Ragnhild Johnsrud Zorgati

Academic Interests
I have pluridisciplinary background with specialization in Religious History, Islamic Studies and Comparative Literature. My research focuses on different aspects of religious- and cultural encounters between Muslims and Christians, spanning from conversions and mixed marriages in medieval Iberia, via the Hammam as a cite of cultural encounters in 19th century travel writing, to literary descriptions of immigrant workers in Paris. Currently, I participate in three research projects: Tracing the Jerusalem Code: Christian Cultures in Scandinavia where I analyze 19th century Scandinavian descriptions of the Holy Land; Mobile Musilms and Invisible Islam where I explore fiction as a source for studying Islam in Europe; and Value Politics (ValPol) where I have worked on divergent value discourses that shape the Tunisian political landscape after 2011.
Teaching and Tutoring
- REL2250 – Islam
- REL3050 – Islam i Europa
- REL4550 – Islam og pluralisme - historiske røtter
- REL4015 – New Themes in Religious Studies - Islamic Modernities
Higher Education and Employment History
I joined the Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages as Associate Professor in August 2013.
From 2011-2013, I was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Department of Literature, Area Studies and European Languages at the University of Oslo. The period included a one year research stay in Tunisia.
I hold a PhD degree in religious history from the University of Oslo (2007) and followed PhD-studies in Comparative Literature and Islamic Studies at the University of Montreal and McGill University, Canada. In my PhD-thesis, I analyzed Christian and Muslim legal texts from Medieval Iberia on conversions and mixed marriages in light of postcolonial theories. I am a Cand. Philol. from the University of Oslo with a Master in French/Francophone literature and a Bachelor in North African and Middle Eastern Studies, Philosophy and French, including one semester at l’Université Libre de Bruxelles. I addition, I hold a Masters Degree in Contemporary Literature from the University of Paris XIII.
From 2008-2010, I was a lecturer at the University of Oslo, Oslo University College and Volda University College, teaching courses in religious history, the epistemology of science, and the history of medieval Spain.
I have received scholarships from the Norwegian Research Council, the University of Oslo, and The Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
Books
Publications
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2020). The painter and the princess: Constructing feminism/decentring orientalism between Cpenhagen, Istanbul, Cairo and Tunis. Cultural History. ISSN 2045-290X. 9(1), s 46- 71 . doi: 10.3366/cult.2020.0208 Full text in Research Archive.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2018). Tunis. Samfunnets endringskraft, I: Nils A Butenschøn (red.), Brennpunkt Midtøsten. Byene som prisme. Universitetsforlaget. ISBN 978-82-15-02812-5. Kapittel 14. s 287 - 306
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2017). Human Rights and the Tunisian Constitution, In Anne Stensvold (ed.), Religion, State and the United Nations: Value Politics. Routledge. ISBN 9781317382584. Kapittel 10. s 153 - 170
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2016). Impressions from Tunisia, Spring 2016. Journal of Arabic and Islamic studies. ISSN 0806-198X. 16, s 385- 388 . doi: 10.5617/jais.4758
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2015). The Lead Books of Granada: Hybridity and Cultural Memory, In Terje Stordalen & Saphinaz Amal Naguib (ed.), The Formative Past and the Formation of the Future: Collective Remembering and Identity Formation. Novus Forlag. ISBN 978-82-7099-808-1. Kapittel 11. s 277 - 311
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2011). Sanser, kvinnekultur og kulturmøter i hammam, I: Saphinaz Amal Naguib & Bjarne Rogan (red.), Materiell kultur & kulturens materialitet. Novus Forlag. ISBN 978-82-7099-630-8. Kapitel 10. s 185 - 205
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2005). Rachid Boudjedra, La Prise de Gibraltar: Kaléidoscope et métissage. Romansk Forum. ISSN 0804-6468. 20(1), s 121- 130
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2002). Bid’a: Innovation and Tradition in al-Andalus, In The Intangible Heritage of the Mediterranean. Transmission, Adaptation and Innovation. Unipubforlag & Department of Culture Studies, UiO. ISBN 82-7477-121-4. Kapittel.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud & Bohlin, Anna (ed.) (2021). Tracing the Jerusalem Code III. Vol. 3: The Promised Land Christian Cultures in Modern Scandinavia (ca. 1750 - ca. 1920). Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-063947-6. 520 s.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2012). Pluralism in the Middle Ages: Hybrid Identities, Conversion, and Mixed Marriages in Medieval Iberia. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-88131-9. 218 s.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2020). Likestilling og feminisme i Tunisia.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2020, 30. januar). Om den politiske situasjonen i Tunisia. 100 dager etter presidentvalget.. [Radio]. NRK Alltid nyheter.
