Rana B. Khoury
@rbkhoury.bsky.social
assistant prof of political science at Illinois researching wartime activism, displacement, humanitarianism, and all things Syria. mama to the greatest second grader. www.ranakhoury.com
Pinned
Rana B. Khoury
@rbkhoury.bsky.social
· Sep 17
So excited to hold my book! You can do so too in November! Leila Khoury's cover art captures the story of a contentious movement becoming something like a civil society in the depths of Syria's war. @cornellupress.bsky.social designed it beautifully. www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501...
I'm heading to two beloved alma maters for book talks!
Feb 23: Northwestern MENA Monday talk @ noon 💜https://planitpurple.northwestern.edu/event/638111
April 1: Georgetown CCAS @ 2pm 💙https://events.georgetown.edu/.../36741-book-talk...
More soon on events at GWU and UW!
Feb 23: Northwestern MENA Monday talk @ noon 💜https://planitpurple.northwestern.edu/event/638111
April 1: Georgetown CCAS @ 2pm 💙https://events.georgetown.edu/.../36741-book-talk...
More soon on events at GWU and UW!
February 10, 2026 at 2:55 PM
I'm heading to two beloved alma maters for book talks!
Feb 23: Northwestern MENA Monday talk @ noon 💜https://planitpurple.northwestern.edu/event/638111
April 1: Georgetown CCAS @ 2pm 💙https://events.georgetown.edu/.../36741-book-talk...
More soon on events at GWU and UW!
Feb 23: Northwestern MENA Monday talk @ noon 💜https://planitpurple.northwestern.edu/event/638111
April 1: Georgetown CCAS @ 2pm 💙https://events.georgetown.edu/.../36741-book-talk...
More soon on events at GWU and UW!
I can keep doing things to make them AI resilient, but I don't see how I can drop the essays after this round of evals.
I'm open to hearing other interpretations (yes, my priors are that language is core to humanity, and that writing is pedagogically essential). 6/6
I'm open to hearing other interpretations (yes, my priors are that language is core to humanity, and that writing is pedagogically essential). 6/6
January 16, 2026 at 5:08 PM
I can keep doing things to make them AI resilient, but I don't see how I can drop the essays after this round of evals.
I'm open to hearing other interpretations (yes, my priors are that language is core to humanity, and that writing is pedagogically essential). 6/6
I'm open to hearing other interpretations (yes, my priors are that language is core to humanity, and that writing is pedagogically essential). 6/6
Those who didn't make their comment about the essays specifically often said things that would necessarily include them b/c they're such a huge part of the course. Like, "Everything!" 5/6
January 16, 2026 at 5:08 PM
Those who didn't make their comment about the essays specifically often said things that would necessarily include them b/c they're such a huge part of the course. Like, "Everything!" 5/6
Often, it's like this:
"I enjoyed each case reflection because it allowed us to dive deep and apply course material within a specific context."
"There being no exams helped me to actually focus and apply the concepts, and not worry about memorizing everything." 4/6
"I enjoyed each case reflection because it allowed us to dive deep and apply course material within a specific context."
"There being no exams helped me to actually focus and apply the concepts, and not worry about memorizing everything." 4/6
January 16, 2026 at 5:08 PM
Often, it's like this:
"I enjoyed each case reflection because it allowed us to dive deep and apply course material within a specific context."
"There being no exams helped me to actually focus and apply the concepts, and not worry about memorizing everything." 4/6
"I enjoyed each case reflection because it allowed us to dive deep and apply course material within a specific context."
"There being no exams helped me to actually focus and apply the concepts, and not worry about memorizing everything." 4/6
The evals:
1. 67/84 students completed
2. the closed-ended scores are v good
3. one open-ended question asks: "What aspect of course design/delivery most benefited your learning?"
4. In response, 39/67 praise the essays.
sometimes it's as simple as "The essays." 3/6
1. 67/84 students completed
2. the closed-ended scores are v good
3. one open-ended question asks: "What aspect of course design/delivery most benefited your learning?"
4. In response, 39/67 praise the essays.
sometimes it's as simple as "The essays." 3/6
January 16, 2026 at 5:08 PM
The evals:
1. 67/84 students completed
2. the closed-ended scores are v good
3. one open-ended question asks: "What aspect of course design/delivery most benefited your learning?"
