Dr. R.A.F.L. Woltering

Associate Professor Arabic Language and Culture

Robbert Woltering obtained his propaedeutics  in Oriental Languages and Communication from Maastricht University, before proceeding to study toward an MA in Arabic Studies and an MSc in Political Science at the University of Amsterdam. He wrote his PhD under the supervision of Asef Bayat at the International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World (ISIM), on the representation of the West in post-Cold War Egyptian non-fiction. He was awarded his doctorate at Leiden University in 2009. His PhD thesis was published by IB Tauris in 2011: Occidentalisms in the Arab World. Ideology and Images of the West in the Egyptian Media.

Since 2010 he is Assistant Professor of Arabic studies at the University of Amsterdam. In 2012 he initiated the establishment of the Amsterdam Centre for Middle Eastern Studies (ACMES), which was inaugurated in November 2013. ACMES has since been active in organizing lecture series, inviting international key scholars to the UvA and securing external research funding for innovative research projects.

Woltering’s publications range from the philological (research into the literary revival of Queen Zenobia in the 19^th century Arabic novel) to a somewhat anthropological approach (e.g. his research into the Egyptian football ultras). Most of his work however is based on discourse analysis and falls within the area of contemporary Arabic ideological discourse and its relation to the West. He has also authored a general introduction to the Koran (in Dutch, with Michiel Leezenberg) and a guide to Egyptian architectural history (with Jorrit Kelder).

Recent and current research projects are:

Abd al-Wahhab al-Masiri (Elmessiri) and the perception of Judaism and Zionism in the Arab world, Forthcoming in the International Journal of Middle East Studies

A study into the relevance of ‘post-Islamism’ in post-Mubarak Egypt, Welt des Islams.

Pseudo-Arabic in Renaissance European art, Forthcoming.

Perceptions of the West in Egypt after the Arab Spring

A study into the political meaning of the Egyptian revolutionary Facebook page Kullina Khaled Said.

Master in Middle Eastern Studies

Robbert Woltering is the coordinator of the MA Middle Eastern studies. This is a one-year master programme open to students who have obtained a BA in the Humanities or the Social Sciences with a minor in Middle Eastern Studies. (Alternatively, they should be able to demonstrate that they have studied topics of relevance to Middle Eastern Studies, together totaling 30 ec.) The master is focused on the contemporary Middle East and offers an interdisciplinary approach with a range of courses hailing from Arabic studies, Religious studies, Political Science and Law. See the website of the Graduate School for the Humanities for more information.

Verschenen in 2010

De koran voor beginners

Robbert Woltering & Michiel Leezenberg

'De koran voor beginners' wil de lezer een eerste inleiding geven op een veelbesproken maar weinig gelezen tekst. Het beschrijft hoe de huidige korantekst tot stand is gekomen, wat de belangrijkste discussies onder moslimgeleerden zijn over de juiste lezing ervan, en hoe de koran in de loop der tijden door gelovigen is gebruikt. Daarbij worden ookgevoelige kwesties, zoals de (on)gelijkheid van man en vrouw, (homo)seksualiteit en het gebruik van geweld tegen andersdenkenden of ongelovigenniet uit de weg gegaan. Zo biedt het een nuchtere kijk op eenbelangwekkende heilige tekst, en een helder inzicht in de zin en onzin van een langlopende discussie. Aanschaffen bij bol.com.

Onderwijs verzorgd in voorgaande jaren:   

Arabische cultuurgeschiedenis, Arabische Literatuur, Wetenschapsfilosofie, Islam & Transnationalisme, Geschiedenis van het Moderne Midden-Oosten, Sociale & Politieke Ideologieën in de Islam, Islamitische Kunst & Architectuur, Koran, Occidentalisme, Inleiding regiostudies, Jihad.