- Stordalen, Terje & Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2019). Gudsåpenbaringer og visjoner: Esekiels bok. Show summary
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2019). Fobier og forfølgelse. Antisemittisme og islamofobi før og nå. En panelsamtale om dagsaktuelle problemstillinger med utgangspunkt i forestillingen "Krenket"..
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2019). Islam i fiksjon.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2019). Jerusalem i Skandinavia. Tusen års kulturshistorie.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2019). The Wound of Movement: Young Muslims in Contemporary Fiction.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud; Maktabi, Rania & Elgvin, Sara Merabti (2019). Algerie, Tunisia og Marokko: Samfunn, politikk og kvinner etter 2011..
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2018). Bokpresentasjon: Brennpunkt Midtøsten (sammen med Nils Butenschøn, Rania Maktabi og Kjetil Selvik).
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2018). Organisering av workshop:Jerusalem and the Holy Land in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Travel and Representation. Introduksjon og konklusjon..
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2018). The Green Line of the Jerusalem Code: Nineteenth Century Scandinavians in the "Holy Land".
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2018). Tracing the Jerusalem Code through the Second Millennium.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2017, 05. september). Boom for kvinners rettigheter. Dagsavisen.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2017). Debates and Rulings concerning Mixed Marriages in the Middle Ages.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2017). Lynkurs om islam.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2017). Sub-project III, Jerusalem in modern Scandinavia (1750-1900). Only in the heart or in the Middle East?.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2017, 16. januar). Søker kone nummer to på nett. Vårt Land.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2017). Women influencing religious authority in the late 19th century: The Princess Nazli Fadhel and her Pan-Islamic connections.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2017, 04. januar). Ønsker ikke reformasjonen i islamsk reprise. Vårt Land.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud & Haga, Joar (2017). Tracing the Jerusalem Code: Christian Cultures in Scandinavia - prosjektpresentasjon.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud & Oftestad, Eivor Andersen (2017). The Stories of the Holy City. Panelsamtale med Thorvald Steen og Andreas Wiese..
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2016, 10. januar). Deltagelse i radioprogrammet "Mellom himmel og jord". [Radio]. NRK P1.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2016). Flowers from Jerusalem - the Green Line of the Jerusalem Code.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2016). Kommentar til Jonas Otterbeck.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2016). Memory as Legitimation.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2016). Narrating Jerusalem in Fredrika Bremer's "Travels in the Holy Land" and Selma Lagerlöf's "Jerusalem".
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2016). Panel conversation about Tunisia after the projection of the Tunisian film "As I Open My Eyes" at the Arabian Film Days in Oslo, 14th-17th of April 2016..
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2016). Panelsamtale: Hvilken rolle spiller sannheten i interreligiøs dialog idag?.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2016). Tunisia in 2016: some personal impressions.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2015, 18. mars). Angående terrorangrepet på Bardomuseet i Tunis den 18. mars 2015. [TV]. TV2 Nyhetskanalen.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2015, 07. desember). Dagsnytt 18: om Nobels fredspris til Den tunisiske kvartetten for nasjonal dialog. [Radio]. NRK P2 Dagsnytt 18.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2015). Deltagelse i debatt: Comment répondre a l’affirmation des identités religieuses? Un défi du 21e siècle..
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2015, 19. mars). Ekstreme krefter misliker et demokratisk Tunisia. Nrk. no.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2015). Foredrag om Tunisia for ansatte ved Nobels Fredssenter.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2015). From Lingua Franca to the Arab World in 2016.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2015). “Histoire(s) croisée(s) in Fredrika Bremer’s Travels in the Holy Land (Livet i gamla världen: Palestina”).
