School of Social and Political Science

Maryam AlHajri

PhD Student

Free Palestine
Maryam.Alhajri@ed.ac.uk
https://edinburgh.academia.edu/MaryamAlHajri
https://twitter.com/MaryamA1Hajri/

Research interests

Gender Politics Research Group Identities & Inequalities Middle East Research Group Politics and political violence Race and decolonial thought
PhD Title

(Re)Writing History from the Margins: Histories of National and Labour Movements in Qatar (the 1950s-60s)

Research Summary

My current research project contributes to a recently emerging body of literature on (re)writing the histories of the Gulf from the margins, approached as a space that can generate accounts resistant to the monopoly of colonial narratives and official histories. I draw on ethnographic field notes and oral histories to document and trace marginalised narratives articulated by members of the 1963 national movement in colonial Qatar — a movement swiftly repressed by the twin forces of local and British colonial authorities.

Supervisors

Liliana Riga

İdil Akıncı-Pérez

Publications (selected)

- AlHajri, M. (Forthcoming). 'Theorising the State in the Arabian Peninsula.' In Al-Affandi, A., Anderson, S. & Salloukh, B. (Eds.), The State After the Arab Spring. Qatar: The Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies.

- AlHajri, M. (Forthcoming). ‘Silenced Histories: Social Movements in Qatar During the 1950s-60s.’ In Kassem, A. (Ed.), Decoloniality and the Arab World. Decolonization and Social Worlds series. Bristol, UK: Bristol University Press.

- AlHajri, M. & ElKurd, D. (2022). Palestine Activism in the World Cup. Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. Available online: https://agsiw.org/palestine-activism-in-the-world-cup/

- AlHajri, M. (2022). Review: Contested Modernity: Sectarianism, Nationalism, and Colonialism in Bahrain, by Omar H. al-Shehabi. Contemporary Arab Affairs, 15(1), 117–122. https://doi.org/10.1525/caa.2022.15.1.117

- AlHajri. (2021). La Mosta’ mer wla Asli [Neither Settler Nor Native]. Omran for Social Sciences, 10(38), 233–243. https://doi.org/10.31430/BANT2260

- AlHajri, M. & AlMarri, A. (2018). ‘Political Developments in the State of Qatar.’ In Alowfi, A., Al-Muftah, E., Alshehabi, O. & Bohzaa, K. (Eds.), The Constant and the Changing: Populations On the Margins of Development. Lebanon: Center for Arab Unity Studies, 67-91. (Chapter in Arabic). Available online: https://gulfpolicies.org/2019-10-30-15-32-09

- AlHajri, M. (2021). Qatar’s First Ordinary Session of the Elected Shura Council. LSE Middle East Centre. Available online: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/mec/2021/11/09/qatars-first-ordinary-session-of-the-elected-shura-council/

- AlHajri, M. (2021). [AlMoatana w AlMusharaka AlSha’abiya: AlJadal hawl entekhabat majlis elshura al Qatari] Citizenship and Public Participation: Debates Around the Qatari Shura Council Elections”. AlManshoor. Available online: https://manshoor.com/politics-and-economics/qatar-nationality-laws/

- AlHajri, M. (2019). Is Ideology a Luxury? On the Pan-Arabist movement in the GCC states. AlAraby AlJadeed. Available online: https://bit.ly/2R4JVdX

- AlHajri, M. (2018). The pro-Palestinian movement in Qatar. In Al Adab's special issue, Normalization in the Arab Gulf. Available online: https://al-adab.com/article/حَراك-نصرة-القضيّة-الفلسطينيّة-في-قطر

Conference & workshop presentations (selected)

- AlHajri, M (May, 2023). ‘The walls have ears’: On Silencing Processes and Historical Erasure. Presented at the 6th Conference of the Arab Council for the Social Sciences (ACSS) on Producing Critical Knowledge in the Arab Region, as part of the ‘Contested Histories and Archives: Cases from the Gulf’ panel, Beirut, Lebanon. http://www.theacss.org/AlHajriM

- AlHajri, M. (July, 2022). Knowledge Production in/about the Arab World: Challenges and Opportunities. Presented at the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (BRISMES) 2022 Conference: Exploring and Contesting the (Re)production of Coloniality in the Middle East, St. Andrews University, UK. https://www.brismes.ac.uk/files/documents/Final

- AlHajri, M. (May, 2022). Guardianship of Women in Qatar: Between Law and Practice. Presented at the 15th Annual Graduate Legal Studies Conference: Social-Legal Shifts: Synergies and Solutions, Carleton University, Canada.

