Prof. Dr. Sebastian Maisel (Universität Leipzig): Tribal Law and Customs: How to Repair Social Cohesion in the Niniveh Plains

About the Speaker:

Sebastian Maisel is professor for Arabic language and translations at Leipzig University. He received his PhD from the same institution and has conducted fieldwork among peripheral groups in the Middle East to study processes of identity building and language policies. His publications include The Customary Law of the Bedouins in Northern Arabia (Peter Lang, 2007), The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (UoFlorida Press, 2010), Speed up your Arabic (Routledge, 2015), The Yezidis of Syria: Building Identity among a Double Minority (Lexington Books, 2017), The Kurds -An Encyclopedia of Life Culture, and Society (ABCClio, 2018) and The Inspiring Thread -Embroidery and Embellishment in Saudi Arabia (Waraqoon, forthcoming).

About the Topic:

The focus of this talk is the relationship between tribal groups of different ethnic and religious origin in Northern Mesopotamia. In the past, the region was governed by social/legal codes of behavior that have been abandoned during the reign of ISIS. In the era after ISIS, attempts have been made to re-establish relations between the former rivals and to re-built the age-old societal heirarchy. Is tribal law the right tool to heal the deep scars, to re-gain honor and to bring justice to the victims of genocide?

All employees and guests as well as other interested parties are cordially invited to the lecture.