IAS Book Launch: Critical Conditions
Schedule
Tue Apr 21 2026 at 05:00 pm to 06:30 pm
UTC+01:00Location
IAS Common Ground, G11, South Wing | London, EN
About this Event
ABOUT THE BOOK
Join us at the Institute of Advanced Studies for the launch of Critical Conditions, the powerful debut memoir by Syrian journalist and media activist Hadi Abdullah, newly translated into English by Alessandro Columbu. Written in the aftermath of revolution, war, and exile, Critical Conditions is both a personal account of survival and a profound meditation on witnessing, resistance, and the politics of memory. Blending the immediacy of frontline reporting with lyrical reflection, Abdullah’s memoir traces his transformation from a teaching assistant in Homs to one of the most recognisable media voices of the Syrian uprising. Through his lens, we encounter not only the brutal realities of conflict but also deep bonds of friendship, moments of joy, loss, and the enduring will to document.
Critical Conditions: My Diary of the Syrian Revolution was published by Doppelhouse Press in October 2025.
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ABOUT THE EVENT
For the launch event, Hadi Abdullah and Alessandro Columcu will be in conversation with Charlotte al-Khalili (University of Sussex). The evening will be moderated Estella Carpi (UCL Department of Risk and Disaster Reduction). Together they will explore the book’s significance in the wider context of cultural memory, media activism, and Middle Eastern life writing.
Copies of the book will be available for purchase.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND SPEAKERS
Hadi Abdullah was born in al-Qusayr, near Homs, Syria, in 1988. Hadi rose to prominence during the Syrian revolution as one of the most fearless and widely followed independent reporters and media activists on the ground. Known for his frontline video reporting and powerful documentation of human rights abuses, he has survived multiple assassination attempts and was awarded the RSF–TV5Monde Press Freedom Prize in 2016. Critical Conditions is his first book.
Alessandro Columbu is currently Senior Lecturer in Arabic at the University of Westminster, London. His translation of Zakariyya Tamir’s Sour Grapes was awarded the 2023 Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding.
Charlotte al-Khalili is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at the University of Sussex. She extensively researched revolutionary politics and subjects, religious imagination and migratory aspirations with a special focus on Syria and Turkey.
Estella Carpi is an Associate Professor in Humanitarian Studies in the Department of Risk and Disaster Reduction at University College London.
Where is it happening?
IAS Common Ground, G11, South Wing, Gower Street, London, United KingdomEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
GBP 0.00
