Nasra Dahir Mohamed, Ph.D. student in Global Studies at Global Studies University, specializing in Cultural, Visual, and Literary Studies, presents her research paper, Environmental Advocacy and Cultural Memory in Somali Poetic Drama: A Case Study of Hassan Ganey’s “Calamities Are the Best Educators in the Globe.”
Supported by a research award from the Local Histories of Climate Change in the Horn of Africa project at University of Pennsylvania, with additional support from Rift Valley Institute, the study forms part of her broader doctoral research on indigenizing education through poetry, drama, and visual art.
The paper examines Hassan Ganey’s 1982 play Calamities Are the Best Educators in the Globe, positioning Somali poetic drama as a form of environmental knowledge. It argues that poetic performance operates as an archive of ecological understanding, connecting traditional knowledge systems with contemporary environmental concerns and approaches to sustainability.
Nasra’s research explores the relationship between education, cultural practice, and knowledge production, with a particular focus on Somali literary and performance traditions.
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