Gëzim Alpion

Dr Gëzim Alpion is an academic, political analyst, writer, playwright, and civil society activist. He holds a BA from Cairo University and a PhD from Durham University, UK. He is currently based in the Department of Sociology at the University of Birmingham, UK.

Stephen Schwartz holds that Alpion is 'a pioneer in the academic study of the phenomenon of celebrity', and ‘the most authoritative English-language author on Blessed Teresa of Kolkata'.^[1] Referring to Alpion's 2007 study Mother Teresa: Saint or Celebrity?, Schwartz contends that 'in its depth, breadth, and seriousness', this book 'may stand for some time to come as the single most important biography of Mother Teresa in English.’ ^[2] In his review of the same book for the American Communication Journal, Marvin Williams holds that ‘Alpion’s examination of Mother Teresa’s celebrity is a case study of corporate identity management in today’s global media environment. His weaving of primary texts into the setting of this character piece creates a comprehensive cross-cultural examination that has the potential to become a new archetypal work of this mercurial personality.’ ^[3]

Education & Academic Career

Gëzim Alpion was born in Peshkopi, Albania, in 1962. On the basis of the results of his first year at Tirana University, in 1985 he was awarded a joint scholarship by the governments of Albania and Egypt to pursue his studies at the University of Cairo.

After completing his PhD at Durham in 1997, Alpion lectured at the Universities of Huddersfield, Sheffield Hallam, and Newman before joining the Department of Sociology at the University of Birmingham in 2002 where he teaches at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He also supervises doctoral candidates and post-doctoral fellows.

Dr Alpion is an editorial board member and reviewer for a range of peer-reviewed journals including Celebrity Studies (Routledge).

Alpion's main research interests are on social stratification and the sociology of religion, success, fame, media, authorship, race and ethnicity. He is currently developing the idea of ‘fame capital’ as a variable in an intranational and international context, and exploring the significance of Mother Teresa’s ‘dark night of the soul’ in a post-modernist context.

Alpion has delivered lectures and talks at numerous international conferences and universities in the UK (Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Birmingham, Nottingham, York St John, London School of Economics, University College London) as well as in Albania (Marubi Film Academy, University of Vlora), Australia (University of Melbourne, Deakin University), Canada (McGill University), China (Shanghai University), Finland (Universities of Helsinki, Turku), Germany, India (St. Xavier's College, Kolkata, University of Delhi), Italy (Universita Pontificia Salesiana, Rome), Kosova (University of Pristina), Macedonia (State University of Tetovo), Russia (Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow), South Africa (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg) and the USA (AAASS Convention in Washington DC, New York University, University of California, Los Angeles).

Personal Life

Alpion is married ^[4] and has two children.

Main Publications

Academic

Alpion’s main publications to date include: Mother Teresa: Saint or Celebrity? ^[5] (London and New York: Routledge, 2007; New Delhi: Routledge India, 2008; Rome: Salerno Editrice, 2008),^[6] Foreigner Complex: Essays and Fiction about Egypt (2002), and Encounters with Civilizations: From Alexander the Great to Mother Teresa, which was published in India and the US in 2008, 2009 & 2011.^[7] His next book on Mother Teresa will be published in 2016.

Some of the peer-reviewed journals that have published Alpion’s article and reviews include: International Journal of Public Theology, Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses Journal, Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies, The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Journal of Southern Europe and the Balkans (currently known as Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies), Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations Journal, The Review of Communication Journal, Film & History: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Film and Television Studies and Scope: An Online Journal of Film and Television Studies.

Playwright

Alpion is also a playwright; his plays Vouchers (2001) and If Only the Dead Could Listen ^[8] (2008) address the treatment of refugees and asylum seekers in the West. Sponsored by Arts Council England, the plays have been successfully performed across the UK.

Journalism

Alpion has written features on British, Balkan, Middle Eastern and Indian politics, culture and identity for The Guardian, Hindustan Times, The Middle East Times, The Birmingham Post, The Huddersfield Daily Examiner, The Hürriyet Daily News, and The Conversation (website).

Civil Society Activist

Alpion has been lobbying for several years for the construction of the Arbëri Road and the canonization of Mother Teresa.

