Participant Info

First Name
Rebecca Ruth
Last Name
Gould
Country
United Kingdom
State
Affiliation
SOAS University of London
Website URL
https://rrgould.hcommons.org/
Keywords
Islam, insurgency, colonialism
Availability
Media Contact
Additional Contact Information
PhD
PhD

Personal Info

Photo
About Me

I am Distinguished Professor of Comparative Poetics and Global Politics, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. My creative and critical practice engages with literary, political, and legal theory. Developing and current interests include freedom of expression and comparative legal cultures. My books include Writers and Rebels: The Literatures of Insurgency in the Caucasus (2016), which was awarded the University of Southern California Book Prize in Literary and Cultural Studies as well as a book award from the Association for Women in Slavic Studies, After Tomorrow the Days Disappear: Ghazals and Other Poems Hasan Sijzi of Delhi (2016), and The Prose of the Mountains: Tales of the Caucasus (2015).  My articles have received awards ranging from the International Society for Intellectual History’s Charles Schmitt Prize to the Women’s Caucus for the Modern Languages Association’s Florence Howe Award for Feminist Scholarship.

From 2018-2023, I am directing“Global Literary Theory: Caucasus Literatures Compared,” funded by an ERC Starting Grant. This project includes postdoctoral opportunities in Persian, Arabic, and Turkic literatures (with a focus on literary theory and ‘ilm al-balagha), and for other types of scholars to affiliate with the project. The project website is Global Literary Theory.  Please write to globalliterarytheory@gmail.com to learn more!

I have lived and conducted fieldwork in Iran (2012, 2014); Tajikistan (2007); Palestine (2011-12); Syria (2010); Egypt (2010, 2012); Azerbaijan (2006); Hyderabad, India (2008); Daghestan (2004, 2006); Georgia (2004-6, 2013); Chechnya and Ingushetia (2006).

Recent Publications

https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/products/2903-erasing-palestine

https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300200645/writers-and-rebels

Media Coverage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKB3jWeeXeQ
Country Focus
Iran, Georgia, Azerbaijan
Expertise by Geography
Middle East, Russia
Expertise by Chronology
Medieval, Early Modern, 20th century, 21st century
Expertise by Topic
Colonialism, Human Rights, Indigenous Peoples, Migration & Immigration, Rebellion & Revolution, Sexuality