Writer Shahd Alshammari [afikra Conversations]
Shahd Alshammari talked about her work as a writer, academic, and researcher in the field of Gulf literature and disability studies.
Dr Shahd Alshammari is a Kuwaiti-Palestinian author and academic. She is the author of Head Above Water (Neem Tree Press, 2022). Alshammari teaches literature and has written numerous stories and creative nonfiction. Her research areas include illness narratives and disability studies. She is Assistant Professor of English at the Gulf University for Science and Technology, Kuwait. She has authored an academic monograph, Literary Madness in British, Postcolonial, and Bedouin Women's Writing (2016). Her collection of short stories Notes on the Flesh (2017) is a biomythography that deals with gender, race and disability in Kuwait. In 2019, she was nominated for the British Council Alumni Awards – Social Impact. In 2021 she won Outstanding Monograph of the Year from the National Communication Association’s (NAC).
About the afikra Conversations
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
