Philip Grant
@philipgrant.bsky.social
Anthropologist, historian, translator.
See: Javad Tabatabai, Ibn Khaldun & the Social Sciences.
Rebels & Rulers in the Early Islamicate World ed. H. Hagemann & A. Grant.
Editorial board, Encyclopædia Iranica. Board member, The Markaz Review.
See: Javad Tabatabai, Ibn Khaldun & the Social Sciences.
Rebels & Rulers in the Early Islamicate World ed. H. Hagemann & A. Grant.
Editorial board, Encyclopædia Iranica. Board member, The Markaz Review.
I've been involved with TMR for a few years now. It's an excellent place to read all about SWANA literature & arts, discover new voices & get reacquainted with familiar ones. It comes in Arabic & French too! I'm sure like me you are bombarded by donation requests, but have a read & keep us in mind.
Message from our editors 💬
The Markaz Review has featured nearly 200 writers from Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) this year—and over 1,000 voices since our founding. Help us keep publishing bold, independent work.
Donate: https://bit.ly/donatetmr
The Markaz Review has featured nearly 200 writers from Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) this year—and over 1,000 voices since our founding. Help us keep publishing bold, independent work.
Donate: https://bit.ly/donatetmr
December 19, 2025 at 5:44 PM
I've been involved with TMR for a few years now. It's an excellent place to read all about SWANA literature & arts, discover new voices & get reacquainted with familiar ones. It comes in Arabic & French too! I'm sure like me you are bombarded by donation requests, but have a read & keep us in mind.
The EU could adopt Trump-style rules that would allow home raids and deporting people to countries they’ve never set foot in. If we don’t speak up now, this could become the new normal. Sign the petition! action.wemove.eu/sign/2025-12...
Say No to Mass Deportations in Europe
The EU could adopt Trump-style rules that would allow home raids and deporting people to countries they’ve never set foot in. If we don’t speak up now, this could become the new normal. Sign the petit...
action.wemove.eu
December 15, 2025 at 5:43 PM
The EU could adopt Trump-style rules that would allow home raids and deporting people to countries they’ve never set foot in. If we don’t speak up now, this could become the new normal. Sign the petition! action.wemove.eu/sign/2025-12...
My translation of Javad Tabatabai's "Ibn Khaldun and the Social Sciences" has been reported on in Iran!
www.ibna.ir/news/544575/...
www.ibna.ir/news/544575/...
شاهکار جواد طباطبایی به زبان انگلیسی
کاترین مالابو درباره این اثر نوشته: «بعد از کانت و فوکو، این نسخه جواد طباطبایی از "روشنگری چیست؟ " است. شاهکار طباطبایی، فراتر از یک کتاب درباره ایران و تاملی درباره همه مشکلات معرفتشناختیاش، تاملی...
www.ibna.ir
December 11, 2025 at 12:34 AM
My translation of Javad Tabatabai's "Ibn Khaldun and the Social Sciences" has been reported on in Iran!
www.ibna.ir/news/544575/...
www.ibna.ir/news/544575/...
What terrifies me is that the leading alternatives to the far right are folk who think the way to protect human rights is to reduce the rights of the most vulnerable, those whose very presence asks us to show us that humanity means more than looking after own. We are led by timorous mediocrities.
December 9, 2025 at 8:14 PM
What terrifies me is that the leading alternatives to the far right are folk who think the way to protect human rights is to reduce the rights of the most vulnerable, those whose very presence asks us to show us that humanity means more than looking after own. We are led by timorous mediocrities.
I am glad to say I finally joined @aaup.org (in my defense I wasn't sure adjuncts could be members - fellow adjuncts, yes we can, and dues are based on income). Looking forward to getting involved!
November 5, 2025 at 8:39 PM
I am glad to say I finally joined @aaup.org (in my defense I wasn't sure adjuncts could be members - fellow adjuncts, yes we can, and dues are based on income). Looking forward to getting involved!
The law firm in question is looking into a class action suit against Anthropic for its uncompensated use of copyrighted texts to train large language models (so-called 'AI'). The Atlantic database below is good; I found my work there. Then you can submit your details to the law firm (if in the US).
