Brahim El Guabli
Associate Professor of Comparative Thought and Literature at Johns Hopkins University and author of Desert Imaginations, a scholarly work tracing Saharanism and its consequences; provides extended answers and analysis throughout the interview.
Top 3 podcasts with Brahim El Guabli
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Jan 28, 2026 • 50min
Brahim El Guabli, "Desert Imaginations: A History of Saharanism and Its Radical Consequences" (U California Press, 2025)
Brahim El Guabli, Associate Professor of Comparative Thought and Literature known for work on North African history and culture, discusses his book on Saharanism. He explores how deserts are pictured as empty, exploitable, and dangerous. Conversations touch on energy extraction, borders and migrant invisibility, sacrifice zones, and storytelling as a form of desert eco-care.
Jan 28, 2026 • 50min
Brahim El Guabli, "Desert Imaginations: A History of Saharanism and Its Radical Consequences" (U California Press, 2025)
Brahim El Guabli, Associate Professor of Comparative Thought and Literature at Johns Hopkins, traces Saharanism—the idea that deserts are empty, exploitable, and dangerous. He discusses how that imaginary shapes borders, extraction, migration, and so-called sacrifice zones. He also explores literary and ethical alternatives that reframe deserts as living, cared-for worlds.
Jan 28, 2026 • 50min
Brahim El Guabli, "Desert Imaginations: A History of Saharanism and Its Radical Consequences" (U California Press, 2025)
Brahim El Guabli, Associate Professor and author of Desert Imaginations, studies desert studies and Moroccan history. He traces Saharanism as an ideology that renders deserts empty and exploitable. Topics include energy extraction, borders and migrant deaths, deserts as sacrifice zones, literary eco-care, and how desert imaginaries shape migration, war, and ecological futures.
