Layla AbdelRahim facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Layla AbdelRahim
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AbdelRahim in Sevastopol in May 2006
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| Nationality | Russian, Sudanese |
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Layla AbdelRahim is a writer and a scholar who studies human societies and cultures. She looks at how stories about "civilization" and "wilderness" have shaped our world. Her work helps us understand how humans interact with nature and each other.
She believes that the loss of different kinds of plants and animals, and damage to our environment, comes from thinking that humans are the most important things. She suggests that this way of thinking makes us use things only for our own benefit.
Her books, Children's Literature, Domestication, and Social Foundation (2015) and Wild Children – Domesticated Dreams (2013), explore children's stories. They also look at how education might be linked to the idea of "taming" children.
Education and Studies
Layla AbdelRahim went to Bryn Mawr College for her first degree. After graduating in 1993, she received a special scholarship called the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship. This allowed her to travel and study people and cultures in Europe.
She continued her studies in social sciences at Stockholm University in Sweden. Later, she worked there as a visiting researcher. She earned her Ph.D. from the Université de Montréal. Her advanced research looked at how our basic ideas about life affect what we know about ourselves. It also explored how these ideas might lead to humans harming the world's diverse life forms.
Her Ideas About Society and Nature
Layla AbdelRahim thinks that many problems, like unfairness, come from the idea of "domestication." This is when we see living things mainly for what we can use or consume. She believes this way of thinking creates a "food chain" where some things are seen as more important than others.
She has studied ancient life, animal behavior, and human biology. From this, she questions the idea that humans are naturally predators or just consumers. She believes this way of thinking affects our economy and how we govern ourselves. It also impacts the environment, as well as our systems of education and parenting.
Her work compares stories from "civilized" societies with those about "wild" nature. These ideas are important for many fields. They help us understand science, how living things change over time, human societies, and how we treat our planet.
Featured in Film
Layla AbdelRahim is featured in a documentary film called anOther Story of Progress. In the film, she is presented as one of the leading thinkers who question modern civilization.
