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Symposium A d d r e s s etsh e S o c i a lE, c o n o m i c , a n d P o l i t i c aI lmp l i c a t i osno f I n dus t r i a lzi a t i o n i n t h eC u l f M i m iK i r k annual symposium, held March 27 and 28 in ACAS's Georgetown University's Copley Formal Lounge, I brought together scholars from such countries as Saudi \-/ Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, England, and the Netherlands to explore both the social and economic implications of the surge of indushialization that has taken place in the Gulf in the past decades.Not only academics,but lawyers, bankers, and government officials took part in the rich discussion. In his opening remarks, Dr. Jean-FrangoisSeznec,CCAS Visiting Associate Professor and the symposium's chair, noted that the eventwould "help us understandthe economicandfinancial role of the region, the role ofwomen, labormigrations, employment issues,the changesin relations with Iran, and basically all the implications of this new world order." His Excellency Shaikh Mohammed bin Isa al-Khalifa, Chief Executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board, gave the keynote address, in which he discussed how the GCC's wealth has grown steadily from an influx of petro dollars, but that the future of the region lies in non-oil revenuestreamsand diversification. Shaikh Mohammed also noted that the GCC must be "honest and open about the challenges that face us today. If we are to achieve lasting success,"he continued, "we need to examine and addressour economic realities, our flaws, and our failings and do so with a level of opennesswe have not done in previous generations." The first panel, chaired by CCAS Director Dr. Michael C. Hudson, gave a general overview of industrialization in the region. Dr. Hazem Beblawi of the Arab Monetary Fund spoke about how the region must addresstwo basic concerns: the eventual limit of its oil reservesand its heavy reliance on imported labor. Brad Bourland of Jadwa Investments then explained how though oil is ultimately depletable, in the foreseeablefuture it will continue to bring prosperity to the region. "However," he said, 'owe need to allow other sectors of the economy to also grow." Finally, Frances Cook, former ambassadorto Oman, spoke about needed trajectories in the GCC, including education that focuses on management and technical training, a greater awarenessof the importance of women, and creating employment opportunities for nationals. Dr. Samer Shehata,Assistant Professorin CCAS, chaired the second panel, which covered labor constraints and migration
HE Shaikh Mohammed bin lsa al-Khalifa delivers the keynote address at CCAS'sannual symposium, held March 27 and 28.
r-5 CCASAnnual Symposium Explores Industrialization in the Gulf 6-8 CCASMourns the Loss of Faculty and Friends 8-9 Adjuncts and PostdocTeachCompellingSpring Courses "Israel: Still Sexyat Sixty" 9-1o MAAS Students Demonstrate Against Celebration
rz-r4 Springzoo8 PublicEvents
15 Writing forTeaching and LearningAboutthe Middle EastWorkshop Features Renowned Novelist 16-17 Israeli and PalestinianHistories Explored in Spring Oubeach Workshop
t8-r9 CCASCongratulates its 27 MAAS Graduates
r9-zr Alumni and Student News zr-23 FacultyNews
Centerfor Contemporary ArabStudiesI Ceorgetown University ! Washington DC 20057-1020 n http://ccas.georgetown.edu a 2O26g7 5793
Center News issues in the region. Independent scholar Dr. Gwerur Okruhlik discussedthe ways in which the GCC's dependence on foreign labor fosters social distance and political confrontation, while Trinity University's Dr. Mary Ann Tetreault spoke about the benefits and drawbacks of the American-style institutions of higher education that have been established in Kuwait and other Gulf countriesin the last ten years. Sarah Leah Whitson, director of the Middle East and Africa division at Human Rights Watch, focused her talk on how the practice of exploiting unskilled expatriate workers in the GCC "needsto be focusedon as a human rights issue. There is an endemic abuse of migrant workers in the Gulf." she said. Dr. HatoonAl-Fassiand Dr. MuniraFakhrotalk informallywith symposiumattendees The third panel, chaired by after their panelon womenand industrialization' CCAS Assistant Professor Dr. Fida Adely, considered the role the fifth panel, which took place on the moming of March 28 of women in industrializalion. Dr. Hatoon Al-Fassi of King Saud University explored the use of technology in Saudi and focused on the dynamic between the Gulf statesand Iran. Arabia, such as closed circuit television, to expand education Paul Aarts, lecturer at the University of Amsterdam, outlined for women. Yet, she also warned that it helps to preserve fourscenariosofhowrelationsbetweenSaudiArabiaandlran women's isolation. Next, Dr. Munira Fakhro, an independent might look in 2030. Dr. John Duke Anthony, founder and CEO scholar from Bahrain, concluded that an increasing number of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, then spoke of women in her country are joining the industrial sector, and about the strategic,economic,and political interest of the GCC countries vis d vis lran, and Dr. that they want their participation "[The Matteo Legrenzi of Canada's recognizedviasuchdevelopments event] will help uS understand
rore of l]il::':fl"""1?,nT"'t'J3 nnanciar and n:f,;:i,Tffil,Hff.Ti;ffi -i!....onomic the regiOn, the role Of w.men, labOr economic, a uniteddiplomatic, from the American ;;;-t of Sharjahin the UAE explo.ei whether the private sector's demandsfor immediateprofitsLe dutiesor duties of canbe balancedwith the
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migrationS, employment issues, the Changes in felatiOns With lfan, and baSiCally all the impliCatiOns Of this
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andadministrativeentity. The last panel, chaired by Patrick Theros, former
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-Dn. JEer.r-Fnqtgots Sezruec, Council, analyzedthe domestic Panelfour,chairedbyDr.Kristin Svt',tpostutr,t Cuatn and intemational implications Smith of American University, of industrialization. Dr. Steffen addressedhow investments such as stocks and bonds finance the Gulf's economic growth. Dr. Hertog of Britain's Durham University spokeabout the politics Jean-Frangois Seznec discussed how government-affiliated of state-owned enterprises in the Gulf, which he explained "upgrading rentier authoritarianism." Dr. Gerd arc a way of companies, such as Saudi Aramco and Sabic, are limiting the control of government by, for example, making the state Nonneman of Britain's University of Exeter piggybacked on a minority shareholder.JessicaAnderson of the Bank of New Dr. Hertog's talk by addressingwhether the Gulf statesare now York Mellon then spoke about how foreign companies in the rentier statesor developmentalstates. The two-day symposium certainly met the expectations Gulf are accessingglobal capital markets through depositary receipts. Finally, British lawyer Alastair Hirst explored outlined in Dr. Seznec'sopening remarks, thanks in large part corporategovernancein the region and the cultural factors that to the organizationalefforts of Dr. Seznecand Margaret Daher, the Center'sPublic Affairs Coordinator.The Centerwill publish limit it. Dr. EmestTucker ofthe United StatesNavalAcademy chaired an edited volume basedon the event. O
CCASNewso June2008
2OO8CCAS 65",,^r"*, Symposium Panelists
not producing homogenization,but rather new expressions of distinctions betweenpopulations. Distinctions are greatest whereforeigners are a high percentage of the population [as in many statesin the GCCJ."
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countries share more strategically in common than people are crware. Both havepain in their hearts with regard to the occupied Palestinians and Syrians...Eachalso held cooperation in bringing the Soviet Union to its lvteesin Afghanistan...[andJall eight of them constitutepart of the epicenter of prayeri pilgrimage, faith, and spiritual devotion of half of humanity."
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6r#",*'"t^,,"* private, publicly held, outside the government type of systemallows for muchfas ter development. The reason the Saudi economyis booming is becausecompanies like Sabic and Saudi Aramco are able to ram through the systemto put enoftnous amountsof money into the economy."
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SdEe sectors of the Gulf are very competitive, with high levels of local skills embeddedin an enabling policy and reguIatory environment... But the rest of the economiesremain stuck. effectively, due to such elementsas the sociopolitical framework, the question of education,and the skill shortage.Hence they're not moving toward competitiveness and longlerm non-oil viability."
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cooperation of the ministerial and administrative level has continuedunabated... [ButJ GCC member statesdo not constitute a security community. The smaller GCC statesfeel that regional security canprobably be obtained while carving out a more autonomousrolefor themselves."
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outlining possible relations between Saudi Arabia and lran in 2130-'peaceful hegemonic competition,' 'friendly neighbors,' 'alienation,' and 'continued fragile pragmatism'-pres ent an analytical exercise that allows us to think outside the currentparadigm."
6,f**,,,*,,, workers is a result of the laws and policies of Gulf governments... Solving theseproblems is low-hangingfruit. The Gulf Countries hatte the meansand capacity to solve theseproblems."
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TWbnly way to make a living after oil is to have real economicwealth on the ground and not live onfin anci al investments alone...Accepting Yemenwill also be a major strategic decision. It canprovide the GCC with a muchneededlaborforce and a more diversified economy."
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6{D;;;, technologt, like closedcircuit television, has helped education to expand ffor women in SaudiArabiaJ. But it has also helped to endorsetraditional nolms that preserve the isolation and invisibility ofwomen as much aspossible."
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aims to achieve transparency and accountability in how publicly traded companiesare directed and controlled... Three local factors-deep conventionalrespectfor the authorities, a deeply ingrained culture of public politeness, and a distastefor public confrontationinhibit corporate governancein the Gulf states."
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t/ l/I h+u, don'thtowthe effects ofwidespread foreign education on culture... It's time to do an assessmenton the private institutions in the Gulf. There'sstill a lot of time and spacefor intervention."
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6r5,.^,,*r,",* exposeswomen to longer working hours... Womenwant[these] hours adjusted tofit with maternal responsibilites, and they want their pay Ievel to be the same as their male counterparts as well as the establishment of day carefacilities in every large industry."
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depositary receiptscomes from companies[such as in the GCCJ that are internationalizingfo r thefirst time as well cs smaller investors and secondand third tier institutions...Depositary receiptsgive thesecompaniesgreater namerecognition in the international marketsand thqt signal a commitmentto the communitvoutsidethe local market."
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industrialization is an unprecedented opportunityfor growth and reform. The GCC states are blessed, by and large, with innovative leaders who not only have vastfinancial resources,but who understandthe opportunities andwho want to do what is bestfor their people."
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are creating a kind of large, retail shareholder culture in the Gulf in which a lot of people have shares in large national enterprises.It's away of distributing rentier wealth without creating the bureaucraticjobs and subsidies.It's a much smarter way of redistributing money."
