Summer 2009
CCA,SNnWS Annual SymposiumExamines"Palestine& the PalestiniansTo d^y" n audience of more than 300 from the academic, policy,journalism,and otherprofessionalcommunities A J- Igathered to hear experts discuss the current state of Palestineat CCAS's annual symposium,held at the Carnegie Endowmentfor InternationalPeaceApril 2 and 3. Specialists discussedtopicsrangingfrom the one- and two-statesolutions to Palestine'seconomy, diaspora, and political institutions and processes,as well as U.S. policy toward Israel and the Palestinians. CCAS Director Dr. Michael Hudson,who chairedthe event with CCAS AssistantProfessorDr. RochelleDavis, delivered opening rernarks,noting that it had been 20 years since the Center'slastsymposiumon Palestine. As such,the symposium's organizersfelt it was time to revisit the topic and explorethe critical changesthat have occurredsince 1989, bringing top authoritiesfrom the U.S. and the regionto do so. Dr. Loren Lybarger of Ohio University kicked off the first panel, titled "Changing Conceptions of Palestinian Nationalism." Dr. Lybarger spoke about the irnportanceof looking at the complexity of Palestinianidentity, rather than consideringit in terms of the dominant secular-and religionationalistformations,i.e. Fatahand Hamas."We haveto look at diversesocial circlesthat intersectand interactin ways that can potentially transform collective understandingsof self and other," he said. Dr. Rochelle Davis exarninedthe role of the destroyedvillage in the Palestiniandiaspora,arguing that despite its physical destruction,the village remains an element of identity that continues to develop and change with generationsand technology.Dr. Nadim Rouhanaof the Mada al-CarmelArab Centerfor Applied SocialResearchthen exploredthe origin of the two-statesolutionand the dilernmas surroundingit. Finally,the Universityof California,Berkeley's Dr. BesharaDoumani challengedus to imaginefuturesfor the Palestiniansbeyond the narrow, state-centricvocabulary of Palestiniannationalism."How can the Palestiniansconstititute themselvesas a nation and exist as a nation outsidethe state system?"he asked. The secondpanel, "Politics and Leadership:The Changing Trajectory of Governanceand Resistance,"first featured Dr. As'ad Ghanem of the University of Maryland. Dr. Ghanern arguedthat the Gaza war was a turning point in Palestinian history that takes the Palestiniannational movement frorn a
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total failure to almost a total collapse, necessitating a new political vision. Independentscholar Dr. Mouin Rabbani also spoke of the Gaza war as a turning point in Palestinian politics, asserting that a reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah-via the exit of Mahmoud Abbas-is needed for real changes on the ground to occur. Dr. Islah Jad of Birzeit University discussed how both nationalists and Islamists are concerned with the ideal woman in a
,PAlestine Seznecmoderatesa Dr. Jean-Frangois panel on economicsand development.
perfect society as a keeper of tradition. She thus questioned the boundaries between Islamism and secularismvis d vis women's roles, arguing "there may be more continuities than differences between the two." Dr. Tamim alBarghouti, a CCAS visiting professor, rounded out the panel by exploring what he seesas a pattern in the history of Palestiniannational movements:war, peace, and civil war. "Each movement," he said, "reduces its demands as it exists longer; it then clasheswith new movements because the new is more insistent." Dr. Glenn Robinson of the Naval PostgraduateSchoolwas the first speaker on the third panel, "Economics and Developmentin Palestine."Dr. Robinson detailed a RAND Corporation project carried out in 2003 and 2004 called "The Arc," which looked at how to create a Palestinianstate that will be successful long after its creation through the establishmentof, for example, national transportation systems and national power systems. Dr. Leila Farsakh of the University of MassachusettsBoston then examined the pauperrzation of the Palestinian economy and its negative impact on the possibility of a one- or
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two-state solution. Finally, Dr. Manal Jamal, Assistant Professor at James MadisonUniversity and a visiting scholar at CCAS, outlined how international funding for democracy promotion and civil society building after the Madrid PeaceConferenceand the Oslo Accords resulted in a weakening rather than a strengtheningof Palestiniancivil society. In the last panel of the symposium's first day, "Human Rights and the Rule of Law," Dr. Lisa Hajjar of the University of California, Santa Barbara, spoke about Palestinian human rights, noting that the "Palestinians'right to rights as a legal reality...illuminatesthe evolving utility and the contemporary nature of human rights more generally."Dr. Susan Akram of Boston University's School of Law then examined the legal trajectory
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rather than a body count. Dr. Seif Da'na of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside discussedthe role that water has played in the Israelis'successin controlling land in the region, noting, however, that this "colonial scheme" is not ecologically sustainable.George Mason University's Ms. Adila Laidi-Hanieh then spokeabout the robust state of culture in Palestine and its diaspora, arguing that artists are moving away from the role of heroic spokespersonsof the oppressedtoward more ironic and critical introspection. The first speaker on the next panel, titled "Palestiniansand Israeli Policies," was Gabriel Piterberg of the University of California, Los Angeles.Dr. Piterberg argued that the most appropriate way to view the Zionist colonizationofPalestine and after is through the framework of comparative settler colonialism; he pointed to the "permanenceof formative settler colonial structures even after settler statehood [was] achieved." Dr. Oren Yiftachel of Ben Gurion University of the Negev then spoke about a system of "creepingapartheid"that is developing in Israel. He noted that many Palestinian
I
The first panel considersthe stateof Palestiniannationalism.
