Karima Laachir

Karima Laachir is the Director of the ANU Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies since 2020. Previously, she held tenured positions at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, and the University of Birmingham, where she contributed to cultural studies and anti-racist initiatives. Her research focuses on Middle Eastern and North African cultural politics, diaspora studies, and comparative literature. She has supervised numerous PhD students and led projects on health communication for multicultural communities.

• Education: MA and PhD from the University of Leeds, UK; PGCHE from the University of Birmingham, UK.

Her work bridges humanities and social sciences, examining how culture and art intersect with activism under authoritarian regimes. She has explored multilingual literatures in the Global South and co-led an ERC-funded project on world literature. Recent projects include translating health evidence into accessible formats for diverse audiences.

Laachir has been a Visiting Fellow at EHESS (France) and ANU. Her awards include fellowships and grants for collaborative research. She advises on racism in Australian universities and co-leads initiatives to improve health communication during disasters and pandemics.