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families and succeedin businessin the GuW Yes,if the Gulf countries continue to pursue a 'softer capitalism' that brings Islamic values into play rather than a capitalism b"reft of all governmentcontrol."
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6r5",,,,,,,,,,," "* is a global economic story that is high growth for emerging markets and probable high oil revenuesforyears to comeaccompaniedby favorable economic liberalization and diversification. "
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Center News
M e m o r i aHl e l df o r D r . F a r u kT a b a kP , rofessor o f M o d e r nT u r k i s hS t u d i e a st SFS Sa m e rS h e h ata axuk Tabak, Nesuhi Ertegiin Professor of Modern Turkish Studiesin the Schoolof Foreign Service at Georgetown University, passedaway on February15, 2008 in Ankara, Turkey after falling ill during the winter holiday. Faruk was spending the holiday with friendsandfamily there, ashe oftendid. CCAS held a memorialon Apil24, 2008honoringProfessorTabak.Manyof Faruk'sstudentsaswell ashis colleagues and friends attendedthe event at which Professors John McNeill, Michael Hudson,Sylvia Onder,SamerShehata, David Cuthell, Tim Beach, Barbara Stowasser,and Dean Robert Gallucci spokeaboutFaruk,his scholarship, and his contributionto theuniversity.Erdeniz Senrepresentedthe Turkish Embassyat the event. Professor Beach spoke about the pleasures of reading Faruk's recent boolr, The WanW of the Meditenanean, 1550-1870:A GeohistoricalApproach (JohnsHopkins University Press,2008). ProfessorMcNeill discussedthe breadth of Faruk's knowledge while Professor Shehataspoke about Faruk as both a WritesDr. SamerShehata, a closefriend of Faruk's:"He will be sorelymissedby colleagueand friend in and outsidethe CCASfaculty,staff,and studentsand the wider GeorgetownUniversitycommunity." univenity. ProfessorHudson addressed Faruk'sintellectualcontributionto CCAS, Faruk also generously contributed to the A memorial for professor Tabak was includinghis presentationat the Center's intellectual life of the Center, frequently also held at the Femand Braudel Center 2004annualsymposium.ProfessorOnder attending CCAS events and becoming a for the Studv of Economies. Historical at theannual readamovingdescription ofFaruk'sfuneral regularpresence Systems,and Civilizationsat written by SFS ProfessorScoft Redfor4 Arab Studiesundergraduate BinghamtonUniversityin New who attendedhis memorial in Ankara. colloquium. York State on May 8, 2008. Faruk'sbook, The Waning Onderalso readan excerptfrom a poem Faruk completedhis Ph.D. at the Mediterranean, written by the Ottomanpoet YahyaBey, of the univenity in addition to in remembranceof Faruk's well-known 1550-1870:A Geohistorical working at the BraudelCenter walls alongGeorgetown's brick sidewalks. Approach,waspublishedonly for a numberofyears. ProfessorStowasserspokeaboutFaruk's weeksbeforehispassing.Just Professor Tabak will be generosity, beforehe died, Farukheld a character: hismodesty,decency, remembered by students, copy of the 432-pagebook andsenseofhumor. colleagues, andfriendsaround Faruk Tabak became a cherished in his hands.An ecological the world for his scholarship, generosityof spirit, warmth, memberofthe CCAScommunityafterhis and economichistory of the arrival at Georgetownin 2000.His office Mediterraneanspanningfour kindness,and gentleprâ‚Źsence. was located in CCAS, and he quickly centuriesand coveringa vast He will be sorely missed by CCAS becameknown for his warmthokindness, geographical area, it has already been faculty,stafl and studentsand the wider sharpintellect, and the sheerbreadthof described as a breathtaking achievement Georgetown Universitycommunity.1 his historicalandsociologicalknowledge. Braudelianin scope. 6
CCASNewso June2008
C e n t e rN e w s
C C A SM o u r n st h e L o s so f D r . G e o r g eA t i y e h , D r .A n dr e wV i n c e n tD , r . L o ui s C a n t o r ia, n d A m b a s s a d oLru c i u sB a t t l e DR. GEORGE ATIYEH, a respected Ibrahim Oweiss, and myself, among member of the Center for Contemporary others. We are deeply saddenedat his Arab Studies'Advisory Board from the passing." Our sincere condolencesgo out to Dr. early 1980suntil 1997, passedaway in April after a long illness. Dr. Atiyeh was Atiyeh's widow, Daisy, and their three bom in Amioun, Lebanon, and received children, Nicholas, Rose Marie, and a B.A. and an M.A. from the American Lancelot. University of Friend of the Center DR. ANDREW Beirut. In 1951, VINCENT, Senior Lecturer in Middle he moved to the East Politics at Macquarie University U.S. to attend in Sydney, Australia, and a former the University of Australian diplomat in Lebanon and Chicago, where Syria, passedaway in April after a long he earned a battle with cancer.He and his wife Petra Ph.D. in Oriental languages and Canard were living in Beirut at the time, where Dr. Vincent was teaching at the literature. After teaching at the University of Puerto Rico American University there. Dr. Vincent had a long and fruitful for 13 years, Dr. Atiyeh was offered the eminent position of head of the Library relationship with the Center. In 1992, of Congress's Near East Section. He he invited CCAS Director Dr. Michael occupied the position for nearly thirty C. Hudson to join him and Dr. Clement years,until his retirementin 1996. Henry Moore of the University of During his tenure at the Library Texas at Austin in organizing a Middle Dr. Atiyeh expanded the Near East East politics simulation "game" over collection from 15,000 to more than the Internet in which students from 250,000 volumes and worked tirelessly Georgetown, Macquarie, and Texas to promote greater understanding of would play the roles of Middle Eastern the Arab world in the West. His efforts and global actors facing a series of to do so earned him the National Order regional conflicts occurring in a fictitious of the Cedag one of the highest honors scenarioseta few yearsin the future. Later, given by the Lebanese government. students from the American Universitv Dr. Atiyeh also published a number of in Cairo were also included. books and edited volumes, including l/This project Kindi: Philosopher of the Arabs (Oxford University Press, 1968) and The Book was one of the in the Islamic World: The lVritten Word first of its kind and Communication in the Middle East to utilize the (The Library of Congress and the State Internet and email to bring students University of New York Press,1995). CCAS DirectorDr. Michael C. Hudson from around Dr. Andrew Vincent commented on Dr. Atiyeh's valued the globe into a relationship with the Center: "Through common educational exercise.It proved his strong connections with scholars very successfuland has been refined and and academic institutions across the repeatedover the years. "Andrew Arab world, he enriched our educational Vincent brought both relationshipsin the region. He was also his experience from the Australian a close friend of severalof the Center's diplomatic serviceand his Ph.D. studies faculty members, including Hisham at Penn to become a genuine Middle Sharabi, Hanna Batatu, Halim Barakat, East expert," said Dr. Hudson. "He was C C A SN e w so J u n e 2 0 0 8
a fine colleague and a wonderful friend, and was much beloved by his studentsat Macquarie and those from Georgetown who knew him through the simulation exercises.We will certainlymiss him." Our sincere condolences go out to Petra and other surviving membersof Dr. Mncent's family. DR. LOUIS CANTORI, Professorof Political Science at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and a valued adjunct professor at CCAS, passed away in May after a lengthy illness. Dr. Cantori eamed his doctorate in political science from the University of Chicago in 1966 and continued his education at Al-Azhar Universitv in Cairo, where he studied Islamic philosophy for a year. Dr. Cantori then taught at UCLAuntil7972, at which time he joined the political science department at D r . L o u i s Cantori UMBC.Heserved as the department's chair from 1979 to 1985.Dr. Cantori alsoactedasa consultant to USAID and was a visiting lecturer at the State Department. He authored severalbooks and over 40 articles on the Middle Eastand comparativepolitics, and was a founding member of the American Council for the Study of Islamic Societies as well as the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy. CCAS Director Dr. Michael C. Hudson commented on his friend and colleague: "Lou Cantori and I went back a long way-we first met studying Arabic together at Princeton one hot summerin the early I 960s.We had many friendly debates over my "liberal" as opposedto his "conservativecorporate" approachto Middle East politics. Over the years he taught at the Center in
Center News fields ranging from development planning to local government and comparativepolitics. We will indeed miss him." Dr. Cantori is survived by Barbara, his wife of 54 years, t}ree children, and nine grandchildren.
Esteemed CCAS Advisory Board member AMBASSADOR LUCIUS BATTLE passed away in May from Parkinson's disease. Mr. Battle was bom in Dawson, Georgia, and received a B.A. and a J.D. from the University of Florida. He also served in the Navy in the Pacific during WWII. Mr. Battle joined the State Department in 1946, and enjoyed an illustrious diplomatic and administrative career, with highlights including apostasambassadortoEgypt under Gamal Abdel Nasser'srule and an appointmentas assistantsecretaryof stateforNear Easternand SouthAsian Affairs n1967 and 1968.Afterleaving the govemment, he served as the president of the Middle East Institute and the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced Intemational Studies' Foreign Policy Institute. He also became advisory board chairman oftheNational Council on U . S .- A r a b relations in 1995. "All of us at CCAS moum the passing of A m b a s s a d o r AmbassadorLucius Lucius Battle," Battle said CCAS
DirectorDr.MichaelC. Hudson."Luke wasa devotedmemberof ourAdvisory Boardfrom the inceptionof the Center n 1975until 1988,and we benefited from Luke's wisdom, support, and good humor.He was one of the great bridge-buildersbetween the United StatesandtheArab worl4 andhe will be rememberedas one of America's " outstanding diplomats. Mr. Battleis survivedby fourchildren andeightgrandchildren. His wife, Betty DavisBattle,passedawayn2004.
Adjunctsand Postdoctoral F e l l o wT e a c hC o mp e l l i n g S p r i n gC o ur s e s
Students of Arab-American literature (l-r) Dena Takruri, Lucy Thiboutot, and Dina Hussein join Professor Gregory Orfalea at the Gibran memorial in Washington, D.C. Says Thiboutot about the class: "lt was a journey with unexpected twists and turns, and we came out with new perspectives of Arab Americans and ourselves."
