Amir Perez is a doctoral candidate in the Comparative Literature program at Tel Aviv University. 

His research focuses on the concept of "World Literature"; (Weltliteratur, littérature mondiale)—how a literary work or tradition transcends boundaries of language and culture, place and time, to achieve "worldly" status—from a critical postcolonial perspective: what is the place of literary works and traditions from the Global South and East within the realm of
world literature?

The research explores these questions through the case study of the "topos"—or literary image—of the city of Oran in northern Algeria. By comparing writings about the city by Arab and Amazigh, French and Jewish authors, the research argues that the literary field formed around Oran serves as a measure for world literature in the postcolonial era—a time when cultural and political hierarchies are shifting amidst the dynamic interplay of place, language, culture, and community that continues to unfold between France, North Africa, and the Middle East.

Thanks to the Chateaubriand Fellowship, Amir was hosted at La Sorbonne Nouvelle in Paris,
where he met and collaborated with leading researchers of Algerian literature; with their
assistance, he was able to deepen his research and forge both professional and personal
connections.

Shani Pocker is a PhD candidate in the Department of Literature at Tel Aviv University. Her research focuses on medieval Hebrew literature, particularly poetic epistles written in Muslim Spain and the broader Arabic-speaking world. By examining the relationship between poetry and letter writing from a performative perspective, she explores how literary texts functioned as acts of communication and social interaction. More broadly, her work investigates the connections between literary form, rhetoric, and material textual practices, while also tracing continuities between medieval and modern Hebrew literature. As a Chateaubriand Fellow, Shani was hosted by INALCO in Paris, where she developed her doctoral research under the supervision of Professor Alessandro Guetta. Her stay enabled her to deepen the theoretical framework of her project, engage with the vibrant community of medieval Hebrew and Jewish studies in France, and establish lasting academic connections that continue beyond the fellowship.