Haraka: Experimental Lab for Arab Art and Social Thought is an interdisciplinary and dynamic space that bridges the arts and social sciences. Haraka is a multivalent word in Arabic that means “movement” in the broadest sense of the word (embodied, political, and social) and also means “diacritic” the kind of symbol that accompanies Arabic letters in written form and is fundamental to giving meaning to the language. Haraka aims to produce knowledge about the region by “theorizing up” from the materials, ideas, and institutions of the region itself. Through research, archives, pedagogy, and exchange platforms that activate the Global Network of NYU as well as a grounded connection to the thinkers, artists, and alumni in the region, Haraka is a space for movement and flow but also for a more nuanced reading of the politics of translation and knowledge production.
Haraka: Experimental Lab for Arab Art and Social Thought runs three projects.