Nominees for BRISMES Council (2026-2029)

Sophie Chamas

Sophie Chamas is senior lecturer in gender studies at SOAS, University of London, and is running for a second term on BRISMES Council. Their research and scholarship is concerned with the relationship between the imagination and socio-political change. Their work examines the intellectual and cultural production of marginalised and dissenting actors and their allies in the Middle East and its diaspora, focusing in particular on how they navigate impasses, aftermaths, catastrophes, and stuckedness in pursuit of the capacity to imagine and enact socio-political transformation. Sophie has sat on BRISMES’ Committee on Academic Freedom and Public Outreach & Pedagogy Committee. They are passionate about maintaining BRISMES as a space for rich and thought-provoking debate on the most pressing issues within Middle East Studies, and as a forum for not only academically but ethically engaging the region. Sophie believes BRISMES to be a unique space that emphasises collegiality and collaboration over competition, and is keen to remain involved in its work fostering young and future talent within the field, enabling debate and collaboration, and defending important voices from the region.