Author Archives: admin

Yesterday my baby chihuahua had the amazing opportunity to meet my kung fu grandmaster in China (the real Kung Fu Panda — the animation was based in part on his filmed moves) at a special taping we did on tai chi and Taoism in Sichuan.

A joy to speak on “Postliving Ontologies of the Transdeceased/Postdeceased: Existential, Legal & Spiritual Expressions of Undesired & Wrongful Life” at the Posthuman Mimesis: Embodiment, Affect, Contagion International Conference in Leuven.

https://hiw.kuleuven.be/ripple/events/posthuman-mimesis

It was an honor to speak on “Modern Slavery in Oman” at Columbia University with Persian Gulf experts and share the horrors of enslaved, raped, tortured, & murdered women to raise awareness of human trafficking & the lack of legal protections for women from Africa and Southeast Asia on the Arabian Peninsula.

It was joy to speak on Putin, Islamic law, & Russian diplomacy for the ASN International Convention hosted by the Harriman Institute at Columbia — our panel (https://asnconvention.com/panel-r3) discussed minorities & institutions in post-Soviet Russia. I was especially grateful for the feedback from my Russian colleagues.

Very happy to share my new chapter, “Mystics in the Movies: Sufism in Global Cinema,” in this fantastic new volume: New Approaches to Islam
in Film.  Get your copy today!

Here is a link to the hard copy book:

https://www.routledge.com/New-Approaches-to-Islam-in-Film/Petersen/p/book/9780815393221[routledge.com]

Here is the link to digital version of the book:

https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9781351189156/new-approaches-islam-film-kristian-petersen[taylorfrancis.com]

What a busy month!  I’m so glad a number of you caught my recent Harvard talk. I have two talks at Columbia this week followed by an EU-funded talk at Leuven University and then three of my new poems are being published at the end of the month. 

It was a dream come true to finally see the Terracotta Army in China — so spectacular in every way.

I was fortunate to return to the Great Mosque of Xi’an here in China — such an architectural gem.

I’ve been doing a fair amount of travel in the People’s Republic of China despite the pandemic — perhaps if I ever have some time I will share some photos from the road.

I had the joy and honor of sharing my research on artistic renderings of slavery in Zanzibar and Oman at Harvard University a few days ago. It’s a very busy spring with several more talks coming up in the weeks ahead!

I had the pleasure and honor of sharing my research at this history making conference on the Tudeh Party of Iran at St. Andrews — grateful to be a part of it.

I’m happy to share that my new article: “Revolutionary Spacialities and Transcultural Solidarities at the 1969 Pan-African Cultural Festival in Algeria” has been published in Obsidian: Literature & Arts in the African Diaspora.  As you can see, the cover art for our issue is stunning! 

Check out Obsidian’s amazing digital content here: https://obsidianlit.org 

To order our gorgeous issue, click here:
https://mailchi.mp/454caeec2d99/whats-new-with-obsidian-cover-art-debut-open-reading-period-community-news-and-more-5052605

This transcultural research was informed by my research adventures in Algeria, Palestine, and the People’s Republic of China, and I enjoyed learning more about politicians, activists, and artists from Vietnam, North Korea, Mali, the Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, and on and on! I am so grateful to the American civil rights legends, iconic Black artists, and Algerian Revolution heroes who shared their memories and words with me. It was a dream come true to share this research in a keynote speech and paper in Algeria at a conference celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 1969 Pan African Cultural Festival entitled “The Black Arts Movement in the United States and Algeria” at Abdelhamid Ibn Badis University. Thank you to all who made this work possible.

I am pleased to share my new publication, “Yesterday is not Gone: Memories of Slavery in Zanzibar & Oman in Memoirs, Fiction & Film,” in the Journal of Global Slavery.