Mr Ali Kassem
Biography
My research interests span Postcolonial and decolonial theories, the sociology of religion and of knowledge, as well as migration studies. My current work at Sussex's school of Law, Politics and Sociology is an investigation of Coloniality, as a global structure of power, and its effect on the (Islamic) lived through a case-study of Islamic dress in Lebanon.
Working under the broad label of (critical) Sociology of religion, I have worked on what is termed religious discourse, religious knowledge production, religious institutions and religious symbols. My focus has mainly been on the study of Islam, although I have done comparative work. I obtained my MA from the American University of Beirut in 2016 with a thesis titled ‘The Social Sciences in the Formation of Shia Scholars in Lebanon’. I have also been involved in a number of projects investigating forced migration, particularly on Syrian refugees, in the West Asia region.
Upon my graduation from AUB, I took up the position of part-time lecturer at the university's sociology department, as well as a consultancy with the Lebanese Centre for Policy Studies. Between my MA and Sussex, I was involved in research projects with the Universities of Oxford, of Aix-Marseilles and of AUB's department of Urban planning. In 2017, I became a research fellow at the Institute for Near and Middle Eastern studies at the Ludwig-Maximillians university in Munich.
Role
Doctoral Tutor, Research Student
Qualifications
B.S. and M.A. in Sociology (Sociology of Religion) from the American University of Beirut.
Activities
Sussex Middle East North Africa Centre (MENACS) management committee member 2019-2020.
Research fellow at the Centre for Near and Middle Eastern Studies at the Ludwig Maximillain University of Munich, Munich, Germany 2016 and ongoing.
Visiting research fellow at Ecoles des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS)-Centre D’etude Sociale du Religieux (CeSor) Paris, France, December 2018 and January 2019 (two months).
Research Coordinator on the Canadian IDRC funded project "Lebanese Municipalities and Syrian Refugees: Building Capacity and Promoting Agency" with LCPS Lebanon January 2017-February 2018.
Project Coordinator on the DAAD funded project "Violence, Forced Migration and Exile" at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich 2016-2017.
Research Fellow on the project “Un Miroir des Sciences Sociales. Acteurs, Pratiques et Savoirs au Liban” from September 2016 till October 2017 with IREMAM (CNRS/Aix-Marseille University) funded by Campus France.