Construction of the Arbëri Road

On 18 March 2013, Alpion began an online petition for the Albanian government that emerged after the June 2013 general election, to complete the construction of the Arbëri Road, a highway linking Albania’s capital Tirana with his native Dibra, one of the most impoverished and neglected regions in Albania. Access from Tirana to Dibra currently takes around six hours along a 180km poorly maintained road. The proposed highway will ensure an entire journey of less than two hours and be just 72km long. Furthermore, the highway will have another leg linking Dibra with Skopje, the capital of Macedonia, thus becoming a crucial part of the Balkan infrastructure. It will also ensure Macedonia, Kosovo and Bulgaria gain unprecedented access to the Adriatic Sea, contributing further to the EU integration of this area of the Balkans. In May 2014 Dr Alpion was received by the President of Albania, Bujar Nishani, the Speaker of Parliament, Ilir Meta, and the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Edmond Haxhinasto, and hosted a roundtable discussion in Tirana with a number of Albanian MPs where they discussed the Arbëri Road.^[9] To date the petition, which has been covered widely by the Albania media in the Balkans and diaspora as well as the British,^[10] Indian, and Slovakian^[11] media outlets, has over 10,000 signatories, consisting of 8,000 submitted online and 2,000 on paper. The Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has yet to agree to receive the petition in person. The Albanian government allocated $110,000 towards a feasibility study in 2004 and the road was approved a year later. The road has been one of the main election promises for all major political parties since 2004 which once in power, have subsequently shelved it. During his visit to Macedonia in September 2015 Alpion had a meeting with Ali Ahmeti, leader of the Democratic Union for Integration and a junior coalition partner in the Macedonian government since 2008. Among the issues discussed at the meeting were the construction of the Arbëri Road in the territory of Macedonia, and the future of the Radika River, a contentious issue in this country.

Canonization of Mother Teresa

In June 2014, Alpion began a campaign in support of the canonization of Mother Teresa. 'One of the reasons why Mother Teresa’s cause for canonization has stalled', Alpion told Matters India in September 2014, 'is due to the revelations about her deep distress in experiencing the ‘dark night of the soul’; this often forced her to doubt both God’s existence and the nature of her decision to serve the poorest of the poor.' ^[12] The camping is supported by church authorities, celebrities, film stars, priests, nuns and laity from 45 countries, has attracted the attention of the media in several countries. ^[13]

Select Bibliography

Books

• Alpion, G., Encounters with Civilizations: From Alexander the Great to Mother Teresa, New Brunswick and London: Transaction Publishers, 2011.
• Alpion, G., Mother Teresa: Saint or Celebrity? London and New York: Routledge, 2007 (simultaneously published in the UK, the USA and Canada); Indian Edition (in English), New Delhi: Routledge India, 2008; Italian Edition (in Italian), Rome, 2008.
• Alpion, G., If Only the Dead Could Listen, Chapel Hill, NC, USA: Globic Press, 2008.
• Alpion, G., Foreigner Complex: Essays and Fiction about Egypt, Birmingham, UK: University of Birmingham CPS, 2002.^[14]
• Alpion, G., Vouchers: A Tragedy, Birmingham, UK: University of Birmingham CPS, 2001.

Chapters in Edited Collections

• Alpion, G., “The Specter of Communalism and the Eugenic Solution to Britain’s Immigration Problem”, in J. Tripathy and S. Padmanabhan (eds.), Becoming Minority: How Discourses and Policies Produce Minorities in Europe and India, London and New Delhi: SAGE Publications, 2014, pp. 196–223.^[15]
• Alpion, G.,‘European media and ‘outsiders’ within,’ in A. Schumann (ed.), Logic in Central and Eastern Europe: History, Science and Discourse, Lanham, MD, USA: University Press of America, 2012, pp. 30-52.^[16]
• Alpion, G., ‘Albanian community in the West Midlands’, Cultural Voyage: Exploring the Muslim Heritage, Studley: Brewin Books, UK, 2008.^[17]

