Sayed Mossadeq Khalili is an architectural historian and former diplomat, having held roles as Afghanistan Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Deputy Minister of Information and Culture and Acting Minister at the Ministry of Culture. He is currently a visiting scholar at the University of Southampton and will be in conversation with Alison Gascoigne, Professor of Archaeology.
SIAH: Public Life draws a range of leading intellectuals into conversation about what the ideal of the 'public life' can mean to Arts and Humanities researchers and disciplines in the twentyfirst century.

Speaker Biography:
Born in Badakhshan of Afghanistan, Dr. Mossadeq Khalili is an architectural historian and former diplomat. He served as Afghanistan Ambassador to the Czech Republic 20162019, as Deputy Minister of Information and Culture 20112015, and as Acting Minister at the Ministry of Culture in 2015. In these capacities, he has rendered an important contribution in offering strategic guidance and advice for the development of robust and effective’s policies to protect and further develop Afghanistan’s cultural heritage. Dr. Khalili has maintained an extensive professional career as a strong and effective advocate in support of preserving and enhancing Afghanistan rich cultural heritage. He studied Architecture at Polytechnic University in Kabul, then received a scholarship by the Government of France to continue his studies in France. Dr. Khalili has a Master Degree from the Grenoble University of Architecture and a Ph.D in History of Art from EPHEPSL University of Paris, France.
Dr. Khalili has produced a rich compilation of articles, analysis and other literature on Islamic Architecture, cultural and social issues, which have been widely disseminated throughout Afghanistan and abroad. Dr. Khalili is fluent in Dari, Pashtu, English and French, and Urdu languages.

SIAH: Public Life (Series abstract)
Arts and Humanities have always been crucial to the idea of the 'public life': the public is valorised as the realm of collective debate and decisionmaking, of community and solidarity, of art and culture. Such concepts, of course, have always been contested and never more so than right now. The electronic capture of the commons, the removal of boundaries between work and home, the policing of public spaces, the onslaught of the culture wars, the hold of big data and surveillance, the spectacles of populist politics have all changed the meanings, the spaces and the limits of the public sphere.