The International Center for Arab and Islamic Studies (CEAI) was established in 2019 at UFS as an academic institution to integrate education, research, community outreach and internationalization. Through a wide range of academic, cultural and artistic activities, CEAI aims at fostering scientific, philosophical and aesthetic works, as well as building cultural bridges between the regions.
The Center is dedicated to produce, exchange and disseminate knowledge about Arab and Islamic societies, and their relations with Brazilian and Latin American societies. The activities organized by CEAI intend to democratize access to academic debates and create a scientific environment for the development of new theoretical horizons, through a permanent dialogue with the diverse epistemological landscape of Brazilian society.
O CEAI possui um acervo de referência composto por mais de 700 livros e materiais sobre países árabes e diásporas que constituem a “Coleção Ricardo Cury”, localizada na Biblioteca Central da Universidade Federal de Sergipe e disponíveis para pesquisa. A coleção foi doada pelo Sr. Ricardo Cury ao Centro Internacional de Estudos Árabes e Islâmicos e inclui obras raras, em várias línguas, que abordam múltiplos aspectos das sociedades árabes.
Considering its geographical location in the state of Sergipe as a point of epistemic inflection, the CEAI seeks to encourage research and to historicize the experiences and connections between the Arab world and the multiple processes of cultural formation in Northeastern Brazil, from critical perspectives on the coloniality of knowledge.
ART AND CULTURE
The epistemological perspectives developed at CEAI are based on the principle of crossing boundaries between scientific, artistic and linguistic practices, assuming that academic expertise must be also fed by the knowledge produced outside the universities. Henceforth, the scientific work done at CEAI displays multiple methodological and analytical approaches, underlining the transdisciplinary feature of the Center.
The Center established a partnership with the platform Beit21, specialized in artistic residencies and artistic mobilities between Arab countries and Brazil. The first artistic residency organized by CEAI was with the renowned Palestinian artist Abdul Rahman Katanani in 2019. During his stay in Sergipe, he worked closely with Brazilian artists in São Paulo and Sergipe and held public lectures and workshops in important Brazilian art festivals.
Additionally, we initiated the "Musical Labs: Music and the World," featuring prominent artists in a dialogue-driven methodology that explores how their work and research offer insights into understanding the world through music.
PARCERIA COM A UNESCO: Programa “Arab Latinos!”
The First UNESCO International Conference of the "Arab Latinos!" program, hosted by CEAI at the Federal University of Sergipe in August 2023, brought together participants from over 10 countries for a series of academic and artistic events focused on fostering transnational solidarities. CEAI was also involved in the coordination of the Annual Meeting of UNESCO “Arab Latinos!” Scientific Committee before the Conference, where the discussions laid the groundwork for the next years of the program.
The Conference engaged more than 2000 people in 3 days and started with the “Árabe-Nordestino” Concert, presenting the confluence between Arab music and music of the Northeastern part of Brazil, especially organized for the occasion. Subsequent activities included panels on migrations, memory and territory, cultural rights and artistic workshops on “LatinArab Music”, “LatinArab Cinema” and “LatinArab Literature”. During the Conference, CEAI hosted workshops with scholars from Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Brazil and Mexico and UNESCO’s staff who worked closely with selected students as part of the "Arab Latinos!" session. The workshops elaborated proposals for the program at UNESCO on how to enhance international relations between Arab countries and Latin America. The organization of this International Conference of UNESCO highlighted the commitment of CEAI in fostering dialogue and collaboration across cultures and languages.
A very special moment of the Conference was the participation of Martinho da Vila, one of the most well-known artists of Brazil, a master of “samba”, a globally recognized Brazilian musical expression. He was honored with a Doctor Honoris Causa degree, in recognition of his significant contributions for South-South diplomacy and intercultural dialogue.
Another noteworthy activity was the meeting organized between Quilombola and Indigenous leaders from the state of Sergipe and representatives of the United Nations to discuss issues related to the protection of human and cultural rights.
Os pesquisadores do Centro, compostos por docentes e estudantes de Graduação, Mestrado, Doutorado e Pós-Doutorado, contribuem ativamente para um amplo espectro de produção acadêmica transdisciplinar, refletindo sua diversificada expertise e compromisso com o avanço do conhecimento em diversas áreas, como História, Língua Árabe, Filosofia, Relações Internacionais, Jornalismo, Geografia e Literatura. O CEAI pretende ser uma referência no Brasil e na América Latina em pesquisa científica e filosófica sobre arte, cultura e estética de países árabes e islâmicos. Por isso, nossos pesquisadores produzem trabalhos científicos abrangendo áreas como língua árabe, poesia, literatura, cinema, futebol, música, imigração, infância, entre muitas outras.
The Center coordinator is Professor Geraldo Adriano Campos, Ph.D. in Philosophy and professor of International Relations at UFS.
Coordinator Lattes
Pesquisador do CEAI. Estudava a obra do artista palestino Sliman Mansour e o conceito de Sumud