M i m iK i r k CAS adjunctfaculty Eric Goldstein,Adel Iskander,NoureddineJebnoun, Laurie King-Irani, and GregoryOrfaleataught a numberof noteworthy classesto MAAS studentsin the springof 2008,including Mr. Orfalea's
"Arab-American
Literature," which was offered for the first time in Georgetown University's history. Qatar Postdoctoral Fellow Sherene Seikaly also taught a course related to her valuable dissertation researchon consumption in the Middle East. Professor Goldstein's class, "Debating and Implementing Human Rights: The case of the Middle East," introduced studentsto the subject of international human rights, and used examples from the Middle East and North Africa to illustrate key concepts,debates,and players. Dr. Iskander's course, "Dissidence and Innovation: New Media and the Arab World" provided an overview of the increasingly influential realm of media as it applies to the region. The class examined definitions of radical, independent, alternative, and politically aligned media, and allowed students to explore studiesinArab satellite television, online radio broadcasting,blogging, and other meansof masscommunication. Professor Jebnoun taught a class in Arabic entitled "Ethnic and Religious Minorities in the Arab world." The course stressedthe role of elobalization and
CCASNewso June2008
CONTINUEDFROMPAGE8 the information revolution in bringing to light the treatment of minorities in the region, and it ultimately emphasized the opportunity for Arab societies to develop notions of belonging that value participation in economic, social, and political life above ethnicity, religion, or place of birth. Dr. King-Irani's course, "Arab Society," presented anthropological theory methodology, and analysis through eight ethnographies.Students
"We
were encouragedto position the works within the discoursesof anthropology, cultural studies, and the political economy of the contemporary Arab world. In Gregory Orfalea's "Arab-American Literature," MAAS students studied poetry, memoir, and fiction from a range of figures, from Gibran Kahtil Gibran to Ralph Nader to the Libyan-American novelist Hisham Matar. The classlooked carefully at issues of dual identity, ethnicity, and home. Highlights included a visit by Palestinian-Americanpoet
Sharif Elmusa and a tour of the Gibran Peace Memorial on Massachusetts Avenue. Finally, Professor Seikaly,s course, "History of Consumption in the Middle East," surveyed the region through the lens of consumptionwhich, according to Dr. Seikaly, is "a site where individuals, groups, businesses, and states work together to create subjectivity, nationalism, and citizenship." The course's timeline began with the Ottoman consumer and culminated with globalization and development. I
wanted to representthosevoiceswho weren'tpresent." -Jessica Devctney
M A A Ss t u d e n t sD e m o n s t r a tAeg a i n s "t l s r a e l : St illSex ya t Si x t y "C el eb rati on M i m iK i r k hen Harald Fuller-Bennett, a second-year Master of Arts in Arab Studies student. saw signs around campus advertising a celebration for Israel's 60th birthday entitled "Israel: Still Sexy at Sixty," his interest-and annoyance-was piqued. "The title seemed over-thetop and offensive," he says. So FullerBennett decided to put up his own posters, which read, "Sexy at Sixty? Whatever you think about Israel/ Palestine...Whomever you believe is to blame...Is there anything sexy about this?" The sign featured two images: one of a gravely injured Israeli man, and one of a deceased Palestinianchild. Within a week, says Fuller-Bennett, the hosts of the celebration, the Georgetown Israel Alliance (GIA), withdrew the word "sexy" from their advertisements. "It was kind of a marketing slogan," GIA co-president David Denker told the Georgetown University newspaper The Hoya.*We didn't want to offend anyone." But the controversy had already taken root. Fuller-Bennett then
CCASNewso June2008
MAAS student Mostafa Hefny sits by the rsraeli flag in silent protest.
CenterNews MAASStudents P u tO m a n Research Crants t o G o o dU s e
CONTINUEDFROMPAGE9
M i m i Kir k
C
CAS awarded six MAAS studentsthe Oman Student Research Grant,which helps support new and ongoing student researchprojectspertainingto the contemporary Arab world. The grant coverssuchitems as research materials, travel, and scholarly manuscripts. Khody Akhavi and Michael Fournie used their grant to film a short documentary on the humanitariansituationof Palestinian MAAS and other Georgetown University students hold up fliers that explain their refugeeswho fled theNahr El Bared presence at the celebration of lsrae!'s 60th birthday on Copley lawn. campfollowing the LebaneseArmy siege in the summer of 2007. In teamedup with fellow MAAS students food, music,and a moonbounce."They March,Akhavi and Fourniespenta JessicaDevaney,Olivia Moseley,and had put up barricadesin front of the week in the nearbyBeddawicamp, AmandaJohnson,aswell asMastersin celebration,"says Fuller-Bennett.But interviewing displaced residents Communication,Culture& Technology with somenegotiatingandthepromiseof and camp officials. The film will student Reem Al-Masri, to plan a a peacefulprotest,thegroupwasallowed be edited and completedearly this demonstrationto coincide with the onto the lawn, wherethey satadjacentto summer. event. "We wanted to do something therevelers. Ethan Morton-Jeromeand Sandra Whatwerereactionsto theirpresence? Dohertyfocusedtheirprojectaround that was aestheticallycompelling but also peaceful," says Devaney. The "Somepeoplesaid,'Why do you haveto reconstruction in Lebanon.Theymet groupdecidedto wear kaffiyehs,black makethispolitical?',saysDevaney, while with severalinternationaland local notesthatmanypassersby NGOs,govemmentofficials,andthe clothing, and green tape over their Fuller-Bennett iglored the group. mouths. and to WorldHealthOrganizationin Beirut, "But the protestdid hold up or hand andalsotraveledto southernLebanon out sheetsthatread, to seesomeof thereconstruction that "Our presenceis a hastakenplace. gesturetoward the Jeffery Dyer conducted several many for whom days of researchin the archives the passing of Museumin of the Peabody-Essex these 60 years is Salem,Massachusetts. Dyer looked R e . i . J h m a n nat,personalpapers,correspondence, not marked by m e S S a J q e . " O U f Jewish outreach celebration.""We and diaries of several American -Hanolo Fur-lrn-BeruErr, coordinator in the wantedto represent consuls, merchants,and sailors those voices who who resided in Zanzibar during weren't present," the early and mid-19'h century. likely agree.iie told.The explainsDevaney. The researchaidedin his master's The protestors,who numberedaround Hoya that protestslike this one are part thesis,which focusedon racialand 50, were at first blocked by campus of the leamingexperienceat a university. colonialhierarchiesin l9'h-century which "Hopefully there'll be lessonslearned," securityfrom theGIA celebration, Zanzlbar. was held on Copley lawn and featured sheadded.O Finally, Wynne Mancini will use
"Wemaintained ;i?'r:."ffi1':.i": our silenceand ffiT::''"fl. :il our dignity and *rj;"",.,1"3JH MAAS sruoe*'
10
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CCASNewso June2008
CenterNews hergrantto conductindependentand primary researchon the Qubaisiat Islamic Women'sgroup in Syria in thesummerof 2008.I
NrwsBnlrrs A New Faceat CCAS Mimi Kirk joined ccAS as its new Multimedia and publicationsEditor in
F i v eS t u d e n t s R e c e i vS e ummer FLASAwards R i aM . R i e s n e r TheU.S.Department ofEducation funds Foreign Language Area Scholarships(FLAS) through the National ResourceCenter on the Middle East to give studentsthe opportunity to study intermediate and advanced levels of Arabic, Persian,Turkish"or Hebrew either in theUnited Statesor abroadduring the summer.This year, almost 100 students applied, and five were chosenfor summerawards.Their names,and the progmmsthey will be attendingthis summer,are noted below. Georgetown's National ResourceCenteron the Middle East congratulates thesestudentson this impressiveachievement.
Julie Cory GeorgetownUniversity, CCAS HassanElhaj GeorgetownUniversity, CCAS Harald Fuller-Bennett University of D amascus, Syria RandolphNogel AmericanUniversitvof Beirut Lucy Thiboutot Middlebury College, Vermont CCASNewso June2008
March, after having worked in editorial positions at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, Smithsonian magazine, and AARP The Magazine since 2003. Ms. Kirk has a B.A. in anthropology from Haverford College and an M.A. in cultural studies from Emory University, where she focused her studies on Islamic and French colonial architecture in the city of Fds, Morocco. She is also a parttime student at Johns Hopkins University, where she is pursuing an M.A. in creative nonfiction writing.
CCASStaffMembersRaniaKiblawiand ZeinaSeikalyAwardedNewTitles ccAS ispleased to announce thatDirectorDr.Michaelc. Hudsonauthorized title upgradesforAssistant Director Rania Kiblawi and Outreach Coordinator Zeina Seikaly.Rania has beennamed Associate Director, and Zeina's new title is Director of Educational Outreach. Says Dr. Hudson: "I have done this in recognition of their outstanding performance in their respective positions." Alf mabrouk goes out to Rania and Zeina for this much-deservedrecognition!
C C A St o P u b l i s ha n O c c a s i o n aPl a p e ro n E d u c a t i o nH, u m a nD e v e l o p m e nat n ,d A r a bW o m e n Please watch for our latest occasional Paper entitled "Education, Human Development,and 'Arab Women': Progress,Dilemmas, andAmerican Discourse,,' by Dr. Fida Adely, to be published by CCAS in September2008. Dr. Adely is an assistantprofessorat the Center and the first holder of the Clovis and Hala Salaam Maksoud chair in Arab Studies. Her paper addressesthe links that have been drawn between educationand human developmentas freedom or the expansionof choices, and it then considersthe increasein formal education in the Arab world and what that means for women. Dr. Adely then relates this discussion to American discourse on the subject of Arab women, and the implications of its continued politicization and misrepresentation of women's status for developmentefforts.
PubIic Events PuelrcEvrrurs Assumptions and Rationales Behind Democracy Promotion January 16 CCAS Visiting ResearcherZod Nautrd gave a lecfure on case sfudies she has been conducting which examine the underlying attitudes of various constituencies throughout Washington, D.C. towards democracy promotion projects in Morocco and Yemen.
Upgrading Authoritarianism in the Arab World: Intended and Unintended Consequencesof U.S. Policy February Il Dr. Steven Heydemann, Vice President of the United States Institute of Peace. presented his most recent paper at this event, and CCAS Assistant Professor Dr. Samer Shehataacted as a discussant. The Democracy and GovernanceStudies Program co-sponsoredthe talk.