4. In response, 39/67 praise the essays.
sometimes it's as simple as "The essays." 3/6
1. 67/84 students completed
2. the closed-ended scores are v good
3. one open-ended question asks: "What aspect of course design/delivery most benefited your learning?"
4. In response, 39/67 praise the essays.
sometimes it's as simple as "The essays." 3/6
Cards:
1. 5 short papers, applying course material to a social mvmt they've chosen early on, about which they do independent research.
2. These constitute the bulk of assessment in this lower-level lecture
3. I require (maybe beg for) an AI transparency statement. LOTS declare. 2/6
1. 5 short papers, applying course material to a social mvmt they've chosen early on, about which they do independent research.
2. These constitute the bulk of assessment in this lower-level lecture
3. I require (maybe beg for) an AI transparency statement. LOTS declare. 2/6
January 16, 2026 at 5:08 PM
Cards:
1. 5 short papers, applying course material to a social mvmt they've chosen early on, about which they do independent research.
2. These constitute the bulk of assessment in this lower-level lecture
3. I require (maybe beg for) an AI transparency statement. LOTS declare. 2/6
1. 5 short papers, applying course material to a social mvmt they've chosen early on, about which they do independent research.
2. These constitute the bulk of assessment in this lower-level lecture
3. I require (maybe beg for) an AI transparency statement. LOTS declare. 2/6
Angst over AI and student writing has been roiling me at an increasing strength lately. Because I haven't stopped assigning essays.
I just got student evals for last semester, and I can breathe. Maybe I'm just so overwhelmed by their positive input, but... 1/6
I just got student evals for last semester, and I can breathe. Maybe I'm just so overwhelmed by their positive input, but... 1/6
January 16, 2026 at 5:08 PM
Angst over AI and student writing has been roiling me at an increasing strength lately. Because I haven't stopped assigning essays.
I just got student evals for last semester, and I can breathe. Maybe I'm just so overwhelmed by their positive input, but... 1/6
I just got student evals for last semester, and I can breathe. Maybe I'm just so overwhelmed by their positive input, but... 1/6
The regimes that fight imperialism by fighting the people have lost the plot.
January 14, 2026 at 8:21 PM
The regimes that fight imperialism by fighting the people have lost the plot.
Kind of surreal to be discussing my new book on my favorite podcast for learning about new books.
Marc as always knows so much about the topic; it's a real privilege (if intimidating) to be in conversation with him.
Marc as always knows so much about the topic; it's a real privilege (if intimidating) to be in conversation with him.
Welcome to Season 15 of the POMEPS Podcast! On this week's episode, Rana Khoury joins POMEPS Director Marc Lynch to discuss her new book, Civilizing Contention: International Aid in Syria's War. Also, Marc shares additional academic research on Syria. pomeps.org/civilizing-c...
Civilizing Contention: International Aid in Syria's War (S. 15, Ep. 1) - Project on Middle East Political Science
Welcome to Season 15 of the POMEPS Middle East Political Science Podcast! On this week’s episode of the podcast, Rana Khoury of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign joins Marc Lynch to discu...
pomeps.org
January 13, 2026 at 2:32 PM
Kind of surreal to be discussing my new book on my favorite podcast for learning about new books.
Marc as always knows so much about the topic; it's a real privilege (if intimidating) to be in conversation with him.
Marc as always knows so much about the topic; it's a real privilege (if intimidating) to be in conversation with him.
I'm honored that Civilizing Contention is on @abuaardvark.bsky.social's list of best books of 2025, and among such a stellar group.
abuaardvarkghost.ghost.io/best-of-2025...
abuaardvarkghost.ghost.io/best-of-2025...
Best of 2025
I've just returned from a whirlwind trip to Denmark and Norway, where I gave four book talks – a million thanks to the University of Copenhagen and DIIS, Aarhus University, NUPI and the University of ...
abuaardvarkghost.ghost.io
December 22, 2025 at 11:35 AM
I'm honored that Civilizing Contention is on @abuaardvark.bsky.social's list of best books of 2025, and among such a stellar group.
abuaardvarkghost.ghost.io/best-of-2025...
abuaardvarkghost.ghost.io/best-of-2025...
Thank you, Erik, and congratulations to you as well!