of the Palestinianrefugee issue, tracing how the Palestinianshave not received basic refugee rights codified in major treatiesand includedin peacesettlements. Last, Ms. Noura Erakat of Georgetown University discussed the relevance of international law in Congressional advocacy for the Palestinians. She argued for a new paradigm focusing on individual rights and precedentsin U.S. law that reflectprinciples of international law, thus appealing to U.S. imperial interestsand the nation's senseof self and identity. Dr. Rita Giacaman of Birzeil University was the first speakeron the event's second day. In the panel titled "Local Institutions and Issues: Health, Water and Culture." she examined the poor state of public health in Palestine and raised questions about how to reconceptualize it in terms of social sufferins and the violation of basicriehts
An audiencemember asks a
communities, such as the Bedouins rn the Negev (Naqab in Arabic), do not have equal citizenship or land rights. Last, Dr. SaraRoy of Harvard University discussedrecent shifts in the way the Palestinian/Israeliconflict is understood, suchasthe new belief amongIsraelisand the international community that peace and occupationare now compatible. Dr. Michael Hudson opened the third panel of the duy, "IJ.S. and International Policy Toward Palestine and the Palestinians." He spoke about constraints and opportunities for the Obamaadministrationvis d vis Palestine, stressing that in his view Obama, CCAS News * Summer 20O9
despite his stated desire to solve the problem, may end up following the present inconclusive course. However, he concluded, long-term factors, such as the recent emergenceof alternative organizationsto the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), may contribute to a more balancedpolicy debate.Mr. Amjad Atallah of the NewAmerica Foundationthen discussedthe trajectory of Palestinian leadership, exploring the relationship between the PLO and the PA with the United Statesover the years. Mr. Ali Abunimah finished the panel with an examinationof what can be learnedfrom the example of Northern Ireland for resolving the Palestinian situation. He concluded that the abandonmentof a state based on religious or ethnic supremacy must occur for peace to prevail. The final panel of the conferencewas titled "Political Solutions for Palestine/Israel."Ms. Helena Cobban, an independentscholar, sketchedout the state of politics in Palestine,looking particularly at Hamas and Fatah. She also pointed to an increasedimportanceof the Palestinian diaspora as the center of gravity moves away from the WestBank andGaza.Mr. Daniel Levy of the New America Foundation addressedthe idea of the two-state solution and what would be neededto achieveit. He also described what other options, such as the one-state solution or continued conflict, might look like. The last speakerof the conference,Dr. Saree Makdisi of the University of California, Los Angeles, argued for a one-statesolution, with the following three premises: 1) Both populations are thereto stay; 2) ThosePalestiniansexpelledfrom their homes in 1948 and their descendentshave the moral and legal right to return and be compensatedfor their loss; and 3) The land must be sharedby all citizens of the state and be reconstitutedalong lines that do not discriminate againstpeople basedon religion or ethnic affiliation. The symposium, a resounding success,raised many thought-provoking issues relevant to contemporary Palestine. Others at CCAS who planned and executed the event include Ms. Margaret Daher, Public Affairs Coordinator; Ms. Zeina Seikaly, Director of Educational Outreach;and Ms. Noura Erakat,Adjunct Professor.The symposiumpaperswill be published in an edited volume in the near future. {.