- AlHajri, M. (May, 2021). Politics of Knowledge Production. Presented at the Sociologically Distanced: New Directions Conference 2021, University of Edinburgh, UK.

- AlHajri, M. (May, 2021). Formation of the Modern State of Qatar: Narratives of the Marginalised. Presented at the Sociologically Distanced: New Directions Conference 2021, University of Edinburgh, UK.

- AlHajri, M. (September, 2019). Histories and Legacies: Pan-Arabism in the Gulf. Presented at the Political Movements in the GCC States Conference, Ibn Khaldun Center for Humanities & Social Sciences, University of Qatar, Qatar.

- AlHajri, M. (October, 2018). Nationalising the Tribe. Presented at the Conference on The Gulf Crisis and its Implications, University of Qatar, Qatar.

- AlHajri, M. (May, 2018). An Analysis of Tribal Affiliations during the 2017 Gulf Crisis. Presented at the Third Annual Student Symposium on Gulf Studies: ‘Critical Approaches to the GCC Crisis: Narratives and Perspectives’, Gulf Studies Center, Doha, Qatar.

- AlHajri, M. (November, 2017). The Saudi Intervention in Yemen. Presented at Qatar University’s ‘I’m An Arab’ (Ana Arabi) forum, sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Doha, Qatar.

- AlHajri, M. (November, 2017). The pro-Palestinian movement in Qatar during the 1950s-60s. Presented at the BDS Gulf 1st Regional Anti Normalization Conference, BDS Gulf, Kuwait. https://bdsmovement.net/news/bds-gulf-holds-its-first-regional-anti-normalisation-conference

Chaired and Organised Panels

- AlHajri, M., AlMuftah, E., AlShehabi, O., & Musaifer, S. (May, 2023). Contested Histories and Archives: Cases from the Gulf. At The Sixth Conference of the Arab Council for the Social Sciences (ACSS), titled “Producing Critical Knowledge in the Arab Region”, in Beirut, Lebanon.

- AlHajri, M., Thumala, A., & Liz S. (May, 2022). Politics of Knowledge Production. At the 'Sociologically Distanced': New Directions Conference 2021, University of Edinburgh, UK.

Awards, scholarships and grants

- Enrolled in Doha Institute’s Graduate Studies Sponsorship Program, 2020-Current.

- Institute for Global Health and Wellbeing, “Keele Global Health Seed Grant”, £2,970. AlHajri, M. & Daher-Nashif, S. ‘Between Domestic Violence and Alienation: Experiences of Arab Women Seeking Asylum in the UK.’ 2023

- Tamim Scholarship, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, 2017-2019.

- Qatar’s Education Excellence Award, Platinum medal, Ministry of Education ($13,000), 2018.

- Academic Distinction Award in Politics and International Relations, Qatar University, May 2017.

Teaching experience

Research and Teaching Assistant, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, Qatar. Department of Political Science and International Relations, 2019-ongoing.

- POL615: Politics in the Middle East

- POL625: Politics and Society in the Arab Gulf

Tutor, University of Edinburgh, UK. Department of Sociology

Professional activities

Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Studies Unit, member, the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS), 2022-ongoing.

The Association of Middle East Women Studies (AMEWS), member, 2022-ongoing.

Background

Academic Position(s)

Research and Teaching Assistant, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies

Researcher, the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS)

Education

M.A. in Political Science and International Relations, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies

B.A. in Political Science and International Relations, University of Qatar

Works within

Maryam Alhajri's Research Explorer profile