Gulf Conference
The Centre for Gulf Studies hosts the world's longest-running conference series on the Gulf region and Arabian Peninsula, begun in 1979, at which PhD students, emerging scholars and established researchers present their research findings.
35th Exeter Gulf Conference -7-8 July 2025
Temporality and Aesthetics in the Arabian Peninsula
Download full Conference brochure: 35th Gulf Conference programme (pdf)
Monday 7th July 2025
9:00 – 9:30, Conference Registration, Tea & Coffee
9:30 – 9:45, Welcome Address (Laleh Khalili, University of Exeter)
9:45 – 11: 15, Aesthetic and Symbolic Urban Transformation
- Roberto Fabbri, Zayed University, Abu Dhabi
Transient / Concrete - Noor Hussain, Georgetown University in Qatar
Between Palace and Petals: The National Museum of Qatar and the Architecture of Nationhood
11:15 – 11:45, Coffee Break
11:45 – 13:00, Temporalities of Oil
- Ritika Lal, New York University
Specters on the Horizon: Reading Changing Saudi Landscapes through Cities of Salt (1984) and The Others (2009) - Samuel Martin, University of Cambridge
De-Fossilizing Narrative: Sedimented Histories in Raja Alem’s Tawq al-Hamam (2010)
13:00 – 14:00, Lunch Break
14:00 – 15:15, Visuality and Media Scapes
- Ali Alsayegh, independent researcher
The Aesthetics of Sadri Hybrid Media: Ideological Maintenance in a Time of Political Pause - Zoe Hurley, American University of Sharjah
Temporality and Aesthetics of Gulf Social Media Scapes: A Dubai Case Study
15:15 – 15:45, Coffee Break
15:45– 17:00, Tropes and Imaginaries in Cultural Production
- Chandni Sai Ganesh, University of Sussex
Authenticity and the Mallu Shawarma: An Inquiry into the Lived Experiences of Keralites in the Gulf - Leili Sreberny-Mohammadi, London School of Economics
Critical Difference, Critical Distance: Iranian Art in the Emirati Art World
Tuesday 8th July 2025
9:00 – 9:30, Tea & Coffee
9:30 – 11:00, Transience and Homemaking in Migrants’ Lives
- Nadeen Dakkak, University of Exeter
Oil Modernity, Migration and Women’s Time in the Desert Writings of Hanan Al-Shaykh - Saad Latif, New York University
My Mother: Community, Belonging, and the Aesthetics of Migrant Life during Saudi Arabia’s Oil Boom - Neha Vora, American University of Sharjah
Multispecies Ecologies of Homemaking in the UAE
11:00 – 11:30, Coffee Break
11:30 – 12:45, Image-Making Politics and Aesthetic Regimes
- Maryam Almutawa, University of Exeter
The Influence of Western Museum Paradigms on the Heritage Production in Qatar - Ada Petiwala, American University of Beirut
A Millennial Moment: Bhakti Visuality and Gulf Aesthetics at the BAPS Hindu Mandir, Abu Dhabi
12:45 – 14:00, Lunch Break
14:00 – 15:30, Tribute to Professor Sulayman Khalaf (1946-2023)
Conference archive
| Year | Title | Programme |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 |
The 2025 Exeter Gulf Conference (July) "Temporality and Aesthetics in the Arabian Peninsula" |
Download programme |
| 2024 |
The 2024 Exeter Gulf Conference (June) "Life Worlds of Energy and Environment in the Gulf " |
Download brochure |
| 2022 |
The 2022 Exeter Gulf Conference (June) "Liberalism and its paradoxes in the Arabian Peninsula" |
Download programme |
| 2019 |
The 2019 Exeter Gulf Conference (July) "Zones of Theory in the Study of Yemen" |
Download programme |
| 2018 |
The 2018 Exeter Gulf Conference (July) "Beyond Oil, Sheikhs and Security: Plotting New Trajectories in Gulf Studies" |
Download programme |
| 2017 |
The 2017 Exeter Gulf Conference (July) "Hegemonic Boundaries and Asymmetric Power in the Gulf" |
Download programme |
| 2016 | The 2016 Exeter Gulf Conference (August) examining The Gulf and the Wider Middle East: Transnational Dynamics in Historical and Contemporary Perspectives, convened by Marc Valeri, Enrica Fei, Niklas Haller and Gertjan Hoetjes. | Download programme |
| 2014 | The 2014 Exeter-Georgetown Gulf Conference (September) examining The Heritage Boom in the Gulf; Critical and Interdisciplinary Perspectives, convened by Marc Valeri and Gerd Nonneman. | Download programme |
| 2012 | The 2012 Gulf Studies Conference (July), an interdisciplinary conference on the Gulf region (Arabia, Iran, Iraq), past and present, convened by James Onley. | Download programme |
| 2011 | The 2011 Gulf Studies Conference (June–July), examining the aspirations and challenges facing the peoples of the Gulf, convened by James Onley. Followed after BRISMES 2011 at Exeter. | Conference programme |
