Max Weiss

Why did you choose Lund University? 

I first visited Lund University in October 2010 for an international conference on "Syria under Bashar al-Asad” that was held at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies. The campus and the community both made a strong impact on me at that time. 

While there is no straight line from that event to the present, I am now engaged in collaborative work with a number of scholars at Lund and throughout Scandinavian academia. 

Becoming a Visiting Professor in the Humanities at Lund is a wonderful opportunity to deepen and broaden my professional and social relationships at Lund and in the broader region, as I increasingly envision spending more time there in the future.

Can you briefly describe your current research? 

I am a cultural and intellectual historian of the modern Middle East, with specific interests in Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and the history of Zionism and Israel; I am also a translator of modern and contemporary Arabic literature into English. 

I am currently completing a forthcoming book on the intellectual history of anti-anti-Zionism and finishing a number of book-length translations, including work by Syrian writers Faraj Bayrakdar and Fawwaz Haddad.

What will be your main research focus during your time at Lund University? 

During the coming years, my research will continue to develop along several tracks: 

1. My major monograph-in-progress is an intellectual history of modern Syria.
2. I am involved in ongoing collaborative initiatives with colleagues that I intend to continue — on Syria Studies in a time of tremendous upheaval, including the fall of the Assad regime; on the history and politics of anti-Zionism — as well as emerging projects with colleagues in Scandinavia that are in the early stages of conceptualization, which I look forward to developing while I am based at Lund: my hope is that there will be space to organize and host events at Lund during the time of my Visiting Professorship and beyond.

3. Continue translating Arabic literature into English as well as to host Arab writers for public events, readings, and discussions while based in Northern Europe.