
2012 - 2018 | Assistant Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Department of Arabic and Translation Studies, American University of Sharjah, UAE | |
2011 - 2012 | Teaching Fellow, Department of the Languages and Cultures of the Near and Middle East, Faculty of Languages and Cultures, SOAS University of London, UK | |
2009 - today | Senior Research Associate, Qur’anic Studies Unit, Department of Research and Publications, Institute of Ismaili Studies, United Kingdom | |
2007 | Visiting Teaching Fellow, International Study Centre, Queen’s University of Canada in the UK (East Sussex) | |
2005 - 2008 | Tutor in Arabic (part-time), Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, the University of Cambridge, UK |
- My Commitment to AGYA
- Former Member in Charge of the Working Group 'Common Heritage and Common Challenges'
- Selection Committee 'New AGYA Members' 2015
My advice to future AGYA members
Make the most of the wonderful opportunity to be a member of AGYA. Embrace every moment and get actively involved!
On a personal note
Must read in my discipline:
Recognition in the Arabic Narrative Tradition by Philip Kennedy
Favourite novel:
Al-Shira’ wa al-‘Asifa by Hanna Mina
Best thinker/scientist from my country:
Aziz al-Azmeh