Alumnae spotlight: Professor Amira K. Bennison

Professor Amira K. Bennison , Class of 1984

Professor in the History and Culture of the Maghrib at the University of Cambridge

Amira (Kate) Bennison became interested in the Middle East and North Africa while studying for her BA Hons in History and Arabic at Cambridge. After graduating, she lived in Cairo for a year before studying for a Masters at Harvard University and a PhD at the School of Oriental and African Studies University of London. Her PhD, based on a year’s archival research in Morocco, looked at the impact of the French conquest of Algiers in 1830 on notions of political legitimacy in neighbouring Morocco. This involved an exploration of the significance of jihād in political legitimation in the western Maghrib published as ‘Jihād and its Interpretations in Pre-colonial Morocco’ (2002).

After her PhD, Amira went to the University of Manchester as a Leverhulme Research Fellow before moving to the University of Cambridge in 1997. Her work has continued to explore political legitimacy but has expanded to encompass Islamic Spain as well as the Maghrib and to consider urban planning, ceremonial and rhetoric alongside jihād. Amira’s teaching and research interests include urbanism in the medieval Islamic West (Islamic Iberia and Morocco especially), North African modes of legitimation and cultures of power from medieval to early modern times, historical non-western globalisation, and 18th-19th century Muslim religio-political discourse and engagement with modernity.

She is currently working on a book about medieval Islamic rulers and their urban projects, tentatively entitled The Medieval Maghrib: Cities, Patronage and Power. Amira’s interest in medieval urbanism in North Africa and the Islamic world grew from her experience as a cultural tour guide in Morocco, Syria, Egypt and Istanbul in the late 1990s. She said that teaching on-site was immensely rewarding, as was conveying the history of places to members of the general public. She still takes cultural tours to Spain and Morocco on a regular basis.

Amira also participates in TV and radio programming on Islamic history topics to make them better known to the general public. She has appeared in several TV programmes about the history of the Middle East and North Africa, including ‘Europe’s Lost Civilisation’, ‘The Thirties in Colour’, ‘Islamic Science’, and ‘The Ottomans’. She is also a regular contributor to Radio 4’s ‘In Our Time’ with Melvyn Bragg and other radio programmes on Islamic history. Most recently, she participated in two episodes of the BBC podcast series, ‘You’re Dead to Me’.

Amira is also active within the University and has served as Head of Department and Chair of the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. In 2022, Amira became Chair of the Cambridge University Press Academic Publishing Committee and Acting Director of the Centre of Islamic Studies.

Several years ago, Amira visited Croydon High to meet with students. Amira told the girls of the many countries, including Egypt, Morocco, and Spain, that she had visited in pursuit of knowledge. This highlighted the fact that a career in academia is not only possible but that travel could be a major aspect and perk! Amira also underlined the importance of studying her particular area of History with such a small number of professionals in this field.

We caught up with Amira recently for a Q&A session:

What aspects of Croydon High School did you enjoy and find most rewarding?

I enjoyed learning in general, but I especially liked time in the Art rooms and being allowed to use art to make my personal contribution.

What did you aspire to whilst at school?

To be honest, I did not give a career much thought at school – I was interested in Art and Architecture and also History, especially the history of the world beyond Europe.

How did Croydon High School empower you for your future?

The opportunity provided by a good and varied education has been invaluable alongside the mentorship of teachers. If my teachers had not suggested I apply to Oxford or Cambridge, I would not have done so. Like many girls at the time, I was the first in my family to attend university.

What has been your proudest moment?

That’s a difficult question! In general, I have been proud to move up the academic ladder and be the first woman to hold some of the positions I have attained.

What are your hopes for the future?

I think my main hope is to find a good work-life balance, which is important at any age, to write a few more books on the history of North Africa, and to do more TV and radio work.

What would you say to your younger self?

Do not worry so much or be afraid to voice your opinion. I was pretty shy at 15, and it can be hard to know how or when to express a view, answer a question or make a comment. Eventually we realise that our opinions do count but also that it is fine for others to disagree too.

Is there anything else you would like to tell us?

Croydon High was a bit of a haven for me during my teenage years and it set me on the path to university and a career which I massively enjoy. Thank you, Croydon High!

Mrs Karen Roe
Alumnae Relations Manager