Engaging the Arab World: Balancing Priorities: A Dialogue Between Arab Studies and Security Studies February 19 This event fostereda dialogue between two groups: those who study the Arab world from a security studiesperspective and perceive the region mainly in terms "terrorism," and regional experts, of whose primary concerns are the history 2o6 Nautrâ‚Źspeaksabout democracy promotionin the MiddleEast. economics, and makeup of the social fabric of the region. CCAS Assistant Is the Maghreb the Next Afghanistan? Professor Dr. Fida Adely, Dr. Nora January 23 Bensahel, Senior Political Scientist at Basedon its mostrecentoccasionalpaper, the RAND Corporation, Dr. Paul Pillar, 'Next Is the Maghreb the Afghanistan'? Visiting Professor and member of the by Dr. Noureddine Jebnoun, CCAS core faculty in the Security Studies hosteda panel discussionthat addressed Program at Georgetown University, the current security situation in North and Dr. Samer Shehata, Assistant Africa. Dr. Jebnoun discussedhis paper Professor of Arab Politics at CCAS, and presented video clips of Jihadist all gave insightful contributions to operations in Algeria. Dr. William this discussion. The dialogue was coZartman, Jacob Blaustein Professor sponsoredby the Women in International of International Organizations and Security Program at the Center for Peace Conflict Resolution and the director of and Security Studies. the Conflict Management Program at SAIS at Johns Hopkins Universiry and Dl Haizam Amirah-Fern6ndez,a senior analyst of the Meditelranean and Arab World at the Elcano Royal Institute for International and Strategic Studies in Madrid, Spain, provided a critical contextualization of the issues that Dr. Jebnoun addressed.
D r s . P a u l P i l l a ra n d S a m e rS h e h a t a d i s c u s s h o w t h e y a p p r o a c ht h e i r s t u d y of the Arab world.
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The Politicsof Miscalculation: Mid Eastin the 21stCentury February20 Dr. HenryLaurens,ProfessorandChairof Historyof theContemporaryArab Worldat theColldgedeFrance,Paris,discussedwhat he considers to be politicalmisstâ‚Źpsin U.S. policytowardstheMiddleEastandposited thatbetterrelationships canbebuilt with the Arabworldaslongascurrentissuesareseen in theirproperhistoricallight. Passinga Flaming Torch: The Middle Eastern Issuesthat Will Confront the Next American President February20 CCAS Advisory Board memberRami Khouri addressed a standing-room-only crowdashe elucidatedthemostpressing issuespertainingto the Middle Eastthat thenextU.S.presidentwill face.
R a m i K h o u r i l e c t u r e st o a s t a n d i n g room-only crowd.
Kareema Khoury DistinguishedLecture: Napoleonand Islam February 2l Casting a new look at one of France's most emblematic historical flgures, Dr. Henry Laurens' lecture explored a littleknown side of Napoleon Bonaparte: his fascination with the Orient and with Islam. From his youth and until his final exile to St. Helena, Bonapartecultivated an Oriental dream, fueled not only by childhood tales of Alexander the Great and the Prophet Muhammad, but by his later direct experiencesand assessments
CCASNewso June2008
P ub l i cE v e n t s in Egypt. The lectureaddressedthe impact of Orientalism on Napoleon's beliefs and imperial policies as well as the extent of his interest in Islam. This year's lecture was the culmination ofa seriesofactivities during a week in February involving Dr. Henry Laurens.Eventswere co-organized with the French Embassy and its cultural service,the Maison Franpaise.
the group an overwhelming welcome and a standing ovation. Overlapping Limits in Franco-Arab Encounters March 8 CCAS presentedthis panel discussionas part of the Limits,/Limites:20th and 21st Cenhrry French and FrancophoneStudies lntemational Colloquium. Participants includedDr.OsamaAbi-Mershed. Assistant Professor of History at Georgetown University, Dr. Elizabeth Thompson, Associate Professor at the University of Mrginia and Senior Fellow at the United StatesInstitute of Peace,Dr. Nadya Sbaiti, lnstructor at Smith College, and Dr. Val6rie Orlando, Associate Professorof French & Francophone Literahre at the University of Maryland.
D r , H e n r yL a u r e n sp r e s e n t sh i s l e c t u r e o n N a p o l e o na n d l s l a m ,
Impasse in Lebanon: What Next? March ll Three years after the assassination of Breakfast with the Ambassadors former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Series Hariri, Lebanon faces its deepestcrisis February 26 since the end of the civil war. On the CCAS faculry staff, and students occasionof the anniversaryof Hariri's welcomed the Algerian Ambassador,His assassination, CCAS assembleda panel Excellency Amine Kherbi, for an off-the- of specialists to discuss the future recordbreakfastdiscussion. of the country. Participants included Dr. Michael Hudson. Saif Ghobash Litigating the Palestinian-Israeli ProfessorofArab Studiesand Professor Conflict in U.S. Federal Courtrooms: of International Relations as well as The Politicization of Objectivity Director of CCAS, Dr. BassamHaddad, February 27 Director of the Middle East Studies CCAS Visiting Scholar Noura Erakat Program at George Mason University explored the different legal avenues and Visiting Professor at Georgetown through which Palestinians can seek University, and Dr. Augustus Richard redressfor grievancescommitted against Norton. Professor of International them by the State of Israel, and the Relations and Anthropology at Boston difficulties in pursuing such action. University. Performance by Arabesque Music Ensemble March I The eight-pieceensembleperformed at Georgetown University's Gaston Hall as part of a national tour to promote its new release, Al-Fursan Al-Talatha. The group has garnered critical acclaim, "precise rhythms and with praise for its perfect intonation" (Washington Post) "rich texturesand musical as well as its D r . A u g u s t u s R i c h a r dN o r t o n s p e a k s versatility" (Los Angeles Times). The a b o u t L e b a n o n ' sf u t u r e . hundreds who attended the event save
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A Flight to Elsewhere: Poetry Reading by Samuel Hazo March I2 Critically acclaimed Arab-American poet Samuel Hazo, Director of the International Poetry Forum in Pittsburgh, read selectionsfrom his recent works. Proselytizing for Modernity: The Case of the American Universitv of Beirut (AUB) March I3 Dr. BettyAnderson of Boston University presented her study of the American definition of the modern at AUB in the early 20e century by analyzing thenpresident Howard Bliss's letters as well as texts of the serrnons preached on campus and curriculum programs. She also looked at studentnewspapersofthe period to ascertain student responsesto the university's modernizing project. The Much Too Promised Land April3 Dr. Aaron David Miller, currently a Public Policy Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington,D.C., sharedhis thoughts on his most recent book, The Much Too PromisedLand. The work chronicleshis experiencesduring his 20-year career at the State Department, where he advised six secretariesof stateon the formulation of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and vis d vis the Palestinian-Israelipeace process. Confluences of Islamic Art in the Medieval West April S Stefano Carboni. Curator and Administrator for the Department of Islamic Art at the Metropolitan Museum ofArt, Julian Raby, Director of the Freer Gallery ofArt and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and RosamondMack, renowned scholar of Islamic Art, presenteda panel discussion that explored the ways in which an Islamic influence manifested itself in various art forms in the Medieval West. The event was co-sponsored by the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, the Department of Theology, the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World
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Affairs, the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies,and the Office of the Dean of GeorsetownColleee.
Palestine:60 Years of Displacement Breakfast with the AmbassadorsSeries April 14 April 17 World-renownedspeakerand outgoing CCAS faculty, staff, and students the Palestinian ambassador to welcomed the Moroccan Ambassador" United States Afif Safieh addressed His Excellency Aziz Mekouar, for an Georgetown University regarding off-the-record discussion. the current political situation in Palestine and the occupied territories. Oman's Economy: Challenges and AmbassadorSafieh also discussedthe Opportunities displacementof the Palestinianpeople April2l since the creation of the stateof Israel Prominent Omani academic Dr. Hatem in 1948,why Palestiniansleft or stayed, Al-Shanfari made a presentation and where those who left are now on the hurdles faced by the Omani located. economy in light of the explosion of economic growth that its neighbors A slide from the lslamicart panel Is There a at 60: and Palestine Israel have experiencedin recent years. He d i s c u s s i o ns h o w s h o w l s l a m i c Solution? also highlighted the successesof the i n f l u e n c e sm a n i f e s t e d i n v a r i o u s a r t 16 April Omani economy as it works to expand. f o r m s i n t h e M e d i e v a lW e s t . Palestinian academic Dr. Ghada Karmi The Sultan QaboosCultural Center coto questioned prospects for a resolution sponsoredthe talk. Women and Leadership in the Middle and discussed conflict the Arab-Israeli East her recent book, Married to Another Iran and the Arab World with Dr. April S Palestine Dilemma in Man: Israelb Alidad Mafinezam CCAS. the Mortara Center for (Pluto Press,2007). April22 International Studies, and the Vital Dr. Alidad Mafinezam, co-author of Voices Global Partnership welcomed Rights and Sexual Orientalism the newly published book lran and Her Excellency Sheikha Lubna bint April 17 Its Place Among Nations (Praeger Khaled Al Qasimi, United Arab Professor Associate Massad, Publishers, 2008) and director of Emirates Minister of Foreign Trade, Dr. Joseph and Intellectual Politics of ModernArab the Mosaic Institute in Montreal, for an engaging conversation on the of Middle in the Department History delivered a lecture based on the book, dynamic role of women in the Middle Cultures Languages and East and Asian with an emphasis on lran's evolving East. Her Excellency went from running at Columbia University, gave a lecture relationship with the Arab world in one of the UAE's largest technology Desiring his most recent book, general and members of the GCC basedon companies to becoming its first female Lionel won the recently Arabs, which in particular. The lecture examined minister and one of the most powerful Trilling Book Award. continuity and change in Iranian woman leaders in the region. Sheikha foreign policy in the pre- and postLubna is the recipient of the Vital revolutionary periods. Voices Global Partnership 2008 Global Trailblazer Award. The Arab Maghreb Union: What are its Prospects? April 29 Dr. Hedi Baccouche, former Prime Minister of Tunisia, delivered a lecture addressing the new dynamics in the Maghreb since the formation of the Arab Maghreb Union. The AmericanD r . J o s e p h M a s s a d ( s e c o n df r o m Association co-sponsoredthe Tunisian ( l r ) j o i n s Dr. Andrew friends right) event. R u b i n , D r . S h e r e n eS e i k a l y ,A m a n d a S h e i k h a L u b n a r e c e i v e dt h e V i t a l V o i c e s G l o b a l P a r t n e r s h i p2 0 0 8 G l o b a l T r a i l b l a z e rA w a r d .