| 2010 | The 2010 Gulf Studies Conference (June–July), examining the challenge of identity in the 21st century Gulf, convened by Gerd Nonneman. | Download programme |
| 2008 | The 2008 Gulf Studies Conference (July), commemorating 30 years of Gulf Studies at Exeter, convened by James Onley. | Download programme |
| 2007 | The 2007 Gulf Conference (July), examining the Gulf’s links with the Indian Ocean and Asia, convened by James Onley. | Download programme |
| 2006 | The Global Gulf (July), examining the Gulf’s connections with the wider world, convened by James Onley. | Download programme |
| 2002 | The Gulf and the World Trade Organisation (July), convened by Kamil Mahdi. | |
| 2001 | Globalisation and the Gulf (July), convened by Kamil Mahdi. | |
| 1999 |
Workshop on Gulf Studies (July), convened by Kamil Mahdi. |
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| 1998 |
Yemen: Challenge of Economic, Social and Democratic Development (April), convened by Kamil Mahdi. Resulting publication: Yemen into the Twenty First Century: Continuity and Change (Ithaca Press, 2006) edited by Kamil Mahdi, with Anna Würth and Helen Lackner. Human Development in the Arab Gulf (July), convened by Kamil Mahdi in cooperation with UNESCWA. |
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| 1997 | Frustrated Development: the Iraqi Economy in Peace and War (July), convened by Kamil Mahdi. Resulting publication: Iraq’s Economic Predicament (Ithaca Press, 2002) edited by Kamil Mahdi. | |
| 1996 |
Water and Arab Gulf Development (September), convened by Kamil Mahdi. Resulting publication: Water in the Arabian Peninsula: Problems and Policies (Ithaca Press, 2001) edited by Kamil Mahdi. |
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| 1995 | Higher Education in the Gulf: Problems and Prospects (July), convened by Ken Shaw. Resulting publication: Higher Education in the Gulf (University of Exeter Press, 1997) edited by Ken Shaw. | |
| 1993 | The Gulf and the Central Asian Republics (July), convened by Anoush Ehteshami. Resulting publication: From the Gulf to Central Asia: Players in the New Great Game (University of Exeter Press, 1994) edited by Anoush Ehteshami. | |
| 1990 | External Interests in the Arab Gulf (July), convened by Brian Pridham. Resulting publication: Global Interests in the Gulf (University of Exeter Press, 1992) edited by Charles E. Davies. | |
| 1989 | The Post War Arab Gulf (July), convened by Brian Pridham. Resulting publication: After the War: Iraq, Iran and the Arab Gulf (Carden, 1990), edited by Charles E. Davies. | |
| 1986 | The Gulf and the Arab World (July), convened by Brian Pridham. Resulting publication: The Arab Gulf and the Arab World (Croom Helm, 1988) edited by Brian Pridham. | |
| 1985 | Aspects of Oman (July), convened by Brian Pridham. Resulting publication: Oman: Economic, Social and Strategic Developments (Croom Helm, 1987) edited by Brian Pridham. | |
| 1984 | The Arab Gulf States and the West (July), convened by Brian Pridham. Resulting publication: The Arab Gulf and the West (Croom Helm, 1985) edited by Brian Pridham. | |
| 1983 | Contemporary Yemen (July), convened by Brian Pridham. Resulting publications: Contemporary Yemen: Politics and Historical Background (Croom Helm, 1984), and Economy, Society and Culture in Contemporary Yemen (Croom Helm, 1985), both edited by Brian Pridham. | |
| 1982 |
The Shatt al-Arab Dispute (July), convened by M.S. El Azhary. Resulting publication: The Iran-Iraq War: An Historical, Economic and Political Analysis (Croom Helm, 1984) edited by M.S. El Azhary. Oil Revenues and their Impact on Development in the Gulf States (October), convened by M.S. El Azhary. Resulting publication: The Impact of Oil Revenues on Arab Gulf Development (Croom Helm, 1984) edited by M.S. El Azhary. |
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| 1981 |
Iraq, the Contemporary State (July), convened by Tim Niblock. Resulting publication: Iraq: The Contemporary State (Croom Helm, 1982) edited by Tim Niblock. |
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| 1980 | State, Power and Economy in Saudi Arabia (July), convened by Tim Niblock. Resulting publication: State, Society and Economy in Saudi Arabia (Croom Helm, 1982) edited by Tim Niblock. | |
| 1979 | Inaugural Conference on Social and Economic Development in the Arab Gulf (July), convened by Tim Niblock. Resulting publication: Social and Economic Development in the Arab Gulf (Croom Helm, 1980) edited by Tim Niblock. |