Anthropology

• “Education as the Domestication of Inner Space” in Fifth Estate, Issue 391, Spring/Summer 2014. Translated into Czech, Hindi, Portuguese, Russian, and Ukrainian

• Order and the literary rendering of chaos: children’s literature as knowledge, culture and social foundation – doctoral dissertation on the intersection of humanism with anthropogenic destruction of the world. Interdisciplinary study that spans ethology, anthropology, epistemology, ontology, and other humanist constructs, 2011

• The Mythical Predator – a discussion on the nature of human beings, 5th September 2010

• “Beyond the Symbolic and Towards the Collapse” – Introduction to John Zerzan’s series of conferences and workshops in Montreal, May 2008

• “Conscience, Consciousness, and Scientific Knowledge, or the Evolution of Idiocy: Problems of Natural and Cultural Selection” – Paper presented at the conference in commemoration of Charles Darwin, titled: «Penser la conscience aujourd’hui. Un point de vue anthropologique sur la question», Department of Anthropology, University of Montreal on Friday, 17th April, 2009

On childhood, parenthood and learning

• On Objects, Love, and Objectifications. The Paulinian Compass (refereed scholarly journal), St. Paul University, Manila: Issue #2: June 2009 (First published online in January 2003)

• Modernism and Education: Revised Perspectives on Meaning, Value and Practice. The Paulinian Compass (refereed scholarly journal), St. Paul University, Manila: Issue #3: November 2009 (First published online in May 2003)

• Kaleidoscope (creative non-fiction)

On literature and culture

• Genealogies of Wilderness and Domestication in Children’s Narratives: Understanding Genesis and Genetics in the Untangling of Identity. “The Paulinian Compass” (refereed scholarly journal), St. Paul University, Manila: Vol. 1, No. 4; July 2010

• Avatar: An Anarcho-Primitivist Picture of the History of the World

• Response to Critiques of Avatar on Questions of Scientism and Racism – text plus radio talk

• Reflections on Red Delicious: methods and forms in thinking human and literary experience

• A Venture Beyond the Script

• The construction of identity in emergent literatures

• Preliminary exam

• Kaleidoscope (creative non-fiction), 1995-2005

• The Inner-shit-issue (short story), 2002

• Red Delicious (drama), 2003

• Ladies and Gentlemen: We’ve Got Him! (drama), 2004

* Travelogue – the truth and nothing but the truth

Academic

• “What’s AI got to do with it? The Odyssey of Knowledge Production and Stress through the Ages”. Video of the guest lecture (transcript here), invited by the Departments of Chinese Studies, Indology/South Asian Studies, and Japanese Studies of the University of Tübingen and the German Society for Time Policy (DGfZP), Berlin, 2024

  Abstract

  Academia in crisis has been the subject of conferences and publications for several decades. The novel factor that has recently appeared in this conversation is the unabashed infiltration of AI into the heart of knowledge production in the “Ivory Tower”. However, is the “crisis” really all that new or even surprising? And, if not, what is this phenomenon, and what can or should we do about it? Most importantly, what are the implications of the advent of the long-awaited technological development for “knowledge”, work, and life?

  By nuancing our understanding of stress and challenging our precepts about what knowledge is and the nature of technology, I take this conversation beyond the immediate concerns of survival in academia. What if, I ask, what we assume to be the production of knowledge actually leads to ignorance and the destruction of our world? And, what’s AI got to do with it all?

• “And the Lord said, Go into the wilderness. A sermon for wild spirituality” (transcript of video here).

  What comes to mind when you hear the words “civilisation” and “wilderness”? Usually, we associate civilisation with care and morality and we think of wilderness as the battleground where might makes right. But, what if things were the other way round? What would a new way of understanding wilderness mean for how we think and live in the world? And, where does spirituality come in?

  Layla AbdelRahim is a comparativist anthropologist who challenges us to rethink what we think we know about ourselves, civilisation, and wilderness.

