AUK Professor Hesham Al-Awadi Authors New Book

Professor of History and International Relations Hesham Al-Awadi has authored a new book titled, Hype: How Ideas Spread in Kuwait released by That Al-Salasil. The book is a narration of Kuwait's history from the fresh perspective of ideas, fashion and lifestyle. It offers an academic perspective on the history of Kuwait that is written in a language able to appeal to a wider audience. 

Hype tells the story of ideas and how they spread in Kuwait; ideas that broadly include trends in fashion, daily habits and lifestyle. The story of ideas begins in the Indian Ocean where the merchants of Kuwait—before oil—brought goods and ideas from India and elsewhere. Ideas then about cars, football and soft drinks spread through the British diplomats and oil company employees. Ideas and their sources are further diversified since the liberation of Kuwait and the beginning of globalization. These ideas came from the internet, social media and satellite TV.

The book will take readers on an exciting journey and tell them different stories of the history of Kuwait that are set in Bombay, London and Cairo, and the protagonists are merchants, students and media influencers.

From history to present day, the book offers unique insight into the development of Kuwait’s efforts in creating and promoting trends culturally and regionally through travels, trading, and today as the leading users of social media in the Middle East.

The book is an important addition to the literature on the history of Kuwait, from a perspective that a wider non-specialist audience could relate to. 
 
Dr. Al Awadi’s book has been released to the market and will be available during the upcoming Kuwait Book Fair on November 15^th, 2017

Book Cover