Join Professor Ouyang and host Dr Al-Khoee as they explore how stories – ancient and modern – continue to shape our understanding of truth, responsibility, and what it means to live well.
Ethical Living through Stories
Encounters with Adab
An interview with Professor Wen-chin Ouyang
Hosted by Dr Hassan Al-Khoee this insightful conversation explores the power of storytelling as a moral and cultural practice. Professor Ouyang, a renowned scholar of Arabic and comparative literature at SOAS, reflects on her recent book Ethical Living through Stories, which bridges Arabic, Chinese, and European literary traditions to reimagine the value of the humanities in everyday life.
Key themes explored
- How narratives help balance moral reflection and enjoyment of life
- The continuing relevance of ancient stories like One Thousand and One Nights in shaping ethics today
- The role of storytelling in confronting falsehood, digital illusions, and fragmented communities
- How adabA word of many meanings usually connoting courtesy, etiquette, rules and manners, civilisation, culture and literature. offers a model for ethical living, empathy, and critical thought in modern times
