In this episode of High Theory, Nina Studer tells us about alcohol. The restrictions and prohibitions, medical and moral discourses surrounding alcohol reveal a great deal about a given society in a particular historical moment. Nina uses alcohol as a lens to analyze the history of French colonization in North Africa. Who consumed alcohol, in what places, ho ... Show More
Jul 2
Michael Cook, "A History of the Muslim World: From Its Origins to the Dawn of Modernity" (Princeton UP, 2024)
A History of the Muslim World: From Its Origins to the Dawn of Modernity (Princeton UP, 2024) by Michael A. Cook This book describes and explains the major events, personalities, conflicts, and convergences that have shaped the history of the Muslim world. The body of the book ta ... Show More
1h 19m
Jun 20
Omneya Ayad, "Love in Sufi Literature: Ibn ‘Ajiba’s Understanding of the Divine Word" (Routledge, 2023)
Love in Sufi Literature: Ibn ‘Ajiba’s Understanding of the Divine Word (Routledge, 2023) explores the role of divine love in the Quranic commentary of the Moroccan Sufi scholar Aḥmad Ibn ʿAjība (d. 1224/1809). Through close textual analysis of Ibn ʿAjība’s exegesis al-Baḥr al-mad ... Show More
39m 33s
Jun 4
Sarah Nagaty, "The Collective Dream: Egyptians Longing For A Better Life" (Palgrave Macmillan, 2023)
The Collective Dream: Egyptians Longing For A Better Life (Palgrave Macmillan, 2023) links two seminal moments in Egypt’s history – the Revolution of 25th January 2011 and the presidency of Gamal Abdel Nasser – through various cultural manifestations. It conceives the concept of ... Show More
36m 56s
Dec 2024
Assignment: France - trouble on the vine
Low harvests, economic and climate change and changing tastes have impacted French wine. The French wine harvest has dropped 18% in one year. For some famous French wine-making regions the reduction has been much more. A combination of factors, including climate, finances and cha ... Show More
31m 14s
Mar 2025
Aphra Behn: Revolutionary, Author, Spy
Aphra Behn was a true original. Not only was she the first woman to earn a living by writing, she was also a spy, a political propagandist and a revolutionary. Publicly she was all brash sexuality and outspoken politics, but what is known about the woman beneath? Professor Suzann ... Show More
40m 26s
Nov 2024
Caroline Séquin, "Desiring Whiteness: A Racial History of Prostitution in France and Colonial Senegal, 1848-1950" (Cornell UP, 2024)
Since the French Revolution of 1789, the absence of laws banning interracial marriages has served to reinforce two myths about modern France--first, that it is a sexual democracy and second, it is a color-blind nation where all French citizens can freely marry whomever they wish ... Show More
1h 40m
Mar 2024
Elizabeth Day, crab and fennel salad and a dirty vodka martini
Elizabeth Day is a household name, an award-winning writer and presenter of one of the most successful podcasts in the UK. On How to Fail, she speaks to luminaries such as Gloria Steinem, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Bernadine Evaristo about the things that haven’t gone right - and w ... Show More
35m 41s