Articles in Academic Journals

• Alpion, G., ‘The Emergence of Mother Teresa as a Religious Visionary and the Initial Resistance to Her Charism/a: A Sociological and Public Theology Perspective’, International Journal of Public Theology, Vol. 8, No. 1, February 2014, pp. 25–50.^[18]
• Alpion, G., "Media and Celebrity Culture - Subjectivist, Structuralist and Post-Structuralist Approaches to Mother Teresa’s Celebrity Status", Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies (Published by Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group), Vol. 20, No. 4, December 2006, pp. 541–557.^[19]
• Alpion, G., "Media, Ethnicity and Patriotism - the Balkans 'Unholy War' for the Appropriation of Mother Teresa", Journal of Southern Europe and the Balkans (Published by Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group), Vol. 6, No. 3, December 2004, pp. 227–243.^[20]
• Alpion, G., ‘Brain down the drain – An exposé of social closure in Western academia', Albanian Journal of Politics, Vol. 4, Issue, 1, June 2008, pp. 41–63.^[21]

Book Reviews in Academic Journals

• Alpion, G., Review of: S. Schwartz, The Other Islam: Sufism and the Road to Global Harmony [New York and London: Doubleday, 2007] for Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses, Vol. 40, Issue 2, June 2011, pp. 255–257.^[22]
• Alpion, G., ‘Satyajit Ray: “The Visionary Cinéaste”’, Review Article of: G. Roberge, Satyajit Ray [New Delhi: Manohar, 2007] for Scope: Journal of Film Studies, Issue 13, February 2009.^[23]
• Alpion, G., Review of: G Roberge, 'Valuing Humanity in the New Media Environment', Cyberbani: Being a Human in the New Media Environment. [New Delhi: Anand Press] for The Review of Communication Journal, Vol. 9, No. 1. January 2009, pp. 58-59.^[24]
• Alpion, G., Review of: G. Roberge, Satyajit Ray [New Delhi: Manohar, 2007] for Film & History: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Film and Television Studies, December 2008, Vol. 38, Issue 2, pp. 107-108.^[25]
• Alpion, G., Review of: J. Pettifer and M. Vickers, The Albanian Question: Reshaping the Balkans [London & New York: I. B. Tauris, 2007] for Journal of Southern Europe and the Balkans, Vol. 9, No. 2, August 2007, pp. 204-206.^[26]
• Alpion, G., Review of: (ed.) I. Pardo, Between Morality and the Law: Corruption, Anthropology and Comparative Society [Aldershot, UK & Burlington, USA: Ashgate] for The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Vol. 12, No. 1, March 2006, pp. 231-232.^[27]
• Alpion, G., Review of: P. Kola, The Search for Greater Albania [London: Hurst, 2003] for Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations Journal, Vol. 15, No. 3, July 2004, pp. 413-414.^[28]

