Magdi Youssef

Magdi Youssef (born 22 July 1936 ) is an Egyptian professor of comparative literature and culture studies. He has taught at various universities in Europe and Egypt until his retirement. Al-Ahram (according to the Middle East Institute the equivalent of the New York Times in the Arab World) called Youssef “the renowned culture critic.” He is widely noted in the Arab world for his analytic interventions that focus on ''cultural alienation'' and ''unequal exchange'' in the sphere of culture. His book ''Critical Battles'' received wide attention. Youssef has contributed to the proceedings of comparative literature congresses in Latin America, Asia, Europe and the US., and to such journals as ''Al-Hilal'', the ''International Journal of Middle East Studies'' (Cambridge Univ. Press) and ''Theatre Research International'' (Oxford Univ. Press). He is also the founding president of the International Association of Intercultural Studies (IAIS) and still actively involved in theoretical debates related to intercultural relations and comparative literature.

Youssef is a member of the Association pour l'avancement des études islamiques, Collège de France (Paris). He is also listed as a member of the International Sociological Association (ISA), L'Association Internationale des Sociologues de Langue Francaise, the International Brecht Society, based in the US, the Egyptian Association of Plastic Art Critics and the International Comparative Literature Association (ICLA). Magdi Youssef adheres to the Egyptian writers' union and the German ''Schriftstellerverband''.

Outside ''academe'', Youssef was widely noted as a critic of contemporary developments and a culture critic by such daily newspapers and weeklies as The Irish Times, Al-Masry Al-Youm, Al Qahira, Al-Ahram Daily, Al-Ahram Hebdo, Al-Ahram Weekly, as well as other media in the Arab World, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, and the US. Provided by Wikipedia