  Join us for an exploration of these questions at the Unitarian Universalist Church, North Hatley, Sunday service, 4th June 2023

• “‘Up’ the Hierarchy Ladder and Into ‘The Secret Garden’ of Social and Gender Inequality”. Presentation at the Consortium of Gender Scholars, Nazarbayev University, 18th September 2019
• “Women’s Education for a Sustainable World”. Keynote Speaker (also opened the ceremony for the Science, Art, and Sustainability Project) at Vanitha College, Hyderabad, India; 9 August 2016
• “Epistemology and Engineering: a Critique of Narratives and Civilization”. Invited lecture for the academic staff of the CK Reddy College of Engineering and Technology, Hyderabad, open to all disciplines, but mostly attended by professors from engineering (bio-engineering included), environmental, physics, and architecture departments, India; 10 August 2016
• “Sociology as a Narrative of Civilization”. Department of Sociology, Osmania University, Hyderabad. Invited lecture, India; 9 August 2016
• “Critique of Civilization and Prospects of Education in an Imperilled World”. 5th Orientation Course for Furthering Professionalization of Educators. Invited lecture for professors at Osmania University, Hyderabad, India, on the importance of critique of civilization across academic disciplines for a new and viable educational model. 8 August 2016
• “Epistemology, Civilization, and the Roots of War”. Public lecture at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. 4 August 2016

• “Civilization and Patriarchy: The Domestication of Sex and the Origins of Gender”. Invited speaker at Jawaharlal Nehru University, the Tapti Hostel Public Lecture series, India; 3 August 2016

• “Origin Stories and Political Paradigms”. Invited lecture by the Department of Political Science, Delhi University, India; 3 August 2016

General

• “Women’s Education for a Sustainable World”. Keynote Speaker (also opened the ceremony for the Science, Art, and Sustainability Project) at Vanitha College, Hyderabad, India; 9 August 2016

• “Epistemology and Engineering: a Critique of Narratives and Civilization”. Invited lecture for the academic staff of the CK Reddy College of Engineering and Technology, Hyderabad, open to all disciplines, but mostly attended by professors from engineering (bio-engineering included), environmental, physics, and architecture departments, India; 10 August 2016

• “Sociology as a Narrative of Civilization”. Department of Sociology, Osmania University, Hyderabad. Invited lecture, India; 9 August 2016

• “Critique of Civilization and Prospects of Education in an Imperilled World”. 5th Orientation Course for Furthering Professionalization of Educators. Invited lecture for professors at Osmania University, Hyderabad, India, on the importance of critique of civilization across academic disciplines for a new and viable educational model. 8 August 2016

• “Epistemology, Civilization, and the Roots of War”. Public lecture at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. 4 August 2016

• “Civilization and Patriarchy: The Domestication of Sex and the Origins of Gender”. Invited speaker at Jawaharlal Nehru University, the Tapti Hostel Public Lecture series, India; 3 August 2016

• “Origin Stories and Political Paradigms”. Invited lecture by the Department of Political Science, Delhi University, India; 3 August 2016

Abstracts

Scientific

Other

Abstracts

Descriptions of the invited lectures cycle in India can be found here

Descriptions of the invited lectures cycle in India can be found here

• “Domestication, De-domestication, and Rewilding“. Public talk part of the series on “Time, Domestication, and Stress” organised by the Anhilaal Collective on abolition of work and civilisation in India and Germany, 28th November 2021

• “Where the Wild Things Go: Anarchist Knowledge and Practice” workshop at the Montreal Anarchist bookfair, 24 May 2015

• “Crime and Reward from an Anarcho-Primitivist Perspective” – lecture at the Department of Criminology, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Surrey, B.C., Tuesday, 8 October, 2013

• “First there was the Word, then Came Civilisation: How Fiction Structures the Reality of Predation and Violence” – a talk at Shakti Mountain climbing gym, Montreal; 29 June, 2013

