Nominees for BRISMES Council (2026-2029)

Dalia Said Mostafa

I am a Teaching Fellow in Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies in the Department of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Edinburgh. 

A BRISMES member for several years, and having participated in the annual conference, I strongly support the Council’s leading role in advancing scholarship in Middle Eastern Studies globally whilst upholding ethical standards and inclusivity, fostering collegiality, and defending academic freedom. 

Before joining Edinburgh University, I was Associate Professor at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (Qatar), teaching on the MA programme “Women, Society and Development”. Prior to this, I was Senior Lecturer in Arab Cultural Studies at the University of Manchester, currently holding an Honorary Research Fellowship there. Since my PhD in Comparative and Postcolonial Literature (UoM, 2007), I have contributed a substantial volume of studies covering interdisciplinary subjects - Arabic & comparative literature, gender, cinema, and popular culture. My publications include The Egyptian Military in Popular Culture: Context and Critique (2017), The Egyptian Coffeehouse: Culture, Politics and Urban Space(2020), and articles on Lebanese literature and cinema, and Palestinian cinema. I was Co-investigator on a major AHRC-funded project, “Politics and Popular Culture in Egypt: Contested Narratives of the 25 January 2011 Revolution and its Aftermath” (2016–2020), co-curating the digital archive https://egyptrevolution2011.ac.uk. My work has featured in leading peer-reviewed journals as well as online platforms. Presently, I’m researching the history of women’s pioneering roles in filmmaking and television in Egypt. 

If elected, I aim to focus on activities to enhance the Fund for Higher Education in Gaza, expand BRISMES’ membership and secure additional grants and funding for scholars at various career stages, drawing on my extensive experience in public engagement, networking and communication in the UK and overseas.