Poralla, Lea

I am currently working as a student assistant on the ERC project “MAJLIS: The Transformation of Jewish Literature in Arabic in the Islamicate World” at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU), Munich. I began studying Middle Eastern studies and Islamic science at the University of Hamburg in 2016 and decided to resume my bachelor’s degree at LMU. I have always been very fond of learning new languages and after a student exchange to Israel in high school I decided I wanted to learn Hebrew and Arabic and learn more about the Middle East.

After I finished school, I lived in Poland for a year and worked as a volunteer at the International Youth Meeting Centre Oświęcim near the Auschwitz Memorial. Then I began my degree in Middle Eastern studies, with my primary focus on Arabic and the history, culture, and politics of the Middle East, at the Asien-Afrika-Institut at the Universität Hamburg. There I also worked as a student assistant at the Maimonides Centre for Advanced Studies (MCAS), where my job was mostly focused on organizational tasks.

Eventually I moved back to Munich to finish my studies here, and started taking Hebrew lessons and working again as a student assistant. I enjoy learning new languages very much and love making connections between them. Also, I am interested in the more recent history as well as the politics of the Middle East. After finishing my bachelor’s degree, I am planning to undertake a master’s degree in Middle Eastern studies or do a second bachelor’s degree in social work.

Areas of Interest

languages (Arabic, Persian, Hebrew) and linguistics, history and politics of the Middle East, Iranian history and society

Historical Periods of Interest

19th through 21st centuries CE

Positions

Education

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