Online conference titled “The Question of Identity in the Emirati Women’s Novel”

24 January, 2022

In cooperation with the French Research Centre of the Arabian Peninsula (CEFREPA), Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi held an online conference titled “The Question of Identity in the Emirati Women’s Novel” by Dr Muna Al Sahili, a writer and a researcher based in the UAE, who is an assistant professor in comparative literature and literary criticism at the University of Benghazi in Libya. Dr Muna is also currently working as an assistant professor in the Department of Arabic Language and Literature at the United Arab Emirates University.

The conference tackled a number of topics, including the topic of identity. Dr Muna believes that discussions on the term “identity” have been ongoing since the evolution of human societies. Many have been searching for the forms of loyalties and affiliations that bind people with others. Perhaps the recent interest in this term came as a result of globalization as it generated more concerns and questions on the origins and affiliations in a constantly changing world.

Dr Muna also commented “The Emirati women’s novel mainly covers issues related to the question of identity and focuses on human relationships with the other understood as an alter ego, versus the other seen as a stranger, whether at a linguistic, social, cultural, spatial, or other levels. Therefore, this study aims to explore the Emirati women’s novel in depth by capturing the features within the narrative text that expresses the position of the self and the harmonious relationships, or divergent relationships.”

Professor Silvia Serrano, Vice-Chancellor Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi commented “Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi believes in the importance of organizing conferences with significant topics in humanities that are relevant to the local community. The importance of this conference lies in the fact that it creates a deep understanding of different aspects of the local community through a study of the Emirati women’s literature in particular, which also sheds the light on the active and socially influential role of women in the narrative text.”