During the week of June 22–26, our two PhD students, along with about a hundred colleagues from around the world, attended the 16th biennial conference of the European Association for Modern Arabic Literature (EURAMAL) at the University of St. Andrews.
This year’s conference theme was “Catastrophe and Beyond: Representations of Violence and Trauma in Modern Arabic Literature.”

Lukáš Koutský presented a paper on echoes of the past in contemporary Syrian literature (titled “Echoes of 1982: Ḥamā as a Narrative Bridge Between Syria’s Past and Present”), a topic he is exploring in his dissertation.

Adéla Provazníková presented a work-in-progress project focusing on contemporary Egyptian prison literature and its relationship to the literary canon (Narrating Confinement: Meta-Narrative Strategies and Literary Experiment in Egyptian Prison Writing).

In addition to a range of scholarly insights and direct feedback on their work, the conference provided them with the opportunity to meet in person with experts from both European and Arab institutions, as well as to explore the beautiful surroundings of St. Andrews, Scotland.

We would like to thank them both for representing us so well abroad and wish them plenty of strength and inspiration for their future research!