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F a r n h a m ,D r . A d e l l s k a n d e r ,a n d R a n i a Kiblawi after his lecture.
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W r i t i n gf o r T e a c h i n a g n d L e a r n i n ag b o u tt h e M i d d l eE a s tA . w o r k s h o pw i t h l b t i s a mB a r a k a t Zeina Azzam Seikaly teachersgatheredon Saturday,February2 in the fflwenty CCAS Boardroomfor a workshopwith renownedauthor I I IbtisamBarakat,whoserecentmemoir,Tastingthe Slqt: A PalestinianChildhood,hasgarnerednumerousawards.The teachers hadreadtJrebookbeforehand andwereexcitedto hear Ms. Barakatshareherexperiences andexpertiseasa writer and asan advocatefor peacebetweenIsraelandPalestine.Sheled the groupthroughhelpful writing exercisesand,throughoutthe day,facilitateddialoguesandexchanges thatpushedattendees to questiontheirassumptions anddig deepinto theirbeliefsand understandings. "As young people," Ms. Barakat opined, "we are taught to disconnect[from ourselvesand from the world] in order to suryive." She urged workshopparticipantsto repair this disconnectedness by imaginingtheir headas a globethrough which to experienceworld eventsand movementsas part of their personallife. To do this, she said,we must alwaysbe working to improve ourselvesby exploring our angerand our fears,and by openingup to otherpeople."I'll neverhave a 'home'unlessI havea homein myself," sheadded. Regardingthehistoryof IsraelisandPalestinians, Ms.Barakat saidthat eachgroupfeelsits own storyis the only truenarrative, thus excluding the other's and precludingany meaningful exchangesand eventualresolutionof the conflict. Moreover, she explained, victimization and oppression---engendered by the Holocaustand presentlyby the Israeli occupationof Palestinianlands-causea senseof isolationby which a goup feelsthat "no onereallyknowsor understands my suffering." Ms. Barakatspenta gooddealof time exploringthe writing takesnotesduringlbtisamBarakat's writingprocessandthe educator'srole in the classroom."Teachingis A participant focused workshop, held February 2 in the CCAS Boardroom. aboutfacilitatingthe development of humanbeings,"shesaid, and addedthat readingliteraturefrom otherpartsof the world helpsus connectwith ourselvesandwith all of humanity.She promptsandaskedthemto entertheir reflectionsintojournals advisedthe teachersto encouragestudentsto delve into their thatCCASprovided. feelingsand emotionsbut alsoto be mindful of their students' Although someteachersfelt that they were reachingoutside physical reactions; crying, shaking,yawning, sweating,and their comfort zones,most were grateful for the opportunity feeling hot or cold are all physicalprocesses to write, engage in deep discussions, and that arean expectedpart of stetching, growing, andunderstanding. Attendees also leamed about a useful conflict.Someattendees wantedto focus faCilitating the technique that Ms. Barakat uses for writitrg workshops: a "life map" diagram segmented into salient themes (momentous events, it wasa profoundexperience thatcovered hUman beingS." struggles,etc.) from one'slife on a horizontal a lot of ground' "she did an amazingjob -lsrrser\4Bnnexnr grid, with different years on the vertical side. of facilitating the sharing of thoughtsand By usingthis mapand3x5 indexcardsfor each allowingpeopleto connectwith the topic," theme,a writer canorganizethekey eventsofhis or her life into said one teacherin her evaluationform, adding, "It made manageablechunks; she advisedtaking two or three of these me think abouthow I could do it in my classroom."Another to explore in any given writing session.During the workshop, sharedthefollowingsentiment:"Shehelpedme asa writer and Ms. Barakatgavethe participantsprobingquestionsaswriting identifiedmy spiritthatis in hiding!" I
"Teach insisabout;1*"13;-,:fTti::',JT:'ff#3fi
"#:li, devetopme ntof il:ft?Y'#,T#il':,:lJ'LHf
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l s r a e lai n d P a l e s t i n i aHni s t o r i eEs x p l o r e idn h orkshop S p r i n gO u t r e a c W R i aM . R i e s n e r gathered hirty-twoareaeducators April 28 on campusfor a CCAS outreach workshop entitled
"Israelis
and Palestinians: Shared History Entangled Narratives." Zeina Seikaly, CCAS Director of Educational Outreach" welcomed the attendees and introduced the day's agenda.Four presenters spoke about the history of the Israeli-Palestinianconflict aswell as its social and political dimensions.Ms. Seiklay also screenedthe documentary EncounterPoint.which focuseson the work of Israelis and Palestinianstoward dialogue and reconciliation. Sherene Seikaly, Dr. Qatar Postdoctoral Fellow at CCAS, gave "Beyond a presentation entitled What Went Wrong: Palestine Before 1948." She began with a discussion of Palestineunder Ottoman rule in the 1870s, when its residents included a D r . l l a n a F e l d m a n l e c t u r e sd u r i n g t h e s p r i n g o u t r e a c h w o r k s h o p , w h i c h f o c u s e d majority of Sunni Arab Palestinians,a o n l s r a e l i a n d P a l e s t i n i a nh i s t o r i e s a n d i d e n t i t i e s a s w e l l a s t h e o n g o i n g c o n f l i c t . minority of Palestinian Christians, and a small minority of indigenous Jews. and were in fact made such by Zionism the 1880s. She also explained the Dr. Seikaly then coveredthe policies of and Arab nationalism. Thus, the core of distinction between two major groups the Israeli-Palestinian of Palestinians:first, the 20 percent of the British Mandate conflict is not an age- the current Israeli citizenry whom the ( 1 9 1 8 - 1 9 4 8 )w , hich "Israeli Arabs." old religious struggle, governmentrefers to as was committed to but rather a modern In the 1950sand 1960s,this group was the facilitation of "happy minority" regularly depictedas a conflict over land. a Jewish national Dr. Shira Robinson, benefiting from the state'smunificence home in Palestine. D r . S h e r e n eS e i k a l y Professor in democratic political rights, modern Assistant traced the Fr,llow ar PosroocronaL She Qernn and medicine, and advancededucation.The of History CCAS various waves of International Affairs vast majority of the Palestinianpeople, European Jewish D r . S h i r aR o b i n s o n at GeorgeWashington however, belong to the second group: to immigration AssrsteNr Pnorsssonop Hlsronv spoke refugeesin the West Bank, Gaza Strip, University, Palestine beginning eNo INtpw,qrroNar-Arnelns .m and countries such as Lebanon, Jordan, the conflict about in the 1890s in GEoncEW,qssrucroll Uttlvpnslrv from the point of the and Syria. responseto the rise J u l i aB a c h a Workshop attendees then viewed creation of the state of Zionism and Co-Drnrcron oF DoCUMENTARY Point, an 85-minute oflsrael in 1948until Encounter growing European rnu, ENcoutrrm Powr 2000. Despite the documentary that has been shown in anti-Semitism. tumultuous political more than 150 cities worldwide and was Finally, Dr. Seikaly D r . l l a n aF e l d m a n events of the period, recently broadcast on Canada's CBC or pointed out that AssrsraNt Pnorussor. ANrsnopolocv rr Groncr Dr. Robinsonsaidthat network and Al Arabiya, a prominent while the categories WasurNcroll Uulvrnsrrv the essentialconflicts Arabic satellitechannel.The documentary of Arab and Jew over territory and follows bereaved Israeli and Palestinian are today mutually D r . M i c h a eCl . H u d s o n have individuals, such as a former settler, an demography exclusive,they have Dnrcronor CCAS persisted since ex-prisoner,and various family members not always been so
lo
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stateless and located in the diaspora, are its most integral from both sides, who work component. to promote a nonviolent end Dr. Michael C. Hudson,Director to the conflict. The film,s coof CCAS, delivered ttre final talk director, Julia Bacha, attended of the day in a speech entitled "The the workshop and answered Politics of the Arab-Israeli questionsfrom the audience. Conflict Is the End in Sight?,' Dr. Ilana Feldman, Assistant Dr. Hudson spoke about political Professor of Anthropology at division itmong the palestinians. George Washington University, the challenges facing Israeli focused her lecture on the Prime MinisterEhud Olmert, U.S. formation of Israeli and involvementin bying to revive the Palestinianidentities. She cast Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, a distinction between two types andthe unpromisingprospectsfor of Israeli immigrants: first, the the future. He also commentedon EuropeanAshkenazi Jews,who the severesocial, economic, and were often better educatedand securityconditionsbeing endured wealthier than the secondgroup, by the Palestinians,especially in the Mizrahi Jews,who primarily Gaza. emigrated from the Middle Participants had many East. Ashkenazis were often opporhrnities to ask questions portrayed as supplying',quality" of the speakers during the immigration,while theMizrahis, D r . S h e r e n eS e i k a l y ,w h o s p o k e a b o u t p a l e s t i n e sessions and over a Middle before it was believed, provided the 1 9 4 8 , t a k e s a b r e a k w i t h h e r f e l l o w p r e s e n t e r sa f t e r Eastern lunch. Everyone essential population density g i v i n g h e r l e c t u r e . receiveda resourcepacketwith integral to the fledgling state's background information about legitimacy. Throughout history for Palestinian identity, Dr. Feldman Israel and Palestine,including a these identity markers and stereotypes continued, perhaps the existence of list of books and websitesto consult for have been morphed and contested.As hundreds of thousands of refugees, further information.O
C C A SO u t r e a c h C o o r d i n a t oPr a r t i c i p a t ei ns P r o g r a mE n t i t l e d "The M i d d l eE a s tA: H u m a n i t M y isunderstood"
S t u d e n t s i n t h e e d u c a t i o n p r o g r a m a t S o u t h e r nl l l i n o i s U n i v e r s i t y - E d w a r d s v i l l ep a r t i c i p a t ei n a n A r a b i c a l p h a b e t activity.
