Emily’s Blog
- The Gift of Rumi April 18, 2022
- Tibet to Yosemite April 18, 2022
- Writing in Tibet April 18, 2022
- Summer in Tibet April 17, 2022
- My Tibetan Poetry April 17, 2022
- Yak Herding in Tibet April 17, 2022
- Winter in Tibet April 17, 2022
- Making History in China April 17, 2022
- Abolish Kafala April 17, 2022
- Standup in China April 17, 2022
Author Archives: admin
Venerating Rumi in Cairo

I am so grateful that I was invited to present my new book and research about the veneration of Rumi in Cairo through the centuries at the Exalted Spirits: The Veneration of the Dead in Egypt through the Ages conference in Cairo — many thanks to The American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE), The American University in Cairo (AUC) and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (MoTA) for making it possible.
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Rumi at Tehran University

I was so honored to be invited to speak about my new Rumi book at Tehran University — very grateful to all who made it possible.
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Yale Talk

I was honored to be invited to speak at Yale University about my unique adventures around the world — very helpful as I spend my days writing my memoir about my wild pandemic experiences in China and Tibet.
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Tai Chi in China

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.

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Posthuman Mimesis

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

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Talking Slavery at Columbia

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.

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Minorities in Russia

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.

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Sufism in Global Cinema

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:
Here is the link to digital version of the book:
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.

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Terracotta Army

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

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Great Mosque of Xi’an

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

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.
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Harvard Talk

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!
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