About Me
My name is Nour Abu Assab, born in Amman in 1984. I am a Palestinian raised in Jerusalem, I have obtained a BA in English Language and its Literature from the University of Jordan in 2005. An MA in Race and Ethnic Studies from the Centre for Research in Ethnic Relations
, and currently undertaking a doctoral research in Sociology.
My interests are in the fields of Religion, Nationalism, Ethnic Relations, Globalisation, Transnationalism, Pan-Arabism, Pan-Islamism, The Contemporary Notion of 'Islamic Ummah', and Gender Studies. For more details check my
Curriculum Vitae
About My Research
Department: Sociology
Supervisor: Annie Phizacklea
Second Supervisor: Nickie Charles
Thesis Title:
Circassians in the Age of Nation-States: Stateless Entities, Banal Nationalism in the Light of ‘Jordan First’
Pan-Islamism, Pan-Arabism and Territorial Nationalism in the Middle East
A Case Study of Circassians in Jordan
Year Started: 2006
Research Abstract:
My research is an attempt to understand the complex reality lived by Circassians on daily basis in Jordan. This complex reality derives above all from the complex evolutionary history of nationalism as the form of identification shifted from Pan-Islamism, to Pan-Arabism and lastly to a more specific form of nationalism, territorial nationalism, and that is in this case Jordanianism. This research will be focused on exploring aspects of ethnic or national identification among the Circassian communities, the almost forgotten minority, in Jordan. Circassians emotional and national attachment to their homeland is what distinguishes Circassians and what is supposed to place them as a challenge to the nation-state but that is not the case with Circassians, and from here the Circassian case derives its uniqueness. The research will shed light on the effects of participating in nation-state building and the effects national campaigns, in this case 'Jordan first', have on a distinguished minority group like Circassians.
