Tunis / Entering Critical Conversation: On Theories and Methods in Arabic and Cultural Studies

Entering Critical Conversation / المحاورة النقدية is a two-day research workshop for MA and PhD students from Tunis-based universities and research institutions, focusing on theory and method in literary and cultural studies. Taking the new Arabic translation of Arabistik: Eine literatur- und kulturwissenschaftliche Einführung (Albers, Braune, Junge, Lang, and Pannewick, 2021) as its starting point, it asks how scholarly concepts travel between German- and Arabic-speaking academic contexts. Participants will present their own research, and work in progress is welcome.

How do theoretical concepts travel between languages, disciplines, and academic contexts? What happens when methods developed within one scholarly tradition are applied to materials and questions emerging from another? The project Entering Critical Conversation invites MA students and PhD candidates from universities across Tunis to participate in a two-day research workshop on theory and method in literary and cultural studies.
The workshop takes the Arabic translation of the textbook Arabistik: Eine literatur- und kulturwissenschaftliche Einführung (Albers, Braune, Junge, Lang, and Pannewick, 2021) as its point of departure. Translated by Dr. Anis Ben Amor and published by the Tunisian publishing house Dar Zeineb in 2026, the volume introduces central debates in contemporary German-language Arabic Studies. Its translation provides an opportunity to discuss how scholarly concepts circulate between German- and Arabic-speaking academic contexts—and how they may need to be translated, adapted, or critically revised.
Participants will read and discuss selected theoretical texts and present their current MA or PhD research projects to fellow students, faculty members, and the workshop organisers. The focus will be on the projects’ theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches. Work in progress is explicitly welcome.

• What are the theoretical concepts that orient your project?
• How do theory, method, and research material relate to one another?
• How are concepts defined, applied, challenged, and reshaped?
• To what extent is the approach shaped by the “worldliness” of literary criticism—that is, by its particular social, political, and institutional contexts?
• Which theoretical or methodological problems remain unresolved?

Applications are invited from MA students and PhD candidates enrolled at universities or other higher-education institutions in Tunis. Tunis-based PhD candidates enrolled at institutions outside of Tunis may also apply. Applicants should be undertaking research in the fields of literary studies, cultural studies, Arabic Studies, comparative literature, film and media studies, history, anthropology, or related disciplines. The workshop will be conducted in Arabic and English; no knowledge of German is required. Participants are expected to attend the full workshop program over three days (16-18 November 2026), including the public evening event at the Tunisian Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts on 18 November, 18:00 -20:00 pm. The venue for the workshop is the Campus of the University Tunis El Manar.

Full Text of the Call:

Entering Critical Conversation - Tunisia (PDF in English and Arabic)

15 October 2026: Application Deadline
27 October 2026: Notification of Selected Applicants
18-20 December 2026: Workshop Days in Tunis

Please submit the following documents in a single PDF file:

1. Curriculum vitae — maximum one page.
2. Motivation statement — maximum half a page, explaining your interest in the workshop and its relevance to your research.
3. Project description — maximum one page, outlining:
   The research question and research material, corpus, etc.; the theoretical frameworks and concepts that inform your research; the research and interpretive methods you are using; One theoretical or methodological question you would like to discuss during the workshop. Applications may be submitted in Arabic or English. 

Selected participants will receive the Arabic translation in advance and will be expected to read selected chapters, present their research, and participate actively in the discussions. Participation is free of charge. Please send your application as a single PDF document to participation@agya.info by 15 October 2026.

Applicants will be notified of the selection outcome by 27 October 2026

• Christian Junge, AGYA alumnus, Philipps-University Marburg, Germany
• Anis Ben Amor, AGYA alumnus, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunisia
• Adam Talib, AGYA member, The American University in Cairo, Egypt
• Noran Amin, AGYA member, Cairo University, Egypt

• University of Tunis El Manar (Tunis, Tunisia)
• Institut Supérieur des Sciences Humaines de Tunis (Tunis, Tunisia)
• Tunisian Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts - Beit al-Hikma (Tunis, Tunisia)