Middle East Talks12 Des 2025

S1 E8 Social Media and the Politics of Ironic Belonging in Dubai - with Sonali Pahwa

What’s it like to be a 2nd generation migrant to the United Arab Emirates who is also a social media star? How can you express your identity within the constraints of its legal and political system? My guest today Sonali Pahwa, Associate Professor of Theatre Arts & Dance at the University of Minnesota, looks at the examples of two famous content creators in Dubai… an Egyptian woman and a Syrian man.

Through their comic performances, argues Pahwa, they practice “belonging” in a nation where they lack a path to citizenship. While doing so, they also challenge conventional perceptions on national and gender identity.

Guest: Sonali Pahwa, Associate Professor of Theatre Arts & Dance, University of Minnesota
Interviewer: Khaled Ezzelarab, Associate Professor of Practice, Journalism and Mass Communication Department, and Director of the Middle East Studies Program, American University in Cairo
Article: Pahwa, Sonali. "Social Media and the Politics of Ironic Belonging in Dubai." International Journal of Middle East Studies 56, no. 4 (2024): 569-584.
Intro Music: Festival of Eid Joy by Adiiswanto, licensed via Pixabay MusicGet in touch via email mesc@aucegypt.eduDisclaimer: Views expressed in this podcast series are those of participants and do not reflect the opinions of The American University in Cairo. Copyright is held by the appropriate AUC school, office or department unless otherwise stated. Requests for permission to quote or use any content should be addressed to the appropriate AUC school, office or department directly.

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Episoder(11)

S1 E11 To Stand With Palestine - with Karam Dana

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S1 E10 Sex Work in Colonial Egypt - with Francesca Biancani

The British occupation authorities drafted the first law regulating sex work in Egypt, merely 6 weeks after British forces defeated the Egyptian army and occupied the country in 1882. The era of regul...

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S1E9 Recovering Palestinian Lives - with Andrea Stanton

Qudsiyya Khurshid belonged to the first generation of Palestinian broadcasters, joining the Palestine Broadcasting Service shortly after its launch in 1936. An educator and writer, she was among a sma...

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S1 E7 Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza - with Peter Beinart

Our guest today in Middle East Talks is Peter Beinart, American writer and professor at the Newmark School of Journalism at the City University of New York, to discuss his new book Being Jewish After ...

10 Okt 202526min

S1 E6 State, Peasants and Land in mid-19th century Egypt - with Maha Ghalwash

The eras of Abbas Pasha and Said Pasha in mid 19th century Egypt are usually perceived as somewhat of a dark age … stuck there between the powerful ambitious rule of their predecessor Mohammed Ali, an...

19 Sep 202535min

S1 E5 Gaza Catastrophe: The Genocide in World-Historical Perspective - with Gilbert Achcar

As the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power 16 years ago, our guest in today’s episode warned of an “imminent nakba”… the Arabic term used to describe the expulsion of Palestini...

4 Sep 202551min

S1 E4 Egypt's 1919 Revolution in Literature and Film - with Dina Heshmat

The Revolution of 1919 is a key moment in modern Egyptian history. Pent up anger exploded after World War One, and Egyptians rose up demanding independence and an end to British occupation. But while ...

21 Aug 202540min