Showroom

 

In this showroom, GhentCAIMES presents research or teaching projects that are representative of who we are and what we do. The diversity of the projects reflects the broad spectrum of topics and perspectives of our section.

Teaching Projects

Language Classes

During the Arabic language lessons, the students actively work with the language both during the lesson and at home. The students make a vlog twice per semester about subjects that were taught during the lessons. In this way, the language is further embedded and the students receive individual feedback about possible points for improvement. Below we show a number of these videos that were made by our students in the bachelor.

Bachelor 1

A few weeks after the start of the first semester, students of the 1st Bachelor made a video in which they have an introductory conversation in Egyptian Arabic. They tell each other about their nationality, place of residence and marital status.

Bachelor 2

Students of 2nd bachelor made a promotional film for the city of Ghent in Egyptian Arabic. The contexts, vocabulary and grammar that we covered during the academic year served as a basis for this film.

Bachelor 3

Students from the 3rd year of their bachelor’s degree made a knowledge clip about a grammatical topic as a reminder for their fellow students.

In the 2nd bachelor we already learn Arabic grammar from the Arabic knowledge traditions and using Arabic grammatical terminology. In this way, students are prepared to use all the knowledge and tools they have acquired in the 3rd bachelor to effectively work with an Arabic grammar book.

For their knowledge clip, the 3rd year bachelor students start from the grammatical topics we covered during the first semester in the Arabic grammar book Mulakhkhaṣ Qawāʿid al-Lugha al-ʿArabīya by Fuʾād Niʿma.

Content classes

Master 1

Islam and the Global World: Text and Context

In the master’s course Islam and the Global World: Text and Context, the students are challenged to deepen their understanding of Islam from a global perspective. They explore different insights on its place, role, and meaning in our global world. At the end of the course, students design their own research project in which they apply a global lens to a research topic related to Islam. 

 

 

 

In 2025 Louise conducted a small research that centered on muslim women’s agency in relation to veiling. On the basis of a small scale digital ethnographic study on the social media platform TikTok, Louise explored how the Dutch fashion brand Merrachi frames modesty as empowerment. She then contextualized her findings by connecting them to Saba Mahmood’s theories on piety in relation to agency. She created this academic poster to present her findings.

 

Louise Dewolf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(zoom in possible or click here for pdf)

 

 


In 2024 the master students worked together and conducted a small fieldwork. On the basis of an interview and a literature review, they explored the workings of the local Eyüp Sultan mosque in Ghent. Throughout their research they focussed on the mosque’s engagement with the different networks it is part of. They then created an academic poster to present their findings. 

 

Maui Clarys, Youssef El Kadi, Camilla Forlani, Yorben Inghelbrecht, Jolien Pittoors and Esra Verboven

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(zoom in possible or click here for pdf)

 

 

 

Research Projects

Prof. Franke awarded with prestigious ERC Starting Grant

We’re proud to share that Lisa Maria Franke, professor in our department and member of GhentCAIMES, has been awarded a prestigious European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant for her project HAIR: Exploring Beauty, Identity and Religion.

HAIR offers a groundbreaking perspective on the everyday politics of beauty, religion, and identity by centering Muslim women’s head hair—rather than the headscarf—in its analysis. Focusing on Egypt, Lebanon, and the UAE, the project explores how women navigate changing socio-religious expectations through intimate expressions of self.
With its innovative blend of Islamic studies, social anthropology, and the anthropology of emotions, HAIR challenges dominant narratives and opens up new ways of understanding beauty, belief, and body politics in diverse Muslim contexts.
We look forward to the insights it will bring—both in academia and beyond.

UCL History Neale Lecture by Prof. Jo Van Steenbergen

Recording of the UCL History Neale Lecture 2025 by Jo Van Steenbergen (London, 5 February 2025): ’The enslavement of Middle Eastern history: Politics, historiography, ideology and the Mamluk Sultanate of Cairo (13th-16th centuries).’

Closing lecture of the MMS-II project by Prof. Jo Van Steenbergen

Recording of the public lecture by Jo Van Steenbergen (Cairo, Palais Mounira, IFAO, 28 November 2021) at the closing conference of the MMS-II project: ’Historiography, Political Order and State Formation in 15th Century Egypt and Syria’ (2017-21, ERC)