"If your books were uploaded to LibGen/fed into the LLMs, add your name to the potential class action lawsuit by tomorrow." Details:
LibDem database: www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
Attorney form: www.lieffcabraser.com/anthropic-au...
(This information comes via a reliable Discord source.)
LibDem database: www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
Attorney form: www.lieffcabraser.com/anthropic-au...
(This information comes via a reliable Discord source.)
Search LibGen, the Pirated-Books Database That Meta Used to Train AI
Millions of books and scientific papers are captured in the collection’s current iteration.
www.theatlantic.com
August 14, 2025 at 10:48 PM
The law firm in question is looking into a class action suit against Anthropic for its uncompensated use of copyrighted texts to train large language models (so-called 'AI'). The Atlantic database below is good; I found my work there. Then you can submit your details to the law firm (if in the US).
"#Columbia... an anti-university, a gated security zone with electronic entry controls, a place of fear and loathing, where faculty and students are told from on high what they can teach and say, under penalty of severe sanctions."
Rashid Khalidi on “constant fear that informers would snitch on them to the fearsome apparatus that Columbia has erected to punish speech critical of Israel, and to crack down on alleged discrimination – which.. amounts simply to opposition to this genocide.”
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
I spent decades at Columbia. I’m withdrawing my fall course due to its deal with Trump | Rashid Khalidi
The university’s draconian policies and new definition of antisemitism make much teaching impossible
www.theguardian.com
August 1, 2025 at 6:58 PM
"#Columbia... an anti-university, a gated security zone with electronic entry controls, a place of fear and loathing, where faculty and students are told from on high what they can teach and say, under penalty of severe sanctions."
Been an Abdulrazak #Gurnah fan since I discovered his work belatedly when he won the Nobel a few years back. Theft is his most recent novel from @penguinrandomhouse.bsky.social, the 7th of his I've read but the 1st I've reviewed, for the excellent Markaz Review.
themarkaz.org/theft-by-abd...
themarkaz.org/theft-by-abd...
Theft by Abdulrazak Gurnah — A Review
Gurnah's new novel, "Theft," is a post-colonial exploration of Tanzania, immigration, and the relationship between Africa and the west.
themarkaz.org
July 11, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Been an Abdulrazak #Gurnah fan since I discovered his work belatedly when he won the Nobel a few years back. Theft is his most recent novel from @penguinrandomhouse.bsky.social, the 7th of his I've read but the 1st I've reviewed, for the excellent Markaz Review.
themarkaz.org/theft-by-abd...
themarkaz.org/theft-by-abd...
Even in critical accounts of so-called AI, the absurd, dangerous, & unsustainable amount of energy required for large language models is often rarely mentioned, when it should be the first thing anyone says about it.
AI could account for nearly half of data centre power usage ‘by end of year’
AI could account for nearly half of data centre power usage ‘by end of year’
Artificial intelligence systems forecast to require almost as much energy by end of decade as Japan uses today
Artificial intelligence systems could approach accounting for half of data centre power consumption by the end of this year, according to new analysis.
The estimates by Alex de Vries-Gao, the founder of the Digiconomist tech sustainability website, came as the International Energy Agency (IEA) forecast that AI would require almost as much energy by the end of this decade as Japan uses today. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
May 22, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Even in critical accounts of so-called AI, the absurd, dangerous, & unsustainable amount of energy required for large language models is often rarely mentioned, when it should be the first thing anyone says about it.