2OO9CCAS Sy-posiurn Panelists "The categorical oppositionswith which we have becomeaccustomedto analyzing Palestinian politics, principally the oppositionbetween secularistsand Islamists,have perhaps preventedus from perceivinghow other modesof relationshipand identity. . .shapethe daily lives of Palestinians and in so doing give rise to diverseconceptions of belonging."
Loren Lybarger
"Despitethe displacementof populationsand the destructionof villages in 1948,the village continuesto be a sourceof identification practices.It provides social strucfureand origins, and connects the everydaygeographyof dispossession in the diasporawith meaningful avenuesto understandthe Palestinians'presentsenseof their history and identity."
Rochelle Davis um on Palestine. CCAS News '." Summer 2OO9
"We should go beyondthe one-stateand two-state debates.. .The questionis how to work on a vision of liberationof both societies from being oppressedand being oppressors.It should include all Palestinian communities-under occupation,under exile, and certainly thosein Israel.
"Gender relationswere the blind spot of commentators on Islam and secularismwho failed to seethat in matters of genderand the family, there was more continuity than discontinuity between the two ideologies.This confirms the view that the ambiguities of modernity are most apparentwhen it comesto the role of women in the body politic."
Nadim Rouhana
IslahJ"d
"For the Palestinians,to enter into a state-centricdiscourse of one or two statesis to enter atace they can never win...What'sneededis to accordas much attention to the Palestiniansas to Palestine[by making] use of the historical ethnographyof the quotidian-to play close attention to what is going on below the radar screenof contentionalpolitics."
"The only reconciliation that is possiblein termsof... changeson the ground would have to be an agreement betweenHamasand Fatah, which can only be achieved on the basisof Abbas's exit from the political system, and it would have to be an agreementthat would focus on a rejuvenation of the PLO rather than cutting up the piecesof the pie of the PA."
BesharaDoumani
Mouin Rabbani
"The Gazawar...takes the Palestiniannational movement from a total failure to almosta total collapse... It is very important for the Palestiniansto come up with a new vision for Palestine that includesthe Jews, becauseotherwiseothers will continueto conducta policy that will bring another catastrophefor the Palestinians."
"There seemsto be a pattern in the history of the Palestiniannational movement:war, peace, somethinglike civil war or civil war proper...Theonly process[other than this cycle] that has not been tried is the redefinition of Israel from a Zionist stateinto something else,which is the only thing that might allow Israel to survive in the region."
Ashd Ghanem
Thmim Al-Barghouti CCAS News * Summer 2O09
Center'News "If thereis going to be a fPalestinian]statethat will succeed15 yearsafter its creationand beyond, somethinglike fthe RAND Corporation'sArc project] will be necessaryin terms of a developmentstrategy. We're not predictingthis will happen."
"The redressof violations of Palestinianrights is a political projectthat relates the conditionsspecifically affecting Palestiniansto other ongoing efforts aroundthe globe to enforceinternational law."
Glenn Robinson
Lisa Hajjar
"The West Bank andGaza have failed to developin any sustainableway, and cannotever agarn...Itis the end of the two-statesolution becausethereis no possibility on the ground,territorially or economically,for the creation of a Palestinianstate...We have to put pressureon the internationalcommunity to enforcesanctions[to get out of this conundrum]."
"The Palestiniancaseis characterized by exclusion clausesspecificallydirected at the Palestinians. . .The right of return, housing and property rights, and the principlethat refugeesshould be permittedto choosetheir own solutions,have all been systematicallyexcludedfrom the frameworkof discussionof a solutionfor the Palestinians."
Leila Farsakh
Susan Akram
"Substantialallocations for democracypromotion and civil societybuilding providedto the Palestinian territories following the Madrid PeaceConference and the OsloAccordsdid not translateinto a strongercivil society; on the contrary there was an overall weakeningin the fabric of civil society."
"Despitethe United States' aversionto internationallaw U.S. law embodiesseveral statutesthat reflect principles of internationallaw that may be useful for the purposes of advocacy.. .[We needto] appealto the U.S. senseof national self and identity. Perhaps then...theU.S. can help promotethe rule of law in the region as opposed to continuing to obstructit."
