Based on extensive participatory fieldwork, Alkhadra’s approach to research in Barefoot Nisswiyya theory is a clear break from traditional ethnography. Alkhadra uses the cultural heritage-based concepts of al-‘Ishra عشرة (living with) and al-Bawh بوح (spontaneous disclosure) in place of viewing communities as objects of observation.
Al-‘Ishra blurs the line between observer and observed by transforming the researcher’s role into that of a co-participant living alongside and sharing the immediacy of everyday life. Al-Bawh captures the spontaneous revelations that occur in the lived realities of a caring relationship, revealing truths that go beyond structured interviews. This approach offers relational immersion, reciprocity, and participatory solidarity taking precedence over the extraction of data.
Knowledge is co-created from lived experiences and based on caring, trust, and mutual learning. Immersion becomes the goal, bringing academic praxis in line with indigenous knowledge systems and ethically sound research while reaffirming humanity, solidarity, and creative coexistence. Research is reclaimed as participatory and as activism, challenging the separation and distance that has been put in place by ethnography.
Speaker: Wafa Alkhadra
Wafa Alkhadra is a professor, academic activist, and university administrator who has served as Dean of the Faculty of Languages and Communication at the American University of Madaba (AUM) and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Letters at Al-Ahliyya Amman University (AAU). She is a leading expert in higher education reform and human rights in Jordan. She sits on, and has been involved with, national policy boards including the National Center for Human Rights, the National Center for Curriculum Development, and the Abdul Hameed Shoman Research Fund.
She is the recipient of the Emerald Literati Award for Outstanding Paper (2023 and 2024) and was honored in 2024 by the International Women’s Forum (IWF) as one of the Women Who Make a Difference globally. She has played a pivotal role in drafting strategic frameworks for modernizing higher education in Jordan. She has advanced human rights advocacy through her work, including a published article in the Gender and Development special issue on Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRD), co-published by Oxfam and Routledge/Taylor & Francis.
Her leadership and expertise have been recognized through prestigious fellowships from Columbia University, Harvard University, Georgetown University (2023), and the SUSI program, highlighting her global influence in education, equity, and human rights.
Date: Monday, 25 Aug 2025
Time: Amman 6 pm, UK 4 pm
Location: CBRL Amman Institute and Online (Zoom)
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