University of Sydney / Faculty of Arts / Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies / Staff / Academic Staff

Dr Nijmeh Hajjar

Ph.D. (University of Sydney); Deuxième Licence, Journalisme et Communication, (Université Libre de Bruxelles); Diploma of Education in Arabic Language, Lebanese University; Licence (Bachelor) of Journalism, Lebanese University, Licence (Bachelor) of Arabic Language, Lebanese University.
Senior Lecturer
Brennan MacCallum 742

+61 2 9036 7011

Research areas

  • Conflict and dialogue in the cultural encounter between the Arab and Islamic worlds and the West as reflected in the contemporary Arab discourse
  • Contemporary Arab and Islamic thought and political culture
  • The language of modern Arabic political discourse
  • Status and role of women in the modern Middle East, and early Islamic history
  • Muslim women in Western societies
  • Women and Arabic popular culture: folktales and proverbs
  • Women in the fatwa discourse
  • Arabic language and literature
  • Modern Arabic Mahjar literature
  • Mass media and Arab society and culture
  • Arab and Islamic communities in Australia
  • Socio-cultural change in early Arab Islamic society
  • Arab and Islamic philosophy and history of art with focus on Ikhwan al-Safa

Selected publications

Books

  • Living Arabic in Context: An Introductory Course. Beirut, Bissan, 2005.

Book Chapters

  • ‘Ameen Rihani’s Humanist Vision of Arab Nationalism’, in Ameen Rihani Bridging East and West: A Pioneering Call for Arab-American Understanding, ed. by N. C. Funk and B. J. Sitka, Lanbam, Boulder, New York, Toronto, Oxford, University Press of America, 2004, pp. 134-147.
  • ‘Ameen Rihani’s Discourse on Progress, Justice and Democracy: Dynamics of Theory and Practice’, in Kahlil Gibran and Ameen Rihani: Prophets of Lebanese-American Literature, ed. by N. Oueijan, A. Eid, C. Kfoury and D. Salameh, Beirut, Notre Dame University Press, 1999, pp. 133-173.

Articles

  • ‘The Personality of the Prophet Muhammad in Arabic Poetry, between Old and New’ (in Arabic), in Nizwa, No. 53, January 2008, pp. 43-62.
  • ‘Dynamics of Fear and Hope, and Resistance against Patriarchal Power: Quest for Freedom in Hanan al-Shaykh’s Story of Zahra’, in The Journal of the Sydney Society of Literature and Aesthetics, Vol. 17, No. 2, December 2007, pp. 67-90.
  • ‘Between the Private and the Public in Literature and Film: Gendered Space in Naguib Mahfouz’ Cairo Trilogy’, in The Journal of the Sydney Society of Literature and Aesthetics, Vol. 17, No. 1, July 2007, pp. 151-172.
  • ‘A Journey in Christian-Muslim Dialogue’ (in Arabic), Al-Arabi, No. 583, June 2007, pp. 18-23.
  • ‘Knowing the “Other” to Understand the “Self”: A Personal and Intellectual Journey in Christian-Muslim Encounter’, in Interfaith Dialogue is a Sacred Mission, edited and published by the Australian Christian-Muslim Friendship Society, Sydney, 2007, Arabic section, pp. 40-45; English section, pp. 43-49.
  • ‘The Humanity of a Modern Arab City: A Novelist’s Biography of Amman’, in The Journal of the Sydney Society of Literature and Aesthetics, Vol. 15, No. 2, December 2005, pp. 75-89.
  • ‘Out of Mind, Out of Sight: Why Is She Left Out of the Lebanese Political Discourse?’, in Journal of Social Affairs, UAE, Vol 20, No. 78, Summer 2003, pp. 63-89.
  • ‘Immigrant Arabic Poets and Writers and the Modern Arab Renaissance’, in Voices, (the Quarterly Journal of the National Library of Australia), Winter 1993, pp. 44-50.

In Press

  • “Lost in Translation: Arabic, the Female Voice and Vision”, article to be published by The Journal of the Sydney Society of Literature and Aesthetics, 2008 (28 pages).

Forthcoming

  • An Arab-American Humanist Engaging East and West: Ameen Rihani’s Thought and Activism (the present proposal: a major monograph, approx. 125,000 words including notes and bibliography).
  • Antun Ghattas Karam wal-Naqd al-Adabi al-‘Arabi al-Hadith (Antun Ghattas Karam and Modern Arabic Literary Criticism). (A major monograph to be published in a series on A.G. Karam by Dar An-Nahar, Beirut, approx. 120,000 words).
  • Taqalid al-Madih al-Nabawi Bayn al-Inshad wal-Ghina’: Dirasa Naqdiyya (The Traditions of Prophetic Chants in Arabic Poetry and Song: A Critical Study). (A major monograph, approx. 100,000 words).
  • ‘Bidayat Madih al-Nabi: Uslubuh wa Ghayatuh’ (‘Beginnings of Prophetic Praise: Intention and Method’, article to be submitted to the Annals of the Arts and Social Sciences, Kuwait University, minimum 50 pages).
  • ‘Shakhsiyyat al-Nabi Muhammad fi al-Ghina’ al-‘Arabi’ (‘The Prophet Muhammad in Arabic Songs’, article to be submitted to Nizwa, approx. 9000 words).
  • ‘Cosmopolitan Beirut, Cosmopolitan Woman’, chapter for a book on The City and Cosmopolitanism by a group of academics from Sydney University, to be published by mid-2009.

Conference activity

Presented research papers in numerous international conferences in Australia, Iran, Lebanon, UK, and the US.

Other professional contributions

  • Member of the Academic Council, Ameen Rihani Institute, Washington, D.C., USA (by invitation).
  • Member of the Scholar’s Desk, Ameen Rihani Organization, Washington D.C., USA (by invitation).
  • Member, British Society for Middle Eastern Studies
  • Member, Middle East Studies Association of North America
  • Member, National Institute of the Humanities, Australia
  • Member, Asian Studies Association of Australia
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