Evening Perspectives & Book Signing with Dr. Isabella Alexander Nathani

1414 East 59th Street,Chicago IL 60637

14 April, 2022

Description

Please join the MAPSS Alumni Association for a book signing and conversation with Dr. Isabella Alexander-Nathani About the Event This is a hybrid event hosted virtually on Zoom and in-person at The University of Chicago's International House, 1414 East 59th Street. The in-person event will begin at 3:30 PM CST with a networking and book signing prior to the main event at 5:00 PM CST. Attendees joining virtually will access the event via Zoom beginning at 5:00 PM CST. About Dr. Isabella Alexander-Nathani Dr. Isabella Alexander-Nathani is an award-winning writer, filmmaker, educator, and human rights activist. Trained as a cultural anthropologist, her work is motivated by the belief that storytelling can humanize complex political issues and bring positive social change. Her latest book Burning at Europe’s Borders (Oxford University Press 2020) and documentary film The Burning (Small World Films 2022) uncover the human sides of our global migrant and refugee crisis. She currently serves as Founder and Executive Director of Small World Films, a non-profit production studio that combines grounded social science research and storytelling to lift the voices of marginalized populations to the global stage and fight for international policy change. About Burning at Europe's Borders Burning at Europe's Borders invites readers inside the lives of the world's largest population of migrants and refugees - the hundreds of thousands who are trapped in hidden forest camps and forgotten detention centers at Europe's southernmost borders in North Africa. "Hrig," the Arabic term for "illegal immigration," translates to "burning." It signifies a migrant's decision to burn their papers, in order to avoid identification and repatriation on their long journeys to safer shores. But it also signifies their decision to burn their past lives, sacrificing themselves in hopes of reaching a future on the other side of the Mediterranean Sea. Alexander-Nathani examines this process of "burning," traveling thousands of miles alongside those who have fled war and extreme poverty across the African continent only to find themselves trapped in Libya, Algeria, and Morocco. This book exposes the political agreements that have led to Europe's control over African borders and the illicit practices that continue to mold North African countries into brutal holding cells for our world's most vulnerable.