Activist Humanities in a Global Context

Ahadf Soueif, Paul Smith and Robin Kelley discuss how the
humanities can solve global challenges In this discussion, Ahdaf
Soueif Paul Smith and Robin Kelley discuss the active role of the
humanities in addressing contemporary crises, drawing from their
own experiences before opening up the discussion and inviting
audience questions. This was part of Activist Humanities in the
World (www.torch.ox.ac.uk/activist-humanities), a conference
partnered by SOAS, TORCH and UVA, and supported by the British
Council, bringing together 30 leading scholars from every (peopled)
continent to discuss the active role of the humanities in a
comparative and connected global context. Ahdaf Soueif is the
author of the bestselling The Map of Love (shortlisted for the
Booker Prize in 1999 and translated into more than 30 languages),
as well as the well-loved In the Eye of the Sun and the collection
of short stories, I Think of You. Ms Soueif is also a political and
cultural commentator. A collection of her essays, Mezzaterra:
Fragments from the Common Ground, was published in 2004. Her
articles for the Guardian in the UK are also published in the
European press, and she writes a weekly column (in Arabic) for the
national daily, al-Shorouk, in Egypt. Robin Kelley is the Gary B.
Nash Professor of American History at UCLA who has written
extensively on social movements, the African diaspora and radical
change. His books include the prize-winning, Thelonious Monk: The
Life and Times of an American Original (Free Press, 2009); Africa
Speaks, America Answers: Modern Jazz in Revolutionary Times
(Harvard University Press, 2012); Yo’ Mama’s DisFunktional!:
Fighting the Culture Wars in Urban America (Beacon Press, 1997),
which was selected one of the top ten books of 1998 by the Village
Voice; and Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination (Beacon
Press, 2002). He also edited (with Earl Lewis), To Make Our World
Anew: A History of African Americans (Oxford University Press,
2000), and is currently completing a general survey of African
American history co-authored with Tera Hunter and Earl Lewis to be
published by Norton. Paul Smith is Director of the British Council
in the USA and Cultural Counsellor at the British Embassy in
Washington, D.C.. A 30-year veteran of the British Council, the
UK's international cultural relations organization, his previous
postings include Bangladesh, India, Nigeria, Burma, New Zealand and
Chile. Most recently, he led the British Council's offices in
Afghanistan and in Egypt. His interests include history,
international cultural relations and all the arts, especially
drama. He has directed plays, particularly Shakespeare, in various
countries and has published numerous articles. He was awarded the
OBE by the Queen in 1999.