• “A Radical Critique of Modern Education” – a discussion at the A-space Anarchist Community Center, Philadelphia, 30 May, 2013

• Wild Children – Domesticated Dreams: Civilization and the Birth of Education Book Launch, Video, at La Deferle, Montreal, Sunday, 19 May, 2013

• “How Ivan the Fool Defeats Civilized Pedagogies“, Brown Bag Lunch Seminar series: Community, solidarity, and popular education: Confronting the national security state. Department of Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University, 12:00pm Wednesday, 8 February, 2012

• “Radical Sustainability, Beyond Green Capitalism: Anarcho-Primitivism, Feminism and Christianity in a Conversation for an Endangered World“, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque 1-2 April 2011

• “Tell these Stories to your children” – presented at the conference “In the beginning: Anarchism, Christianity, and the roots of resistance“, Jesus Radicals Conference, Portland, OR 6 August 2010

• Proposed an Open Forum discussion, titled: “Anarchy for All: Expanding the Horizons of Practice Beyond Privilege” shared with Nekeisha Alexis-Baker, John Zerzan, and partly with Wes Howard-Brook “In the beginning: Anarchism, Christianity, and the roots of resistance” conference, Portland, OR 7 August 2010

• Respondent to “Race, Racism, and the Nation-State: A Christian-Anarchist Perspective” presentation by Nekeisha Alexis-Baker, Jesus Radicals Conference, Portland, OR; 6th August 2010

• A Lullaby for the Planet: Undressing Ourselves for a Viable Parenthood. New Heaven, New Earth conference; Memphis, TN. 15 August 2009

Part 1

Part 2

• For a review, see issue 4, page 31 of In the Land of the Living by Andy Lewis

• Open Forum: Layla AbdelRahim and John Zerzan respond (total time: 1hour and 51 minutes). Memphis, TN, 15 August 2009

Part 1

Part 2

Abstracts

• “The Revolution Will Not Be Anthropomorphised: Civilised Knowledge and the Sabotage of Resistance” – Anti-civilisation Day, Anarchist Festival in Montreal, at La Déferle, Montreal; 18 May, 2013

• “Qu’est-ce que l’économie civilisée? Recherche sur le principe ontologique de l’effondrement économique et écologique” – a paper delivered at HEC, Montreal, Monday, 13 May 2013

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• “A New Paradigm for a Thriving World“. Interviewed by Rodney King and Frank Forencich on the Human Animal podcast; broadcast on 12th November 2022

• “How to Disagree“. Interviewed by Aragorn! Bang for The Brilliant podcast. Recorded on 6 August 2018; broadcast on 4 September 2018

• “Education, Unschooling, and Losing Our Sense of Empathy with the World“. Interviewed by Eric Garza for A Worldview Apart podcast, 31 May 2018

• “Questioning Social Narratives“. Interviewed by Eric Garza for A Worldview Apart podcast, 13 September 2017

• Anarcho-Primitivism: Civilization, Symbolic Culture, and Revolutionary Rewilding. Interview on Revolutionary Left Radio, 23 July 2017

• On Civilisation, Anthropocentrism, India, Nuclear Weapons, Rewilding and much more. Interviewed on Which Side podcast, 29 August 2016

• “Harambe, Zoos, and the Cruel Economy of Civilization“. Interviewed by Ron Lester Whyte, for Deep Green Philly, 7 June 2016

• “Wild Children – Domesticated Dreams“. Interviewed by Richard Capes for More Thought, November 2015

• “The Roots of Oppression“, interviewed by Ron Lester Whyte for Deep Green Philly, Monday, 2nd November 2015

• Interviewed on Anarchy Radio, Tuesday 21st April 2015

• “Black Talk, Protest, and Deep Song in Search of the Beloved Community – Discussing Ferguson Before and Beyond“. Guest panelist on the Off the Hour show, hosted by James Oscar at CKUT radio, McGill University, 12 December 2014

