Abstract

The lecture will explore the possibilities of writing a global intellectual history of conservatism in the latter part of the 20^th century through a biographical lens. To do so it will look at the political thought and career of Charles Malik, a Lebanese diplomat in the US with a long career in the United Nations and one of the signatories of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Through a mapping of his late career and activities in the global sphere, the presentation will combine conceptual and transnational histories to demonstrate how ideas, networks and religious solidarity intersect. Whereas traditional histories of conservatism have focused on the West, the lecture will draw attention back to the Middle East to shine a light on an oft-neglected strand of Christian conservatism which drew on personalism, anti-communism, anti-Arabism, and the rights of minorities. 

Biography

Dr Chloe Kattar is a historian of the modern Middle East, interested in the global movement and exchange of ideas between the Arab-speaking world and Western societies, and an expert of the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990). Kattar is a Research Fellow in History at Darwin College, where she also acts as the Fellow Librarian. In 2021-22, she is also a Fellow of Europe in the Middle East (EUME) at the Forum Transregionale Studien in Berlin.

Registration

Register by sending an e-mail to: info@globalintellectualhistory.org. Please, specify whether you would like to participate online or in person.

About the Seminar

The Utrecht/Amsterdam Seminar Global Intellectual History is a platform for researchers from different faculties and departments at the University of Amsterdam and Utrecht University who are working in the field of intellectual history and related disciplines. These include, among others, the history of historical, legal and political thought, conceptual history, the social and cultural history of ideas, as well as research at the intersection between intellectual history, institutions, politics, and practices.

Worldwide, intellectual history is moving into new, exciting directions. Tapping into new source materials, covering longer stretches of time, dealing with broader geographical spaces, making comparisons and drawing connections on a global scale, as well as combining established and new (digital) methods, both young and up-coming as well as established experts are in search for new answers – and perhaps more importantly – new questions. The Utrecht/Amsterdam Seminar Global Intellectual History contributes to this development by providing a venue for presenting and discussing frontline research.