The Fire These Times The First Masterclass is Here! (Jan/Feb 2026)
Hey everyone,
I wanted to let you all know that I’ll be giving online classes starting this January, and that I’m still accepting new people for the very first class. I recommend doing so asap as I’ve already had to open up a second class due to that amazing response I’ve received so far. All details below.
The class is entitled “Beware of Small States: An overview of Lebanon from 1975 to 2025.”
We will go beyond sensationalist headlines and shallow coverage, and beyond simplistic, top-down explanations for the country. Instead of a linear timeline of events, which you can get from Wikipedia anyway, you will get a messy one. After all, politics is not linear. Political actors evoke events from the recent or not-so-recent past as part of their politics in the present. In addition to the structured syllabus, I will use personal stories as someone who grew up in Lebanon in a very conservative, at times even Far Right, Christian environment, to explain how my own personal journey away from right-wing and towards left-wing, quasi-anarchist, politics has helped me understand Lebanon better, and hopefully help you too.
Register
Just send me an email at ayoub@thefirethesetimes.com or a Signal message @ ayoub.02.
I will send you the syllabus as well as all the required details including how to pay for the class if you're interested in taking it.
When?
Weekly from Saturday Jan 17th, 4pm UK time. 5 sessions.
Week 1 (Jan 17): The stories we tell ourselves about this painfully ordinary country.
Week 2 (Jan 24): Five academic-y concepts that are easier to understand than they seem.
Week 3 (Jan 31): We Are the Children of the Children of War.
Week 4 (Feb 7): From Life in the Midst of History to The Collapse
Week 5 (Feb 14): Lebanon yesterday, today, tomorrow
Fees: $300
Discounts: For Hauntologies (my newsletter) subscribers (past or present)
- 50% off for paid subscribers
- 100% off for Founding Members
Anyone joining the class will get:
Access to all 5 sessions
Lifetime access to the Google Drive
Lifetime access to the Hauntologies newsletter without paying extra (subscribers pay $50 a year on average)
Discounts on future classes
An invitation to join a Signal group
More classes to come
In addition to repeating this class, here are the titles and brief descriptions of the other classes currently being prepared. You can already register your interest by email or Signal to those as well - and I’ll just send you an email or text when they’re ready.
The Ghosts of Israel’s Future, looking at what the horrors unleashed by Israel during the ongoing genocide reveal about that country’s politics, and the people, Jews, Israelis and Palestinians alike, who predicted it. Estimated fee is $300 for 5 sessions.
Against Multipolar Imperialism, looking at why we cannot accept multipolarity as a valid alternative to a US-dominated world, especially as that involves accepting authoritarian states and effectively sacrificing whole populations as collateral. We will look at China, Taiwan, Ukraine, Russia, so-called Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia, Hong Kong, Syria, Israel-Palestine, Iran, El Salvador, Argentina, Tigray and Ethiopia, Bosnia and of course Lebanon. Estimated fee is $300 for 5 sessions.
Cancelling the Apocalypse: From James Baldwin to Solarpunk and beyond. Estimated fee is $300 for 5 sessions.
Postwar Hauntings: Modern Lebanon Through Its Cinema. This will be a much more in-depth exploration of Lebanon post-1990 through its cinema, which was the topic of my PhD dissertation. We will watch movies, discuss them, and explore Lebanon through them. Estimated fee is $600 for 6 sessions.