CCASNews o June 200g
CCAS Director of Educational Outreach Zeina Seikaly visited Southem Illinois University_Edwardsville (SIUE) May I to participate in a series organized for the spring semester, ..The Middle East: A Humanitv Misunderstood." Sheconductedan afternoonworkshop for approximately 25 students in SIUE's education program, during which she spokeabout culture and religion in the Middle East as well asArab Americans and American Muslims. She also walked the group through a setof curriculum activities she had developedfor the book by Egyptian author Mohieddin Ellabbad, The lllustrator's Notebook That evening, Ms. Seikaly gave the presentation, ..Words Transcendine Borders: Arab Voices in the American Classroom,',whict offered more information about the Arab world and Islam and encouragedthe use of literature to teach about the region. More than 200 community members and SIUE students,faculty, and staffattended the talk.
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C r a d u a t i oN n ews Nrws GnnouArtoN CCAS Congratulates its 2008 MAAS Graduates
TatsianaHulko" Master of Sciencein Foreign Service
Twenty-sevenstudentsgraduatethis spring and summerwith a Master of Arts in Arab Studies degree. CCAS congratulatesthe group on this important achievement!
Ten MAAS Graduates Write Theses
Spring 2008 Graduates Rola Abimourched Khodayar Nader Akhavi Benjamin Robert Blaylock* Kristian Rostoft Boysen Meagan Elizabeth Bridges Rafael JosephCarr SandraBeth Doherty Jeffery WebsterDyer Dahlia HassanEIZein Lyndsay Ford Michael ThomasFournie Christopher Richard Gratien SamuelLee Harris Mostafa Hani Hefty* Carla Elena Humud Dina Khalifa Hussein* Timothy Elhami Kaldas Ethan William Morton-Jerome Ken Namikawa Matthew Thomas Reynolds Natalia Sancha-Garcia* Robert Brian Siebeking Dena Takruri* LeslieA. Thompson* * denotesdistinction on oral comprehensiveexams
Summer2 008 Gracltrates Marwa Wael Alkhairo SarahKaiksow Victoria LynnZyp
Graduate Certifi cate Av'ar"dees Nicholas JamesIngaciola, Master of Arts in PeaceSecurity Studies ReemMo'hdAl-Masri, Master of Arts in Communication, Culture & Technology
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RolaAbimourched: "HandPicked and Carefully Selected": An Exploration of the Lives of Migrant Domestic Workers in Jordan This study explores the three-sided and often problematic relationship between employers, migrant domestic workers, andrecruitmentagentsin Jordan.Migrant domestic workers confront countless violations of their rights, and these often occur because the Jordaniat kdala (sponsorship system) gives employers and recruitment agents a significant amountof control over them. Committee: Dr. Rochelle Davis, Dr. SusanMartin, Dr. SaraScalenghe,Dr. FidaAdelY Kristian Boysen: Opposition and the Vicissitudesof Exile Politics: The Case of the National Salvation Front in Syria This study focuseson an extemally based alliance between the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood and the former Vice Presidentof Syria,Abdulhalim Khaddam, aswell asnumerousotherpolitical groups. It inquires into the causal backdrop of these nascentallianceswhose lineages can be tracedto various historical phases in Syria's political trajectory and social fabric. Committee: Dr. Michael Hudson, Dr. Samer Shehata 'Til Sandra Doherty: BeautY It Hurts: The Normalization of Cosmetic Surgery in Lebanon
Jeffery Dyer: Unnatural and Ever Prejudicial: Racial and Colonial Hierarchies in l9th-Century Zanzibar This study explores the construction of racial categoriesby British observersin Zanzlbarduring the l9th-century and the role that racial identities played in power relations between the various groups in the period prior to the establishmentof the British protectorate. Committee: Dr. Judith Tucker. Dr. OsamaAbi-Mershed Chris Gratien: "Man of the Impossible": Nationalism and Creating New Heroes in Post-NasserEgYPt This paper examines the PoPular Egyptian spy novel series Rajul alMustahil and the author's attempt to create a modern Arab action hero in the context of national anxiety and transitionfollowing the so-calleddefeat of Nasserism. Committee: Dr. Judith Tucker, Dr. Samer Shehata Sam Harris: Development Through Faith: The Maoadi Life Makers and the New Entrepreneurial Subject This thesisexaminesthe Life Makers, an Islamic youth organizationinspiredby the Egyptian preacherAmr Khaled dedicated to social changeand developmentbased on Islamic principles.This groupprovides a social forum for youth interaction,and it also functions to construct a new model for Muslim selves through its vision of socialchangeasemergingfrom individual transformation.Committee: Dr. Rochelle Davis, Dr. JohnVoll
Tim Kaldas: Colonizingthe Metropole: Colonial Knowledge, ContemPorarY Politicsand the Condition of Maghrebis increasing the examines thesis This in France Today promotion of cosmetic and acceptance posits that and Lebanon practices in surgery theLebanesecosmeticsurgeryestablishment This thesis examines and outlines the 'turholy colonial heritage of France's current and mass media have formed an problems with its Maghrebi population are consumers female in which alliance" of its notion of national the source and natural body the that believing seducedinto It tracesthe roots integration. identity and modified technologically to the is inferior in Franceto discrimination of anti-Muslim Dr. Davis, Dr. Rochelle body. Committee: about constructed knowledge ideas and the FidaAdelY Dr. SaraScalenghe, C C A SN e w se J u n e2 0 0 8
Academ ic News Islam in the colonial period and how that The following studentswill defend their knowledge was related to constructing thesesin the summerof 2008: France's own identity. Committee: Dr Michael Hudson,Dr. OsamaAbi-Mershed Marwa Alkhairo: Iraqi Diasporic Identity Across Generations, Struggle, and War
Sarah Kaiksow: British Colonial Perceptionsin Bahrain Victoria Zyp: Islamic Banking in the United States: From Community Coops Towards an Emerging Industry
AluMNtNrws John Mahshie (1983) was made Senior Vice Presidentof his firm, Tutt, Taylor & Rankin Sotheby'sIntemationalRealfy. He celebrateshis sixth year thereand his third as the firm's highestproducing individual agent. John gets to use his Arabic from time to time as he works with a number of individuals looking for property in the Washingtonareafrom the Middle East.
teachescourseson war" the Middle East. South Asia, and political violence. Mia will be at Penn State in the fall of 2008 for a semesterresearchproject with the International Center for the Study of Terrorism. She has published several articles on women and terrorism and is writing a new book on the deliberateuse of rape as a strategyof war.
Phillip Tussing (1983) continuesto work in the export businessin Dickinson, Texas, where he lives with his wife Alexandra. His youngestdaughter,Kira, will graduate from high school this year and attendSan Jacinto College in the fall. Chelsea,his middle daughter, has finished her first year at Union College. Jamie, his oldest daughter and whom some alumni may remember, is now 28 and works with a cateringcompany in New Hampshire.
Karen Healey (1992) is living in the Baltimore area, working for a company called PHH, where she is director of product managementand is responsible for corporate extranet and an environmental service offered to clients. She is also leading the company's internal initiatives to reduce its environmental footprint. She missesthe international arena, but loves working on environmental issues. She adds that she'd love to hear from MAAS alums: karen:healey@comcast. net.
NabilAl-Tikriti (CCAS UndergradI 988) hasbeenserving as a2007 -2008Jennings Randolph Senior Fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace,where he is following Iraqi forced migration since2003. Rania Atalla (1991) writes from Rwanda, where she is currently visiting programs in Kigali and Kayonza for the NGO Women for Women International. After six years as Chief of Staff to Queen Rania of Jordan and one year as Communications Director for King Abdullah, Rania decidedto take a career break (which she highly recommendsto others!).As of March 2008, she moved back to Washington,D.C., and is serving as ExecutiveDirector for the U.S. office ofWomen forWomen, which focuseson the empowerment of women in conflict and post-conflict countries. Mia Bloom (1991) recently joined the Schooloflnternational andPublic Service at the University of Georgia, where she C C A SN e w s1 J u n e 2 0 0 8
speculation plot underpinning the whole affair is undeniable. Rural producers thus took to the streets and a pot-banging extravaganzaensuedin the main squareof one of Latin America's most charming and cosmopolitancities. Quite exciting, I should say... all too reminiscentof similar riots I witnessed in Cairo in my roaring years as an intern at AUC of ShariaKasr el-Aini fame..."
Laila Shereen Sakr (1998) moved to California in August 2007 to begin a masters program in digital arts and new media at U.C. Santa Cruz. She and husband,Fadi, recently welcomed their first child on November 5 named Amel Helen Sakr. In February, Laila exhibited graffiti and digital art work at the Sesnongallery in Santa Cruz with an installation called "United States of Consciousness." She is currently working on building the "Arab digital media archive" from which she has Judith Scholar Winfield (1992) and been performing live video remixes; husband Steve announce the birth of this archive debuted at Cornell their son Charlie (born on August 15, University in April 2008. She misses 2007). The family residesin Mansfield, D.C. very much! England (near Nottingham). Judith recently returned to work part-time as Patricia (Lally) Vanjaria (1998) writes: the manager of a program to support "It's hardto believethat it will be 10 years the development of new and existing this May since our MAAS graduation. businesses in her area. My husband,Hanif, our son, Oliver, and I reside in Atlanta where we have made Otavio Peixoto (1997) writes from Rio our home for the past six years. Oliver de Janeiro:"This pastMarch, I witnessed will be completing kindergarten at the first-hand the street demonstrations end of May and turning seven in June. sparked by the mounting food crisis We are teaching Oliver some Arabic currently sweeping the globe. As one words just for fun. I am still working of the world's leading grain exporters with Menill Lynch in their Buckhead together with Brazil, the Argentinean ofifice while keeping up with the Middle government is trying to cash in on the East in my free time. Hanif is working current crisis by withholding exportsof with Morgan Stanley in Atlanta and is a rice and other agricultural productsunder frequent reader of BBC in Arabic. We the guiseof fighting inflation by holding would love to hear from any fellow down the price of basic foodstuffs in classmates: vanjaria3 @comcast.net." the local market, but the thinly veiled 19
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"I Aryah Sommers (1999) writes: have moved from the desertto the jungle. I am no longer with the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project in Arizona, as I am now in Ecuador working as a consultant to UNHCR. Come down and visit me in the Galapagos!" Doug Black (2000) and his wife welcomed their second child, Garrett McClean Black, on April 3, 2007. Doug writes that Garrett and his older sister, Fiona (now almost four) get along most of the time. He continuesto work at SRA International, now as the Deputy of the Public Relations and Outreach Services practice area, where he managesa team of 20 consultants.He's currently working with clients at the EPA, USAID, the Forest Service and the FAA.
my fianc6, Jeff Perry, this August in Calistoga, Califomia. Following Jeff's graduation from Wharton in MaY, we are moving to San Francisco, where Jeff will start a new job at Adobe. As I settle into this new setting, I'm eagerto reconnect with intemational affairs and the Arab world, and would love to hear from MAAS alums on the West Coast: " i gherardi@hotmail.com.