December 22, 2025 at 11:34 AM
Thank you, Erik, and congratulations to you as well!
Thank you for sharing! It was a pleasure to serve on the board and engage such a great network of scholars.
Here's a discount code for anyone who may be interested in the book: 09BCARD
Here's a discount code for anyone who may be interested in the book: 09BCARD
December 8, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Thank you for sharing! It was a pleasure to serve on the board and engage such a great network of scholars.
Here's a discount code for anyone who may be interested in the book: 09BCARD
Here's a discount code for anyone who may be interested in the book: 09BCARD
Reposted by Rana B. Khoury
One year after toppling of Bashar Assad's regime, we've got a variety of insights on prospects for Syria's future.
Check out the 7-piece symposium on Syria co-edited by @rbkhoury.bsky.social and Sefa Seçen in our latest APSA MENA Politics Newsletter.
apsamena.org/mena-politic...
Check out the 7-piece symposium on Syria co-edited by @rbkhoury.bsky.social and Sefa Seçen in our latest APSA MENA Politics Newsletter.
apsamena.org/mena-politic...
MENA Politics Newsletter 8(2) – Fall 2025 - APSA MENA POLITICS
Welcome to the APSA MENA Politics Newsletter, Volume 8, Issue 2, Fall 2025. Download the Newsletter Here
apsamena.org
December 8, 2025 at 7:31 PM
One year after toppling of Bashar Assad's regime, we've got a variety of insights on prospects for Syria's future.
Check out the 7-piece symposium on Syria co-edited by @rbkhoury.bsky.social and Sefa Seçen in our latest APSA MENA Politics Newsletter.
apsamena.org/mena-politic...
Check out the 7-piece symposium on Syria co-edited by @rbkhoury.bsky.social and Sefa Seçen in our latest APSA MENA Politics Newsletter.
apsamena.org/mena-politic...
On this first anniversary of the stunning fall, I'm proud to be in
@pomeps.bsky.social just-released collection on Syria with an essay on The Question of Return. Despite its liberatory potential, the regime’s end also exposes the deep vulnerability of Syrian refugees
pomeps.org/the-question...
@pomeps.bsky.social just-released collection on Syria with an essay on The Question of Return. Despite its liberatory potential, the regime’s end also exposes the deep vulnerability of Syrian refugees
pomeps.org/the-question...
The Question of Return - Project on Middle East Political Science
Rana B. Khoury, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign [1] For more than a decade, most Syrian refugees have not reached a “durable solution” to their displacement: neither resettlement in a third ...
pomeps.org
December 8, 2025 at 5:15 PM
On this first anniversary of the stunning fall, I'm proud to be in
@pomeps.bsky.social just-released collection on Syria with an essay on The Question of Return. Despite its liberatory potential, the regime’s end also exposes the deep vulnerability of Syrian refugees
pomeps.org/the-question...
@pomeps.bsky.social just-released collection on Syria with an essay on The Question of Return. Despite its liberatory potential, the regime’s end also exposes the deep vulnerability of Syrian refugees
pomeps.org/the-question...
Cornell's got a winter sale, 44% all books! Code: 09WINTER
Great time to give loved ones, and yourself, a title or two from their excellent selection for the holidays. Perhaps even mine! (Their publications in conflict studies are top notch.)
www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501...
Great time to give loved ones, and yourself, a title or two from their excellent selection for the holidays. Perhaps even mine! (Their publications in conflict studies are top notch.)
www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501...
Civilizing Contention by Rana B. Khoury | Paperback | Cornell University Press
In Civilizing Contention, Rana B. Khoury asserts that to understand civilian and refugee activism in war, we must regard the international actors and organizations that enter the scene to help. When.....
www.cornellpress.cornell.edu
November 10, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Cornell's got a winter sale, 44% all books! Code: 09WINTER
Great time to give loved ones, and yourself, a title or two from their excellent selection for the holidays. Perhaps even mine! (Their publications in conflict studies are top notch.)
www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501...
Great time to give loved ones, and yourself, a title or two from their excellent selection for the holidays. Perhaps even mine! (Their publications in conflict studies are top notch.)
www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501...
Excited/nervous to be giving a book talk tomorrow at Illinois. My 2nd grader anticipates it will be about 5% boring.
Come for the 95%!
calendars.illinois.edu/detail/779/3...
