The Kingdom of Morocco, its Past and Present
Tuesday 5 April 2022, 7 - 8 pm
Lady Violet Room at the NLC (and virtually)
As part of a series of events in advance of our visit to Morocco in 2023, the NLC European Forum is pleased to present an evening led by Professor Amira Bennison to discuss the Kingdom of Morocco, its rich and varied history and culture, including Jewish culture, past and present.
The Chair of the evening is His Honour Richard Harper with concluding Remarks by Humaira Patel.
Amira K. Bennison is Professor in the History and Culture of the Maghrib, and is Director of Studies in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Magdalene College, Cambridge University.
"Amira K. Bennison became interested in the Middle East and North Africa while studying for her BA Hons in History and Arabic and Cambridge. After graduating, she went to live in Cairo for a year before studying for a Masters at Harvard University and a PhD at the SOAS. Her PhD, based on a year’s archival research in Morocco, looked at the impact of the French conquest of Algiers in 1830 on notions of political legitimacy in neighbouring Morocco. This involved an exploration of the significance of jihād in political legitimation in the western Maghrib published as Jihād and its Interpretations in Pre-colonial Morocco. She went on to the University of Manchester as a Leverhulme research fellow before moving to the University of Cambridge in 1997. Her work has continued to explore political legitimacy but has expanded to encompass Islamic Spain as well as the Maghrib, and to consider urban planning, ceremonial and rhetoric alongside jihād. Dr. Bennison has appeared in several TV programmes about the history of the Middle East and North Africa including ‘Europe’s Lost Civilisation’; ‘The Thirties in Colour’, ‘Islamic Science’; and "The Ottomans". She is also a regular contributor to Radio 4’s ‘In Our Time’ with Melvyn Bragg and other radio programmes on Islamic history".
After the event drinks are available in the Bar and dinner is available in the dining room (please book directly with the NLC Dining Room).
Missed the event? No Problem!
Once available, the talk will be published on our Media Gallery Page.