Graham Liddell

Graham Liddell serves as a Visiting Assistant Professor of English at Hope College, where he has been teaching since 2023. His academic focus centers on the literatures, cultures and geopolitics of the modern Middle East and North Africa, with particular emphasis on Palestinian and Arab narratives.

His educational background includes:

• Ph.D. in Comparative Literature, University of Michigan, 2023
• Graduate certificate in Critical Translation Studies, University of Michigan, 2022
• B.A. in English and Writing, Grand Valley State University, 2013

Liddell's research interests span Modern Arabic literature, Migration and refugee studies, Literary translation, and Ethnography. His work demonstrates a strong focus on unauthorized migration narratives, particularly those from Palestinian and Arab contexts. He has conducted field research in Greece interviewing asylum seekers from Syria and Afghanistan, and has spent significant time in the West Bank reporting on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. His teaching at Hope College includes Expository Writing 1 and literature-focused classes on unauthorized migration, the global Arab diaspora, and the Arabian Nights.

Liddell has established himself as a significant translator of Arabic literature into English, with multiple recent publications including works by Yousri Alghoul written during the Gaza conflict. His translation work appears in prominent journals such as The Stinging Fly, ArabLit Quarterly, and Banipal: Magazine of Modern Arab Literature. He also edited a special issue on contemporary Arab migration literature for Absinthe: World Literature in Translation.

His professional journey includes three years working in Middle East journalism, with time based in the West Bank during 2013-14 where he covered the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. He developed his translation skills while serving on the editorial team for the literary translation journal Absinthe.

Outside of academia, Liddell is an active participant in music creation, sings Arabic songs to his daughter, and performs in his church choir. He is a fan of Arsenal Football Club and Formula 1 racing.