How does language affect the way we see the world? This is the question that the upcoming exhibition at the Media Majlis Museum "The limits of my language are the limits of my world" seeks to address. For the first episode of this podcast powered by afikra, we sat down with Amal Ali, curatorial exhibition manager at Northwestern University Qatar, to dig deeper into what this exhibition is all about. We talk about the relationship between language and identity, the unique nature of Arabic as a language with many dialects, and how its perception impacts its speakers. We also learn about how borrowed and loanwords in language point to cultural gaps and imbalanced exchanges through history — with the word for "orange" in Arabic being a prime example. Amal shares how the university community has been involved in the development of this exhibition, how she sought to explore questions of preservation and conservation of language, and the limited digital presence of the Arabic language compared to the number of people who speak it in the world.
Amal Ali is a museum curator and cultural producer based in Qatar. She's currently a curatorial exhibition manager at Northwestern University in Qatar.
Read more about the exhibition: "The limits of my language are the limits of my world" 👉 https://mediamajlis.northwestern.edu/en/whats-on/exhibitions-programs/the-limits-of-my-language-are-the-limits-of-my-world-27-aug-2024-05-dec-2024
The Media Majlis at Northwestern University in Qatar is the first media museum in the Arab world. It is dedicated to exploring journalism, communication and media. Through exhibitions, publications, programs and online resources we engage with themes that connect audiences to an ever-changing media landscape. Our interactive exhibition space uses digital technologies to challenge standard narratives and provide 360-degree views on global, regional and local stories. We aspire to represent the diversity of voices, perspectives, events and people that contributes to the evolving media world that surrounds and affects us all.
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK ABOUT AFIKRA afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity. 📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters 🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts ⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership 🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_ 🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official 🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra