This talk will ask what the history of modern Egypt looks like told through the lives of some of its most famous and charismatic female entertainers, from singers to dancers to nightclub owners. Seeing the world from their perspective offers new ways to look at this period but also comes with many historiographical complexities: How are women's life stories traditionally told? Can certain approaches obscure as much as elucidate? What sources are available and what are their inherent biases? What biases do I as a historian bring to the project? The talk will also touch upon these issues.

Raphael Cormack is a writer, historian and translator with a Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh. He has edited two collections of short stories translated from Arabic, The Book of Khartoum (with Max Shmookler) and the Book of Cairo. His articles have appeared in the London Review of Books, the LA Review of Books, Apollo Magazine and elsewhere. His first book, Midnight in Cairo, was released in 2021.

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Duration: 00:36:34