Come for the 95%!
calendars.illinois.edu/detail/779/3...
Book Talk: "Civilizing Contention: International Aid in Syria's War." Dr. Rana Khoury
calendars.illinois.edu
November 4, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Excited/nervous to be giving a book talk tomorrow at Illinois. My 2nd grader anticipates it will be about 5% boring.
Come for the 95%!
calendars.illinois.edu/detail/779/3...
Come for the 95%!
calendars.illinois.edu/detail/779/3...
Wendy, I'm ever grateful for your guidance along the way—always pushing for rigor while remaining committed to the human story that's at stake. I'm so lucky to have learned from you.
November 3, 2025 at 8:39 PM
Wendy, I'm ever grateful for your guidance along the way—always pushing for rigor while remaining committed to the human story that's at stake. I'm so lucky to have learned from you.
I was happy to co-edit the symposium with Sefa Secen for @apsamena.bsky.social 's fall newsletter, out now.
November 3, 2025 at 5:49 PM
I was happy to co-edit the symposium with Sefa Secen for @apsamena.bsky.social 's fall newsletter, out now.
In this symposium on Syria contributors paint nuanced, grim, but clear-eyed pictures of multiple transitional challenges. Comparisons to other cases and situation in poli sci lit remind us Syria's not terribly unique. Amazingly, they all suggest ways through the obstacles.
zenodo.org/records/1745...
zenodo.org/records/1745...
MENA Politics, Fall 2025
zenodo.org
November 3, 2025 at 5:49 PM
In this symposium on Syria contributors paint nuanced, grim, but clear-eyed pictures of multiple transitional challenges. Comparisons to other cases and situation in poli sci lit remind us Syria's not terribly unique. Amazingly, they all suggest ways through the obstacles.
zenodo.org/records/1745...
zenodo.org/records/1745...
Reposted by Rana B. Khoury
3) A symposium on Syria's transition co-edited by @rbkhoury.bsky.social and Sefa Secen, featuring thought-provoking interventions from Tiina Hyyppä, Sumaya Malas, Salam Said, Emily K. M. Scott, Sefa Secen, and Ammar Shamaileh; and
October 29, 2025 at 7:58 PM
3) A symposium on Syria's transition co-edited by @rbkhoury.bsky.social and Sefa Secen, featuring thought-provoking interventions from Tiina Hyyppä, Sumaya Malas, Salam Said, Emily K. M. Scott, Sefa Secen, and Ammar Shamaileh; and
Reposted by Rana B. Khoury
I am delighted to share the fall issue of the APSA MENA section newsletter, co-edited by @sebnemgumuscu.bsky.social, @samershehata.bsky.social, and me, available for download here: zenodo.org/records/1745...
October 29, 2025 at 7:58 PM
I am delighted to share the fall issue of the APSA MENA section newsletter, co-edited by @sebnemgumuscu.bsky.social, @samershehata.bsky.social, and me, available for download here: zenodo.org/records/1745...
Can folks suggest books or writings by Moroccan or Egyptian activists involved in social movements? For an undergraduate thesis student who is eager to learn how the people on the ground understood their own undertakings. English or Arabic. Thanks!
October 27, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Can folks suggest books or writings by Moroccan or Egyptian activists involved in social movements? For an undergraduate thesis student who is eager to learn how the people on the ground understood their own undertakings. English or Arabic. Thanks!
Reposted by Rana B. Khoury
To celebrate the upcoming release of my book, and to support emerging scholars, I'd like to buy and mail copies to ten graduate students.
If you’re a grad student who’d like a copy, reply or DM me!
www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501...
If you’re a grad student who’d like a copy, reply or DM me!
www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501...
Civilizing Contention by Rana B. Khoury | Paperback | Cornell University Press
In Civilizing Contention, Rana B. Khoury asserts that to understand civilian and refugee activism in war, we must regard the international actors and organizations that enter the scene to help. When.....
www.cornellpress.cornell.edu
October 17, 2025 at 1:55 PM
To celebrate the upcoming release of my book, and to support emerging scholars, I'd like to buy and mail copies to ten graduate students.
If you’re a grad student who’d like a copy, reply or DM me!
www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501...
If you’re a grad student who’d like a copy, reply or DM me!
www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501...