Charles E. Kiamie,III (2004)successfully "Fringe defendedhis doctoral dissertation, Rural-Regime Dlmamics, Benefits?: Refraditionalization, and Political (De) Liberalization in Jordan" in Georgetown's govemmentdepartmentinApril 2008. He graduatesalongside his wife, Rasha, who has eamed an M.S. in biochemistry and molecular biology at Georgetown.
Brendan Geary (2005) will be Greta Scharnweber (2001) works as the teaching at Catholic University next Outreach Director at Yale University's year in the political sciencedepartment Council on Middle East Studies.A few as a visiting faculty member. He will of the more exciting projects she's been teach courses on Middle East politics, working on involve study tours for comparative politics, and American "The Politics of Water" in foreign policy. Brendan will also educatorson l) "From Sand continue as the O'Brien Fellow in the Jordan,Palestine,andIsrael;2) to Sea: Cultural Exchange Through Trade Institute for International Law and on the Silk Road" in Yemen,the UAE, and Politics at Georgetown. China; and 3) a high school home-stay Sara Scalenghe (2000) received the prognm in Cairo for students studying Ariel Ahram (2006) will finish his Ph.D. 2008 Harold N. GlassmanDissertation Arabic at the Center for Global Studies in in govemment at Georgetownin August. Award for the best dissertation in the Norwalk, Connecticut.Gretaalsoenjoyed He has accepteda job at the University organizing the Middle East Outreach of Oklahoma, where he's been named humanities at Georgetown University. Council Teacher's workshop at MESA assistant professor in the Department Haitham Amirah-Fernandez (2001) this past year in Montreal, which focused of Political Science and the School of "I am still working at the on "Urban (r)Evolution: The Dynamic IntemationalAffairs. reports: Elcano Royal Institute for International Identities of Middle Eastem Cities." She Shadi Hamid (2006) is currently a and Strategic Studies in Madrid as a still lives inNew Haven,Connecticut,so if researchfellow at the American Center senior analyst in the Mediterranean you're in town, stopin at Yale and sayhi! for Oriental Research in Amman, and Arab World Program. This Year I have also started teaching courses Rajae Nami (2002) and her husband Jordan. In March, he published an opin sociology and political science in Badr Chawki are happy to announcethe ed in the WashingtonPost on Obama's the Department of Arab Studies at the birth of their daughter Yasmeen Ikram race speechand what it could mean for our relations with the Muslim world. on April 8, 2008 in Alexandria, Virginia. Autonomous University of Madrid. In late January,I participated in a panel on (2004) taught the Maghreb at CCAS, together with Dr. Zeinab Abut-Magd year the history in this course William a and Dr. Jebnoun Noureddine entitled at Georgetown go to back department happy to very was Zartman.I "Colonial and Post-ColonialLiterature." a also co-edited Haitham the Center!" volume recentlypublishedby Routledge She will defend her dissertationin June "Empire and its Discontents: entitled North Africa: Politics, Region, entitled Modernity and Subaltern Revolt in and the Limits of Transformation. Upper Egypt, 1700-1920." Zeinab "In (2001) has accepteda position as an assistant writes: Julienne Gherardi job professor at Oberlin College this fall, at Director as a new January I took teachinghistory of the Middle East and Institute of Aresty the Wharton School's Africa. North be marrying I will Executive Education.
Kristen Scott (2006) is working at Chemonics Intemational, managing a USAID project that aims to develop the Egyptian mortgagemarket. AlienorVan den Bosch(2007)is nowbased in Brussels,where sheworks asa consultant for the European Commission monitoring EU-fundeddevelopmentprojectsin allArab countries,specificallyprojectson migration, refugees,and elections.
News STuDENT CunnrNT& GnnouATtNc Ben Blaylock (2008) married Andrea Bjorkman (a graduating Georgetown business school student) on June 7 in Salt Lake City. 20
Jeffery Dyer (2008) will start a Ph.D. program in history at Boston College in the fall. He will return to D.C. in November to presenta paper at MESA.
Dahlia Elzein and Dena Takruri (2008) presented a paper co-authored with Dr. Rochelle Davis at the Historians Aeainst the War conference C C A SN e w so J u n e2 0 0 8
in Atlanta entitled "War and its Discontents: Understanding Iraq and the U.S. Empire." The paperpresented initial findings of the researchproject headed by Dr. Davis entitled "The U.S. Military and Iraqi Culture: An Assessment of Attitudes and Cultural Training." Also, Dena continues to co-host and work as the associate producer for a program on ART (Arab Radio and Television) called "What's Happening."
to Jordan," through which he will lead on society and culture in the Middle East 25 American high school students to and North Africa. Amman to study Arabic and live with Jordanian families for seven weeks. Harald (2009) is Fuller-Bennett spending the summer in Syria and the Victoria Zyp (2008) received a Critical Sudan,where he will be studying Arabic Language Scholarship from the State and doing research that he hopes will Department to study Advanced Turkish tum into a thesis. He was fortunate to this summer at Bogazici University in receive a FLAS scholarship to help pay Istanbul. for the journey. Jessica Devaney (2009) and Natalia Sancha-Garcia (2009) are part of an exhibition at the Katzen Arts Center at American University this summer. The exhibition, entitled "Multiplicito cracy," runs from May 31 through July 27. Jessicawill debut her documentary film (created with Mary Andreolli), Beauty in the Uprising: Israeli and Palestinian Art as Resistance.Nataliawilldisplay l5 photographs, collectively entitled "Five Sensesof the Arab World." which focus
Jean-Baptiste Gallopin (2009) has been on leave this semesterto do an intemship with UNRWAs representativeoffice at the United Nations headquartersin New York.
Palestinianhistories of village life before 1948 and has collectedover 100 books received a Spring 2008 Competitive written by refugeesabout their deshoyed Granfin-Aid from the Georgetown villages. During the spring semester University Graduate School to support she gave talks at Reed College and hiring a researchassistantfor her project, Illinois State University and participated "ForeignAid and the Discourseof Reform in a conference at the University of for Education in the Arab World." Dr. Chicago entitled "Anthropology and "'Good' Adely also gave a paper entitled Counterinsurgency."She recently joined Developmentfor Women?Neoliberalism, the editorial boards of the Middle East Work, and Constituting Progress" at a Report and Information Project (MERIP) symposium on women and development andthe Arab StudiesJournaland,is also a at McGill University onApril 17. boardmemberof thePalestinianAmerican ResearchCenter (PARC). In early March, Dr. Davis was the Georgetown Faculty Representative on a Georgetown alumni hasbeenon ajunior faculty researchleave for the spring semester.Sheis writing two tour ofEgypt and Jordan. articles with three MAAS students(Dahlia Elzein, Lizzie Foster, and Dena Talffuri) based on the research they conducted served as a panelist at the U.S.-Arab interviewing U.S. soldiers and Marines Economic Forum in Washington, D.C. who servedin haq. The researchfocuses May 7. In April, he spoke at a CCAS on the soldiers' interactions with Iraqis, educational outreach conference on the typesof cultural training they received, the current state of Palestinian-Israeli and their ideas about Iraqi culture and relations and the outlook for diplomatic society.Two other MAAS students,Rola progress. That month, he also appeared Abimourched and Brian Siebeking, also on the weekly AI JazeeraEnglish show, participated in the interview part of the "Inside lraq," and lectured to the Middle research project. Professor Davis is East Studies Program at George Mason also completing a book manuscript on University on prospects for reform and
democratization in the Arab world. Dr. Hudson also participated in the annual conference of the Emirates Center for Shategic Studies and Research in Abu Dhabi entitled "The Arabian Gulf: Between Conservatism and Change." Comments from Dr. Hudson's paper, "With All Deliberate Speed: The Incremental Approach to Political Reform in the Gulf" subsequently appeared in local papers, including Gulf News. In March, Dr. Hudson lectured, along with Dr. BassamHaddad of George Mason University and Dr. Augustus Richard Norton of Boston University, at a well-attended CCAS panel presentation on "The Impasse in Lebanon." He also spoke at a CCASorganized event on "Changing Security and Financial Conditions in the Gulf," held at the Dubai School of Government (DSG) on February l7 and chairedby Dr. Tarik Yousef, the Kuwait Chair holder at CCAS and currently on leave as Dean of the DSG. The next day, Dr. Hudson was the luncheon speakerat the Rotary Club of Dubai, where he spoke on the U.S. presidential election and the views of the three main contenders on Middle East issues.On February 7, he participated in a conferenceat the Library of Congress
Sarah Kaiksow (2008) will be starting a Ph.D. program at PrincetonUniversity in sociology. She is currently preparing for her August 3 wedding to Ahmed Dhafer Alumran in Madison, Wisconsin (with a wedding to follow shortly in Bahrain). Ethan Morton-Jerome (2008) will be the Program Assistant for "Journey
(2009) was awarded Shady Hakim an SSRC Dissertation Proposal DevelopmentFellowship forthe summer; he will use the award to pursue research in Egypt for two months.
