Understanding the Nakba: A Lecture by Paul Sedra

On September 18, CCMS hosted Paul Sedra to talk about the historical context of the Nakba. The Nakba, or the catastrophe, is a foundational event in Palestinian history. This lecture by SFU Professor Paul Sedra unpacked this history and how the Nakba continues to animate discussions of possible Palestinian futures today.

The lecture was followed by a Q&A.

Speaker:

Paul Sedra is a specialist in modern Egyptian history and Christian-Muslim relations. He has taught at Dalhousie University and the University of Toronto, and received his doctorate from New York University in January 2006. His most recent book, From Mission to Modernity: Evangelicals, Reformers and Education in Nineteenth-Century Egypt, is published by I.B. Tauris.

After graduating Phi Beta Kappa in international affairs at Princeton University, Sedra was awarded the Commonwealth Scholarship for study towards a Master’s degree at Oxford University. His thesis examined the activities of nineteenth-century Anglican missionaries in Cairo. He returned to the United States to pursue his PhD in NYU’s pioneering joint program in History and Middle Eastern studies.

Sedra is a prolific commentator on contemporary Egypt, Christian-Muslim relations, Canadian policy in the Middle East, and Middle East politics generally. His op-eds appear regularly in Mada Masr and Jadaliyya, and he has furnished analysis to such media outlets as Al-Jazeera English, CTV, CBC Radio and Television, the Associated Press, and The Globe and Mail.