This YouTube Series Localises Obscure Anthropology for the Egyptian Layman

'Anthropology Bel 3arabi' is the newest web series by Egyptian student Farah Hallaba, who is currently working towards her master's degree in anthropology at the University of Kent in the UK. Her videos span across a variety of obscure topics like ethnography and liminality, and translates them for the Arabic-speaking layman. Although she only started in November, the young academic has already been featured on the University of Kent’s website and has managed to rack up a following quite quickly, garnering thousands of views on her YouTube channel.

For Hallaba, her main goal is to publicize anthropology and make it accessible to anyone and everyone, instead of leaving it gated to people with perfect English or academic lingo. "It's very understudied and there aren't many Arabic translations of studies that do exist, most of them are in Western languages like English and French. I want to be a professor one day, so I wanted to simplify the information for an Arabic audience in short, interesting, and engaging videos so that I can merge all the things I love," Hallaba told us.

Hallaba's inspiration for the channel was sparked when she realized how obscure the field of anthropology was, especially in the Egyptian community. While originally studying political science and cinema in Istanbul as an undergraduate, she had no clue about the field she currently studies. After coming back to Egypt between degrees, Hallaba found herself immersed in the arts and culture community, triggering her initial interest in the world of anthropology.

"I want to use the agency of being bilingual because if I had known what anthropology was before, I would have studied it as my Bachelor's and not just my Master's. I'm sure there are a lot of people like myself that could potentially fall in love with anthropology if they knew what it was or had the chance to be exposed to it," Hallaba said. Currently, Hallaba is working on her thesis which dissects the issues of classism and family belonging in Egyptian culture. By breaking down intimidating subjects using simple language and a headstrong approach, her video series is virtually the ‘Guide to Anthropology for Egyptian Dummies,’ and we’re living for it. Needless to say, we stan this disciplinary queen.