Elisabeth Kendall

For other people named Elizabeth Kendall, see Elizabeth Kendall (disambiguation).

Elisabeth Kendall is a British Arabist, academic and commentator, and Mistress of Girton College, Cambridge, whose scholarship has ranged from Middle Eastern literatures to militant jihad.[1] She is best known for her work on how Islamist extremists exploit Arabic cultures and traditions.[2]

Biography

She attended Beaconsfield High School before reading Oriental Studies at the University of Oxford where she gained a first-class degree[3] and was awarded the Schacht Memorial Prize. She secured her first lectureship at Pembroke College, Oxford. She was awarded a Kennedy Scholarship to pursue her doctoral research at Harvard University.[4]

From 2000 to 2010, she held positions at St Antony's College, Oxford then the University of Edinburgh, where she was appointed Director of the Centre for the Advanced Study of the Arab World (CASAW). From 2010 to 2022, she was Senior Research Fellow in Arabic and Islamic Studies at Pembroke College, University of Oxford. She spends significant time in the field, particularly in Yemen.[5]

Kendall edits the "Essential Middle Eastern Vocabularies" series, for which she also authored three volumes: Diplomacy Arabic, Intelligence Arabic and Media Arabic.[6] Kendall appears frequently in the international television, radio and print media. She has been invited to present her research to governments, military and intelligence audiences all around the world.[7]

She was elected the twentieth Mistress of Girton College, Cambridge from 1 October 2022.[8]

In 2022, Kendall was elected as an Honorary Fellow of Pembroke College, University of Oxford “in recognition of her distinguished academic career as a British Arabist".[9]

In 2023, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Glasgow “in recognition of the major contribution made to Arabic Studies”.[10]

Publications

• Diplomacy Arabic, coauthored with Yehia A. Mohamed, Edinburgh University Press, 2020
• Reclaiming Islamic Tradition: Modern Interpretations of the Classical Heritage, collection of articles co-edited with Ahmad Khan, Edinburgh University Press, 2016.
• Twenty-First Century Jihad: Law, Society and Military Action (series: Library of Modern Religion), collection of articles co-edited with Ewan Stein, I.B.Tauris, 2015.
• Literature, Journalism and the Avant-Garde: Intersection in Egypt (series: Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern Literatures), Routledge, 2006.

References

1. Petter, Olivia (1 September 2017). "Why reading jihadist poetry might help combat extremism". The Independent. Archived from the original on 1 September 2017.
2. Marshall, Alex (28 August 2017). "Why I became a jihadist poetry critic". BBC News. Archived from the original on 28 August 2017.
3. Pembroke College Record, 1993
4. "Full List of Kennedy Scholars". Kennedy Trust. Archived from the original on 10 September 2018.
5. Reisz, Matthew (31 July 2014). "Oxford to Yemen: From Literary Scholar to Tribal Advisor". Times Higher Education.
6. "Essential Middle Eastern Vocabularies". Edinburgh University Press. Archived from the original on 17 July 2017.
7. "MEI Experts". Middle East Institute, Washington DC. Archived from the original on 8 November 2018.
8. "Dr Elisabeth Kendall elected as the new Mistress of Girton College". Retrieved 7 March 2022.
9. "Dr Elisabeth Kendall Elected to Honorary Fellowship | pembroke college". www.pmb.ox.ac.uk. 1 February 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
10. "University of Glasgow Honorary Degrees 2023". www.gla.ac.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2024.