• “Civilized Racism Part II“. Revisiting the 2012 discussion of civilised spaces and the “open season” on Black and Brown people. Interviewed by Ron Lester Whyte, Deep Green Philly, 5 September 2014

• The Final Straw, Part 1 begins at 40 minutes, interviewed by Bursts O’Goodness, July 2014

• The Final Straw, Part 2 begins at 8:41 minutes

• Gorilla Radio, CFUV (University of Victoria) by Chris Cook. Monday, 7th October 2013

• Animal Voices, Vancouver by Alissa. Friday, 11th October 2013

•  Doers, Makers, Thinkers, CFUV (University of Victoria) by Julian. Friday, 18th October 2013

• “Domestication, aliénation et civilisation” – interview en 4 parties par Radio Anticoloniale Dack, Coop Média de Montréal, août – septembre 2012

• “Interview on education and the student strike in “Quebec“on Media-Coop. 5th September 2012

• “Trayvon Martin, Anna Brown, Shaima Alawadi and Civilized Racism” – Civilized Racism I – a discussion of the medicalisation of the oppressed and the civilised “othering” by means of constructs of illness and health. Interviewed by Ron Lester Whyte for Deep Green Philly, 29th March 2012

• Anarchy Radio, University of Oregon, Eugene, KWVA. Tue. 7th February 2012 (Wylden Freeborne introduces me on the 20th minute mark)

• “The Failure of Civilized Occupy“ – Interview for Deep Green Philly on 8th December 2011 . Also published on Occupy Philly Media on 10th December 2011

• “Primitivism 101”  interviewed on Deep Green Philly, 4th May 2011

• “Will Civilize for Food” on B.U.R.N, 26th September 2010

• “Naked Wildness” on B.U.R.N, 6th September 2010

• Anarchy Radio on questions of racism, speciesism, and scientism in critiques of Avatar – 20 minute response on Tuesday 26th January, 2010

• Guest on John Zerzan’s “Anarchy Radio“ at KWVA, University of Oregon, Eugene Feb. 2009

• “In Praise of the Wild: Discussion of The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls”. Panelist at CKUT radio programme: In the Motherhood (audio plus a response essay)

“The Storyteller who Ate the World: Interview with Layla AbdelRahim“. Interviewed for Backwoods journal, Issue 2; 2018

“How Children’s Literature Links to Narcissism and Violence“. Interviewed by Marc Bekoff for Animal Emotions, in Psychology Today; May 2018

“Interview with Layla AbdelRahim on anarcho-primitivism, red anarchism and veganism“. In Czech Green Anarchy; November 2013:

1. English (original) Regular PDF and  PDF pamphlet version

2. Czech translation

3. Portuguese translation

4. Chinese translation

“Childhood, Parenting, and Domestication”. Interviewed by Andy Lewis for Issue #4 of In the Land of the Living

1. English original
2. Czech translation

The New York Times quotes Layla AbdelRahim in the article “‘Rewilding’ Missing Carnivores May Help Restore Some Landscapes” by JoAnna Klein, March 16, 2018

CBC Radio Noon: a prime-time programme. Called by Shawn Apel to comment on Ben Williams’ Shareocracy project. 12:30 pm Wed. 31st October 2018. Starts at minute 31 HERE 

AnOther Story of Progress – a documentary film on civilisation and resistance.

“Schools teach children the principles of death and of suffering. They do not teach them the principles of life, which is diversity, which is being out there in the world. They teach them within closed systems, within closed buildings and walls, separated from the rest of the world. They teach them that violence is legitimate when it is applied from the top to the bottom and that it is illegitimate when it is practised in resistance or defence of diversity and life. They teach children that humanity is alien to this world, that success means pleasing those in authority who will own the products of our flesh, of our effort, of our work, of our love.” – Layla AbdelRahim

Transcript of the interview is available on the Morethought page.