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2015, 08. desember). Intervju med Vårt Land om utdelingen av Nobels fredspris 2015 til Den tunisiske kvartetten for nasjonal dialog. Vår Land.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2015). Network and Code in Frederika Bremer’s ‘Travel to the Holy Land’.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2015, 09. oktober). Nobels Fredspris til Den tunisiske kvartetten for nasjonal dialog. [Radio]. NRK p2 - Dagsnytt 18.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2015, 09. desember). Om fredsprisutstillingen "Den tunisiske metode". [TV]. NRK Dagsrevyen.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2015, 29. juni). Om radikalisering av unge tunisiere i forbindelse med terrorangrepet i Sousse den 26. juni 2015. [Radio]. NRK P2/Alltid nyheter.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2015, 12. desember). Om vinneren av Nobels fredspris 2015 og situasjonen i Tunisia. [TV]. TV2 Nyhetskanalen.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2015). Revolution, Dialogue and Transition: What the World Can Learn from Tunisia. In Honour of the Nobel Peace Prize 2015 to the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2015, 10. desember). Samtale med Bente Erichsen om fredsprisutstillingen "Den tunisiske metode". [TV]. TV2 Nyhetskanalen.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2015). Tekster til Fredsprisutstillingen 2015 "Den tunisiske metode".
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2015, 09. oktober). Tunisia og Den tunisiske kvartetten for nasjonal dialog. [Radio]. NRK - Nyhetsettermiddag.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2014). Foredrag om islam i Nord-Afrika.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2014). Fredrika Bremer and the Olive Tree: Memory and Representations of History in a 19th Century Protestant Travel Narrative.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2014). Skandinaviske kvinners rettigheter på slutten av 1800-tallet i fiqh-perspektiv.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2014, 30. desember). Valget i Tunisia. [Radio]. NRK P2 Dagsnytt 18.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud; Oftestad, Eivor Andersen & Aavitsland, Kristin Bliksrud (2014). Presentation of Jerusalem Research Project.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2013). “Tunisia: Democracy, yes! Bu what about pluralism”, Seminar at the Center for Islamic and Middle East Studies, IKOS, UiO.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2012). An Unusual Encounter between the Polish-Danish Painter Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann and the Egyptian Princess Nazili Hanim.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2012, 25. april). Deltagelse i "Migrapolis" om temaet blandingsekteskap. [TV]. NRK.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2012). Intercommunal Bathing in the Ius Commune and in the Ius Proprium of Medieval and Early Modern Iberia.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2012, 21. april). Intervju i "Verdibørsen" om flerkulturelle samfunn i middelalderen i forbindelse med rettsaken mot Behring Breivik. [Radio]. NRK P2.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2011). Estetiske sansninger i/av hammam.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2011). From Denmark to the hammam: the international female networks of the Danish-Polish painter Elisabeth Jerichau Baumann.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2011, 19. januar). Intervju om situasjonen i Tunisia. [TV]. TV2 Nyhetskanalen.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2009). Hammam: Dirt and Cleanliness in Muslim-Christian Relations in al-Andalus.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2009). Jerusalem in Granada; Identity and Memory in Times of Unrest (16th Century Iberia).
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2009). Mozarabs in Medieval and Early Modern Spain: Identities and Influences. Speculum. ISSN 0038-7134. 84(4), s 1062- 1062
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2007). Beyond Boundaries, Islamic and Christian Legal Texts Dealing with Conversion and Mixed Marriages in Medieval Iberia. Acta Humaniora. 292. Show summary
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2007, 14. juni). Kristne og muslimer i Spania. [Radio]. Radioselskapet NRK P2.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2007, 21. mai). Krysset religiøse grenser. Klassekampen.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2006). Can Legal Texts Convey Emotions?: Medieval Iberian Legal Discourses on Inter-Faith Unions.
- Zorgati, Ragnhild Johnsrud (2005). Crossing Boundaries, Negotiating Identities: Conversion in the 12th Century Mediterranean.