In developing countries, one in every three girls is married before reaching age 18. One in nine is married under age 15. – [1] In Africa, Nigeria is expected to have the largest absolute number of child brides. The country has seen a decline in child marriage of about 1 percent per year over the […]
The Sacred Bridge
In a recent Newsletter (JVC-3), I shared the perspectives of Acehnese Muslims in an attempt to complicate singular notions of Islam. The Story of the Stick tuned in to the (dis)harmonies of Islamic belief and practice, and set the stage for a consideration of the role that religiosity and gender play in Banda Aceh’s political […]
Speech Bubbles: Comics and Political Cartoons in Sisi’s Egypt
The Century Foundation invited me to contribute a chapter on Egyptian cartoons and comics for Arab Politics beyond the Uprisings: Experiments in an Era of Resurgent Authoritarianism. This chapter builds on extensive fieldwork conducted during my two-year ICWA fellowship, offering the most comprehensive study to date of the challenges facing cartoonists in Egypt. I […]
Jonathan Guyer Selected For Radcliffe Fellowship
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 4, 2017 Contact: Karla Strobel Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University karla_strobel@harvard.radcliffe.edu | 617-495-8608 JONATHAN GUYER SELECTED AS 2017–2018 RADCLIFFE INSTITUTE FELLOW Cambridge, Mass.— Institute of Current World Affairs fellow Jonathan Guyer has been awarded a 2017-18 fellowship at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study […]
Nationalism for Kids: How Egyptian Comics Teach Conflict
I presented a version of this paper in February at “Framing War and Conflict in Comics,” the second annual Symposium on Arab Comics at the American University of Beirut. When General Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi ran for the Egyptian presidency in the spring of 2014, the children’s magazine Samir published a stoic caricature of him its […]
The Politics of Art in the Middle East
Creative provocations shaped the 2011 revolutions that rocked the Middle East and North Africa. Six years later, repression and the absence of political freedoms have stunted opportunities for change. Yet, time and again, Arab visual artists and novelists offer the boldest critiques of resurgent autocracy. ICWA Fellow and award-winning journalist Jonathan Guyer has brought together […]
Vulnerable, Together: the Ocean and the Sailor
On the ocean, the horizon can feel crushingly wide. From the cockpit, we can only react to what the expanse reveals—and what it doesn’t, with frustratingly vague clues. As we sail through the tropics in rainy season—filled with towering thunderclouds and sudden, violent storms at any hour—we find ourselves often peering nervously into the horizon. […]
Neri Zilber on Banksy’s New Hotel
Banksy is one of today’s most important artists. In “Inside Banksy’s West Bank Hotel,” Zilber takes you inside Banksy’s latest project – a hotel designed in Banksy’s conception as “a place for ‘peace between people, understanding, and respect.’” Read the article here. […]
Julie Barlow and Jean Benoit Nadeau on French Election
One of the most important elections in French history and the world currently, French experts and former ICWA fellows Julie Barlow and Jean Benoit write their predictions in Globe and Mail. Read the story here. To read more by Barlow and Nadeau, also purchase their book available at Amazon or see their past explanations on […]
Jonathan Guyer on Egyptian Surrealism
In the Los Angeles Review of Books, ICWA fellow Jonathan Guyer has published a review essay on the resurgent interest in Egypt’s little-known Surrealist movement, co-authored with American University in Cairo Professor Surti Singh. In “The Double Game of Egyptian Surrealism: How to Curate a Revolutionary Movement,” Guyer and Singh consider the legacy and enduring relevance of […]