Beyond “Academia”: Disseminating Knowledge in the Arab World

Abstract

In recent years, the rise of the knowledge economy has paved the way for a change in the dynamics of knowledge production. This has been translated into two contradictory trends: (1) the commodification of knowledge production and (2) connecting social sciences to society, necessitating that academics go beyond their traditional role of teaching and research to engage wider publics in contemporary critical debates. Based on a survey of grantees of the Arab Council for the Social Sciences, this article considers the case of Arab social researchers by looking at their research outcomes beyond “academia,” identifying the forms of dissemination of their research and how they engage in dialogue with the public. Compared to previous research done on this topic, the findings demonstrate considerable engagement of their research, which is contributing to the reconciliation of knowledge production and use. Changes are seen not only in the scope of engagement but also in the use of different styles of expressions and deployment of topics. The survey and the interviews allow us to understand the challenges the researchers face, whether these are structural (political, institutional, and socioeconomic) or cultural.