Reposted by Philip Grant
Urgent action! 🚨
Children in Gaza are starving. Not by accident—Israel’s government is deliberately starving the population. And the EU keeps doing trade as usual. 😠
Tell the EU: suspend the trade deal with Israel, stop arms exports, & sanction perpetrators. 🍉
📝 go.wemove.eu/IsraelTradeBlock
Children in Gaza are starving. Not by accident—Israel’s government is deliberately starving the population. And the EU keeps doing trade as usual. 😠
Tell the EU: suspend the trade deal with Israel, stop arms exports, & sanction perpetrators. 🍉
📝 go.wemove.eu/IsraelTradeBlock
May 22, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Urgent action! 🚨
Children in Gaza are starving. Not by accident—Israel’s government is deliberately starving the population. And the EU keeps doing trade as usual. 😠
Tell the EU: suspend the trade deal with Israel, stop arms exports, & sanction perpetrators. 🍉
📝 go.wemove.eu/IsraelTradeBlock
Children in Gaza are starving. Not by accident—Israel’s government is deliberately starving the population. And the EU keeps doing trade as usual. 😠
Tell the EU: suspend the trade deal with Israel, stop arms exports, & sanction perpetrators. 🍉
📝 go.wemove.eu/IsraelTradeBlock
Vichy on the Hudson is such an apt way to describe #Columbia University. At first blush, it looks like the university administration & trustees just capitulated to the bully-in-chief, but the more you think about it, the more you realize that they themselves likely wanted such an outcome.
Does Columbia still merit the name of a university? | Rashid Khalidi
Columbia has long been run more as a business empire than as an educational institution. Now it’s acting like Vichy on the Hudson
www.theguardian.com
March 25, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Vichy on the Hudson is such an apt way to describe #Columbia University. At first blush, it looks like the university administration & trustees just capitulated to the bully-in-chief, but the more you think about it, the more you realize that they themselves likely wanted such an outcome.
It's about time the EU got its act together on #Palestine as well as #Ukraine & recognised Palestine as a state (yes, Ireland, Spain, Malta & Slovenia already have done). Sign here. action.wemove.eu/sign/2024-04...
Recognise the Palestinian voice and future!
As we hold our breaths in horror at what is happening in the Middle East, we know one thing to be true: until everyone is safe in the region, no one can be safe. Recognising Palestine and the Palestin...
action.wemove.eu
March 10, 2025 at 6:39 PM
It's about time the EU got its act together on #Palestine as well as #Ukraine & recognised Palestine as a state (yes, Ireland, Spain, Malta & Slovenia already have done). Sign here. action.wemove.eu/sign/2024-04...
If you're in the US, you can get your copy here, or at your favorite local bookstore: bookshop.org/p/books/sumu...
January 31, 2025 at 11:51 PM
If you're in the US, you can get your copy here, or at your favorite local bookstore: bookshop.org/p/books/sumu...
Wonderful news & a rare victory in what can these days sometimes feel like a forgotten cause, the struggle to prevent the destruction of the habitats of most species on this planet, our own included. Still, pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will, always! #Oil companies will be defeated.
Campaigners have won a crucial ruling, overturning the UK Government's support for Rosebank oil field.
It would cause emissions equal to the 28 lowest income countries combined!
Renewable energy is the safest, cheapest and greenest available. It's where our future must lie.
It would cause emissions equal to the 28 lowest income countries combined!
Renewable energy is the safest, cheapest and greenest available. It's where our future must lie.
January 30, 2025 at 8:26 PM
Wonderful news & a rare victory in what can these days sometimes feel like a forgotten cause, the struggle to prevent the destruction of the habitats of most species on this planet, our own included. Still, pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will, always! #Oil companies will be defeated.
Between Rebels and Rulers, a volume edited by two fine scholars, Hannah-Lena Hagemann and Alasdair C. Grant (no relation), is now available as an e-book/PDF for free.
edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-between...
edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-between...
Between Rebels and Rulers in the Early Islamicate World
Between Rebels and Rulers in the Early Islamicate World
edinburghuniversitypress.com
January 15, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Between Rebels and Rulers, a volume edited by two fine scholars, Hannah-Lena Hagemann and Alasdair C. Grant (no relation), is now available as an e-book/PDF for free.
edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-between...
edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-between...
Today the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The fact that he is a high-ranking politician & US ally should not allow him to escape justice. The law must apply to everyone equally. Please sign this petition in support of his arrest:
November 22, 2024 at 2:10 AM
Today the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The fact that he is a high-ranking politician & US ally should not allow him to escape justice. The law must apply to everyone equally. Please sign this petition in support of his arrest: