Professional and Educational History

Dr Vivienne Matthies-Boon is an Assistant Professor in the International Relations of the Middle East, in the Department of Political Science at the University of Amsterdam.  Prior to this current position, she was an Assistant Professor in International Relations at the University of Groningen,  an Assistant Professor in Sociology at the University of Surrey in the UK and a Duncan Norman Research Scholar at the University of Liverpool.  She obtained all her higher education degrees in the United Kingdom, namely a BA (Hons) in Communication, Cultural Studies and Media (First Class) at the University of Leeds, the MA in Social and Political Thought (with Distinction) at the University of Warwick and a PhD in Political Philosophy at the University of Liverpool. 

Research Interests (Keywords):  

Egypt, Trauma, Recognition, Social and Political Violence, Palestine, Syria, Social Justice

Research Interests

Given her interdisciplinary background, she is particularly interested in the interrelation between Critical Theory (Frankfurt School) and Middle Eastern Studies.  With regards to Critical Theory she is particularly influenced by Jurgen Habermas's theory of deliberation, but also Axel Honneth and Nancy Fraser's theories of recognition. Focusing on Egypt in particular, but also with an explicit interest in Palestine and Syria, she explores the demands and struggles for social justice and recognition within these countries.

Within this broader framework, her research contains three distinct but interrelated strands of inquiry. Firstly, she examines the impact of personal and collective experiences of political trauma (suffered during struggles for recognition) on political mobilization, social violence and emotional wellbeing - and thus outlines how the personal and political are intricately connected.  Secondly, she researches the extent to which these struggles for recognition have articulated themselves in alternative programmes of social, political and economic development. Within these enquiries she works closely with a variety of Egyptian scholars, activists and organisations. And lastly, she is interested in the modes of knowledge production on the Middle East - and how this particular affects political programmes such as democracy promotion.  This research forms part of the Critical Middle Eastern Studies section of BRISMES, run in cooperation with Dr Jeroen Gunning (Durham University) and Dr Andrea Teti (University of Aberdeen).

In addition to academic undertakings, she also frequently writes on Egyptian affairs for non-specialist outlets such as Aswat Masriya (the Egyptian Reuters Thompson) and OpenDemocracy.net.

Teaching:

Conflict and Political Violence in the Middle East (MA module)

Protest and Social Change in the Middle East (MA module)

Media Representations of the Arab Spring (BA module) 

Democracy and Dictatorship (BA module - start November 2014) 

Zeytun Exchange Programme

In addition, from November 2014, she will be the coordinator of the UvA Zeytun exchange programme. This exchange programme was set up by Paul Aarts and has resulted in student and staff dialogue across the Middle East. Details of this exchange programme can be found here: http://zeytun.org

• No ancillary activities