Journalism

• Alpion, G., 'Illiterate Polyglots’, Middle East Times (Cairo, Egypt), 27 April - 3 May 1993, p. 13.
• Alpion, G., ‘An interview with Mohammed Ali’s Ghost’, Middle East Times (Cairo, Egypt), 8–14 June 1993, p. 12.
• Alpion, G., ‘The Nubian doorman’, Middle East Times (Cairo, Egypt), 15–21 June 1993, p. 12.
• Alpion, G., ‘The peasant bowab’, Middle East Times (Cairo, Egypt), 22–28 June 1993, p. 12.
• Alpion, G., ‘The simsars in their prime’, Middle East Times (Cairo, Egypt), 29 June - 5 July 1993, p. 13.
• Alpion, G., ‘Today’s bowab’, Middle East Times (Cairo, Egypt), 6–12 July 1993, p. 12.
• Alpion, G., ‘When in Rome’, Middle East Times (Cairo, Egypt), 20–26 July 1993, p. 12.
• Alpion, G., ‘Back to the army’, Middle East Times (Cairo, Egypt), 27 July - 2 August 1993, p. 12.
• Alpion, G., ‘The computer chronicle’, Middle East Times (Cairo, Egypt), 3–9 August 1993, p. 14.
• Alpion, G., ‘Enslaved by the slaves’, Middle East Times (Cairo, Egypt), 3–9 August 1993, p. 16.
• Alpion, G., ‘Complete apathy’, Middle East Times (Cairo, Egypt), 10–16 August 1993, p. 12.
• Alpion, G., ‘Cultural invasion’, Middle East Times (Cairo, Egypt), 17–23 August 1993, p. 13.
• Alpion, G., ‘Cracked but not broken’, Middle East Times (Cairo, Egypt), 24–30 August 1993, p. 12.
• Alpion, G., ‘The Bride of Hapi’, By G. I. Alpion and Middle East Times Staff (Cairo, Egypt), 31 August - 6 September 1993, pp. 1, 3.
• Alpion, G., ‘Becoming foreign to become Egyptian’, Middle East Times (Cairo, Egypt), 31 August - 6 September 1993, p. 12.
• Alpion, G., ‘Power returns to the people: The making of Egypt’s politicians’, Middle East Times (Cairo, Egypt), 7–13 September 1993, p. 19.
• Alpion, G., ‘Egypt for the Egyptians’, Middle East Times (Cairo, Egypt), 14–20 September 1993, p. 12.
• Alpion, G., ‘Try ‘I don’t know’’, Middle East Times (Cairo, Egypt), 14–20 September 1993, p. 14.
• Alpion, G., ‘The genesis of Egyptian coffee shops’, Middle East Times (Cairo, Egypt), 23–29 May 1994, p. 6.
• Alpion, G., ‘Albania’s sorry century’, Palatinate (Durham, UK), 13 June 1997, p. 4.
• Alpion, G., ‘Why Britain can be so proud of its role in the Kosovan conflict’, The Huddersfield Daily Examiner (Huddersfield, UK), 21 June 1999, p. 6.
• Alpion, G., ‘America must grasp world’s complexity’, The Birmingham Post (Birmingham, UK), 22 May 2003, p. 13.
• Alpion, G., ‘Racism of a different hue’, The Birmingham Post (Birmingham, UK), 5 July 2003, p. 9.
• Alpion, G., ‘Political correctness stifles debate’, Spiked Magazine (London, UK), 24 July 2003.
• Alpion, G., ‘The mother who cared for the shunned’, The Birmingham Post (Birmingham, UK), 5 September 2003, p. 11.
• Alpion, G. 'Oh! not Calcutta' The Guardian, London, UK, 6 September 2003.p. 25.
• Alpion, G., ‘A corner of Europe still waiting for peace’, The Birmingham Post (Birmingham, UK), 8 December 2003, p. 10.
• Alpion, G., ‘A rich land where poverty is the norm’. The Birmingham Post (Birmingham, UK) 8 December 2003: 10.
• Alpion, G., ‘Mother Teresa and the Balkans DNA politics’, BESA Journal, Vol. 7, No. 2, 2003, pp. 28–30
• Alpion, G., ‘Why human rights must never just be selective’, The Birmingham Post (Birmingham, UK), 31 January 2004, p. 8.
• Alpion, G., ‘A fairy-tale land that we just don’t live in’ – The Birmingham Post debate: ‘Why American TV is thinking out of the box’, The Birmingham Post (Birmingham, UK), 15 April 2005, p. 4.
• Alpion, G., ‘Small nations, big names: The Albanians and their international high-flyers’, Light Magazine (London, UK), No. 1. March–June 2005, pp. 29–30.
• Alpion, G., ‘Who is afraid of Kosovo’s William Tell? – A response to Dick Marty’s allegations about Kosovo organ trafficking’, Illyria, New York, December 31, 2010 – January 6, 2011, p. 6.
• Alpion, G. 'We may not all be royalists but don’t spoil the party for those who are' The Birmingham Post, Birmingham, UK, 21–27 April 2011.pp. 26–27.
• Alpion, G., ‘The TAKEN Films: The Bigger Picture’, by Gëzim Alpion and Stephen Schwartz, Illyria, New York, 6 November 2012, pp. 1–2.
• Alpion, G., ‘‘Taken’ 1 and 2: Dissenting opinions’, by Gëzim Alpion and Stephen Schwartz, Hürriyet Daily News (Istanbul, Turkey),12 November 2012.
• Alpion, G., ‘Sistine Chapel chimney could get sootier’, Birmingham Brief (Birmingham, UK), 1 March 2013.
• Alpion, G. 'How do you study a problem like Mother Teresa'. Hindustan Times, New Delhi, India, 23 March 2014.
• Alpion, G., ‘Take three: Social Media. Friend or Foe – Is social media good for society or a bad influence? A forum for sharing owned but its users or a haven for bullying and bad behaviour? – Old Joe asks three academics to lend their voices to a very modern debate’, Opinion piece with contributions from Scott Lucas, Russell Beale, and Gëzim Alpion, Old Joe Magazine, Birmingham, UK, Spring 2014, pp. 16–18.
• Alpion, G., ‘Awakening civil society and fighting national stereotypes’, Tirana Times, 30 May 30 – 6 June 2014, pp. 7–8.
• Alpion, G. 'Understanding Mother Teresa’s Vocation and Migration'. Migrant Woman magazine, London, UK, 27 September 2014.pp. 62–63.
• Alpion, G. 'Albania v Serbia football drone farce shows Balkan nationalism is still a dangerous powder keg'. The Conversation, London, UK, 16 October 2014.