FncuLTYN rws F i d aA d e l y
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A c a d e m iN c ews on the history andbeliefs of the Druze. Dr. Broadcasting" at the Mediterranean times on Al Jazeeraand the BBC in the Hudson also gave a lecture at the World Research Meeting of the European last several months, speaking on topics Bank January3 I at a workshop convened University Institute in Montecatini, ranging from the brain drain in North "The Challenges Africa to the bombings in Algeria to to discuss how to improve the Bank's Italy on March 14; development in the Arab world. On a of Independent Media in the Arab French-U.S.-Maghrebrelations. trip to Qatar and the UAE in January Dr. World" at the residenceof the Canadian Hudson lectured to studentsin Dr. Amira Ambassador, Cairo, Egypt, March 4; "New Media and Communication in the Sonbol's class at the Georgetown School becameManaging Editor of the Journal of Foreign Service campus in Doha. He Arab World" at the Embassy of Canada, "ProgressBeyond of Palestine Studiesin Washington,D.C. also participated in a meeting of the Cairo, Egypt, March 3; in January.She also published an article advisory board for the SFS-Q Center for the Illusory: Envisioning the Prospects "Exiled to a Limin alLegal Zone," ofNew Media Developmentin Palestine" in April, International and Regional Studies. of at Birzeit University, Palestine,February which addressesthe currentpositioning "From architecture in the emerging Palestinians Palestineto the World: Media 20; Education for Media Literacy" at the of international humanitarian law. The completed a co-edited manuscript on the Arab-American University of Jenin, article appeared in a volume edited by late literary critic and public intellectual Palestine, February 19; "The 60-year Richard Falk entitled International Lm'v Edward Said. The 28-chapter volume Quagmire: The Challengesto Palestinian and the Third World: ReshapingJustice entitled Edwqrd Said: Emancipation & Joumalism" at the Jerusalem Media (Routledge,2008). Representation includes contributions and Communication Center, Ramallah, from Gayatri Spivak, Noam ChomskY, Palestine,February I8; and "Indigenizing Jacqueline Rose, Daniel Barenboim, Orientalism?Reflectionson the Mediated is atwork on an essayentitled"Obama and Joseph Massad, Laura Nader, Ilan Self-Portrayal of Coptic Orthodox the Middle East: StandUp for...Change?" Pappe, Ella Shohat, W.J,T. Mitchell, Christian ldentity" at the Middle East He also has two books forthcoming in and others, and is forthcoming from the StudiesAssociation (MESA) in Montreal, 2009. The first,Angeleno Days: Selected University of California Press in late Canadain November 2007.He also gave Memoirs and Essays, includes two 2008. Dr. Iskander also authored several a series of invited lectures, including sections---oneon Los Angeles Memoirs "Making Arab News" "Recent review articles: Trends and Developments in and the other on Arab America-and for the Sage journal Journalism and Arab Media: The Case of Al-Jazeera"at will be published by the University of "The Spectersand Spectaclesof Iranian Cairo University, Egypt, March 10, and Arizona Press. The other work is his Media" for the Journal of Intercultural presented the following guest lectures: first collection of short stories, entitled Communication, both forthcoming in Undergraduate Communication Theory The Man Who Guarded the Bomb. The "Global late 2008. His review article class,Modern Science& Arts University, collection is forthcoming from Syracuse War-Local Views: Media Images of Cairo, Egypt, March 8; Undergraduate University Press.He is also serving as a the Iraq War" appeared in the 2007 Research Methods in Communication judge for the 2nd Annual Arab American issue of the Journal of Communication class, Cairo University, Egypt, March Book Award in Fiction, offered by the Inquiry. In addition, Dr. Iskander 5; Graduate Seminar in Media Studies, Arab American National Museum in authored a three-part article series on Birzeit University, Palestine, February Detroit. media representation and resistance in 20; "PalestinianMedia at the Crossroads," "1001 Arabian the Arab world entitled Media Development Center, Birzeit, Plights" in the online journal FlowTV, Palestine,February 20. presentedher work in February at Yale which is basedat the University of Texas in two lectures-"Nakba University at Austin. He also authored several "Back to the Future: New and Historiography: The Centrality other articles: participatedin the SouthAfrican Institute of Catastrophe in Palestinian History" Charter for Charted Territory" in the of International Affairs' conference, and "Borders. Incarceration, and Spring 2008 issue of Arab Media & "Seeds Contempt: Rethinking Gender." She also presenteda lecture of "Arab Journalism: Between DeSociety; Radicalization and Responses." The at Georgetown University's School of Westernization and Objectivity" in the event was held in JohannesburgMarch Foreign Service-Qatar on December Italian literary joumal Reset: Dialogue "A Public Good? Palestinian "Lines in the Sand: 6 through 8, and Dr. Jebnounpresented l1 called on Civilizations; and Africa. in North a paper on radicalism Businessmenand the British Colonial Problematizing Arab Media in the PostHe also gave a presentation in January State." In addition, Dr. Seikaly spoke Taxonomic Era," published in the Fall at Washington, D.C.'s National Defense that same day at Qatar University about 2007 issue of Arab Media & SocietY. "Implications and "Nakba University entitled wa Ta'rikh" [Catastrophe and As for lectures, Dr. Iskander presented "Spoon-fed Objectivity: Impacts of Al-Qaeda on the Algerian Historyl. She also gave a public lecture the following: and North African Context." In addition, at Georgetown University on November On the Appropriation of Western Dr. Jebnoun has appeared numerous 27 entitled "The New Arab Home: Media Development Initiatives in Arab
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Gregory Orfalea
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A c a d e m iN c ews Consumer, Housewife, and Citizen in Forties Palestine."
J e a n - F r a n g o iS s eznec
presenteda number of papers, including the following: "Reform and Security in the Gulf: A Review of Democratization in the GCC" at the United StatesInstitute of Peace,April 7; "The Gulf Economies and Globalization: The Impact of WTO and FTAs" at the Emirates Center for Shategic Study in Abu Dhabi, March 30; "Financing Indushialization in the Gulf' at CCAS's symposium on Industrialization in the Gulf (of which Dr. Seznec was the chair of the committee organizing the conference), March 27; a presentation on Dubai's economy at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, March 5; "Industrial Policy in the Gulf' at the Dubai School of Government, February 17; lecturesat the First Presbyterian Church of Annapolis on the state of affairs in the Middle East, January 12 and2};"An Overview of the Gulf States"at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University, January 8. Dr. Seznec also wrote a paper on Gulf sovereign wealth funds for Middle East Policy, published in the spring. In addition, since January he has spokennumeroustimes on Radio Canada on oil prices,Gulfpolitics, and industrial issues in the Gulf. He also appearedon TV Argent, the French-Canadianaffiliate of Bloomberg, and spoke to the New York Times on industrial growth in the Gulf. Dr. Seznec has given a number of interviews for internet publications as well, such as ECSSR in Abu Dhabi, Middle East Online, Bloomberg News, and Gulf Base.Finally, he participated in a seriesof workshops on the future of the Middle East at the National Intelligence Council and consultedfor a major U.S. oil companyon oil policy in the Gulf in March.
SamerShehata was awarded a fellowship from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars for the 2008-2009 academic year, where he will begin a new research project on Islamist electoral participation in the
C C A SN e w so J u n e 2 0 0 8
Middle East. Dr. Shehata will also publish a chapter entitled "Egyptian Parliamentary Campaigns" in the edited volume Political Participation in the Middle East, to be published by Lynne Rienner in the summer of 2008. In May, Dr. Shehata participated in two workshops: one on electionsin the Middle East at BrandeisUniversity and the other on Islamists and elections at GeorgeWashingtonUniversity. In April, Syracuse University's Middle East StudiesProgram invited Dr. Shehatato give a lecture entitled "Approaches to Understanding Culture and Politics in the Arab World." He was also askedto participate in a United StatesInstitute of Peacestudy group on "Reform and Security" in the Middle East, for which he will be writing a short memo on Egypt. Dr. Shehata also presented a lecture entitled "Political Succession Scenariosin Egypt" at the Washington, D.C. Meridian International Center in April. He published a 3,000-word entry entitled "Democracy: the Middle East" in the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern World in March. That month. he presenteda paper entitled "Political Da'wa: Understanding the Electoral and Parliamentary Participation of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood" at the "Islamists and Democrats" conference at the American University in Cairo. In February, Dr. Shehata served as a discussant for a Georgetown panel devoted to examining Dr. Steven Heydemann'srecentpaper,"Upgrading Authoritarianism in the Arab World." During that month he also participated in another panel held at Georgetown entitled "Engaging the Arab World: Balancing Priorities," which examined the intersectionofSecurity Studiesand Regional/Arab Studies. Dr. Shehata also continued a busy administrative schedule, serving on a number of committees for CCAS and for the School of Foreign Service-Qatar. He continued directing the Qatar Arabic Language ScholarshipProgram, which entailed traveling to Doha in March 2008. There he spent several days at Qatar University (QU) consulting with faculty and administratorsresponsible for the program, in addition to meeting
the four American students currently studying intensive Arabic at QU. Dr. Shehatachairedthe selectioncommittee for the Qatar Post-DoctoralFellowship inArab, Islamic andU. S.-Arabrelations. He gave a number of media interviews throughout the term as well, including appearing on Al Jazeera English a number of times, among them the April 16, 2008 episodeof "Inside Story" to discussthe verdicts in the trial against Muslim Brotherhood leaders in Egypt. He also appeared on that network's show Min Washington in March to assessthe U.S. presidential race and in January to discussthe assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Dr. Shehatawas asked by NPR's Marketplace to write a short commentary on Islam and modernity for a special serieson the Middle East. His contribution, entitled "Modernity and Islam go together," was broadcast on March 13, 2008. In addition,he did a number of interviews for CBS News Radio, Iranian television. and other media outlets.
J u d i t hT u c k e ra n d KassemWahba
organizedtheApril 4 seminar,"Teaching/ Learning Culture in the Foreign Language Curriculum: Critical Issues and Future Directions," which explored the question of teaching students culture while instructing them in Arabic, Turkish, Hebrew, and Persian.A number of CCAS and CCAS-affiliated faculty participated, including Sylvia Onder, ReemBassiouney,Amin Bonnah, Farima Mostowfi, Margaret Nydell, Felicitas Opwis, Karin Ryding, Irfan Shahid, and Yoel Wachtel. Photo Credits Symposium photos, pp. I-5, 24: Zain Shah; George Atiyeh, p. 7: Middle East Studies Association; Andran mncent, p. 7: Macquarie University; Louis Cantori, p. 7: Centerfor the Study of Islam and Democracy; Lucius Battle, p. 8: Harry S. Truman Library; Arab-American literature class, p. 8: Sharif Elmusa; MAAS demonstration, p. 9 & 10: Timothy Kaldas; Worlcshop alphabet exercise, p. 17: Stephanie DiStasso
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Pleasehelp us keepthe CCAS databaseup to date.Fillout the form belowwith newcontactinformation. Thankyou!
UPDATED INFORMATION Name Organization Address
City, State,Zip Code
Country Email Telephone/Fax
Dr. Jean-Franqois Seznec welcomes attendees to CCAS's annual symposium on March 27.
Pleasefax this form to (202)687-7001,or mail it to: CCAS-Georgetown University, ?4L-|CC, Washington, DC20057-L020,USA.