References

1. "Folks Magazine". 2012.
2. "Illyria". 2007.
3. "American Communication Journal". American Communication Association. 2008.
4. "Being successful academics in a foreign country is not always easy".
5. Mother Teresa: Saint or Celebrity?. Routledge. 2007. p. 304.
6. Madre Teresa: Santa o Celebrità?. Salerno Edirice. 2008. pp. XII–396.
7. Encounters with Civilizations: From Alexander the Great to Mother Teresa. Transaction Publishers. 2011. p. 327.
8. If Only the Dead Could Listen. Globic Press. 2008. p. 91.
9. "Birmingham academic injects new life in to civil society in Albania".
10. "There’s more to Albania than Mother Teresa and it’s screaming change".
11. "Posunú Albánci krajinu k Európskej únii?".
12. "Pope’s Albania visit: Vatican silence on Mother Teresa regretted".
13. "Pope Francis in Albania: Thumbs up for Mother Teresa’s poverty theology?".
14. Foreigner Complex: Essays and Fiction about Egypt. University of Birmingham CPS. p. 103.
15. Becoming Minority: How Discourses and Policies Produce Minorities in Europe and India. SAGE Publications. p. 376.
16. Logic in Central and Eastern Europe: History, Science and Discourse. University Press of America. 2012. p. 758.
17. Cultural Voyage: Exploring the Muslim Heritage. Brewin Books. 2008. p. 172.
18. "International Journal of Public Theology". BRILL. 2014: 25–50.
19. "Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies". Routledge. 2006: 541–557.
20. "Journal of Southern Europe and the Balkans". Routledge. 2004: 227–243.
21. "Albanian Journal of Politics". Globic Press. 2004: 41–63.
22. "Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses" (PDF). SAGE Publications. 2011: 255–257.
23. "cope: Journal of Film Studies". University of Nottingham. 2007.
24. "Review of Communication". Routledge. 2009: 58–59.
25. "Film & History: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Film and Television Studies". Center for the Study of Film and History. 2007: 107–108.
26. "Journal of Southern Europe and the Balkans". Routledge. 2007: 204–206.
27. "The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute". Wiley-Blackwell. 2006: 231–232.
28. "Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations". Routledge. 2004: 413–414.

External links

• Arnot, Chris. 'Sinners and winners'. The Guardian, 1 November 2005.
• Lipsett, Anthea. 'Gëzim Alpion: Speaking for the refugee in us all'. Times Higher Education, 3 February 2006.
• Spink, Kathryn. 'Baffled by enigma of sancity'. The Tablet, 6 January 2007.
• Derbyshire, Stuart. 'Mother Teresa and the ‘me, me, me’ culture'. Spiked Magazine, 14 February 2007.
• Neuhaus, Richard John. 'T. S. Eliot, Mother Teresa, and the Children of Darkness'. First Things: The Journal of Religion, Culture and Public Life, New York, 23 February 2007.
• Liaugminas, Sheila. 'Trashing the icon of altruism'. MercatorNet, 27 February 2007.
• Byrne, Lavinia. 'Famous by her own design'. Church Times, London, 3 April 2007.
• Schwartz, Stephen 'Review of Mother Teresa: Saint or Celebrity?'. Illyria, New York, 19 September 2007.