ManalJamal
Noura Erakat
CCAS News 'lu Summer 2009
"The settlercolonial essence of the Zionist Israeli project is an underlying structurethat was not just a moment of origination that disappearedwith statehood; on the contrary it is a strucfure that continues to explain many aspectsof Israeli statebehavior and
"We needto recogntzethat structuraland political conditionsthat Palestinians endureare the key determinantsof preventing fgood] health conditions. We have to enforce human rights law. And having tried everythingelse,boycotts, divestment.and sanctionsare the way forward."
ways of thinking."
Rita Giacaman
Gabriel Piterberg
'Zionism, in its questfor hegemonyand domination,led a schemethat was economically inferior and dependenton subsidiesand supportfrom the outside.But in its questto provide'artificial' westernlife standardsfor its immigrants.. . it led a schemein which there was environmentaldestruction. Zionism, like capitalism,is desftoyingthe very conditions that gaverise to its hegemonyin the first place."
"The ideologyof [Israeli] supremacycontinueswhereas spacehas to be reconfigured. In this new phasefof Israeli colonial thinkingl, the ideology hasbecomeakin to ghettoizing.It createsgrey spaces-spaceswhich are not incorporatedor equal, but which are also not excluded or destroyed.They are the making of apartheid."
Seif Daha
Oren Yiftachel
"The occupationhasbeen transformedfrom a political and legal issuewith intemational legitimacy into a simple dispute over borders,where the rules of war apply ratherthan those of occupation.In this rcgard, Israelhassuccessfullyrecast its relationshipwith Gazafrom one of occupationto oneof two
"In [Palestinian]culture,we have an escapefrom the role of heroic spokespersons of the oppressed.Artists now furn to irony, critical introspection,and the affirmation of an ordinary humanity centeredon the individual's private mythology, body, memory and experience."
actorsatwar."
Adila Laidi-Hanieh
Sara Roy CCAS News t Summer 2OO9
"The U.S.-Palestinian relationshipwill continueto be dominatedby the Israeli relationshipand Israeli concernsunlessPalestinian societyworldwide matures to a level where it can offer or ganrzationalsupport to constituenciesthat provide a compelling counter-narrative."
"Hamas [members]are still looking to participatein the PA in spite of everything that hashappened.. .This loyalty is the only thing that politically is keepingthe PA project and the hopes,if there are any,of a two-state solution alive. . .Therefore, paradoxically, only Hamas is keeping alive the hopesof a Jewish statein Palestine emergingover the long haul."
Helena Cobban
"Obamawill [likely] continue to proclaimWashington'sgood intentionsand commitment to justicefor both sideswhile maintainingmassivemilitary economic,and diplomatic supportfor Israel...[but]I continueto hopethat there arelongtermfactors...that may ultimately act asa kind of correctiveto what historicallyhasbeen...anunbalanced American policy."
"The Palestinianstatehood project is now seenas an Israeli/Americanproj ect and not a project that enough Palestinianshave ownership of. I don't think you can get that ownership againunless you createit...You haveto do de-occupationfirst if you want Palestiniansto take seriouslythe building of a Palestinianstate."
Michael Hudson
DanielLevy
"The thing that broke it open in Northern Ireland was the abandonmentof commitment to Unionist Protestant supremacy.. .Whether it's one stateor two statesor ten, the only just solution can come when we abandon the commitmentto Jewish supremacyand adopt a , commitment to equality for all."
AliAbunimah CCAS News * Summer 20O9
"Israelneeds.. .an endless discourseaboutPalestinian statehood,not becauseit is suddenlyinterestedin Palestinianrights, but rather in order to securethe legitimacy of an exclusivelyJewishstate... There is only one altemative, as I seeit-a democraticand secularstatethat would. . . enableajust and lastingpeace."
SareeMakdisi
PublicationsAssistantand InternsJoin CCAS for the Summer Mimi Kirk CAS is pleasedto welcome its PublicationsAssistant for the summer, Traviss Cassidy, as well as two summer interns, Lauren Weinberger and Anup Kelkar. Traviss, a work-study student at CCAS for the 20082009 academic year, graduated in May from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, where he majored in international political economy and earned a certificate in Islam and Muslim-Christian Understanding.The courses on Islam and the Middle East that he took as part of the TravissCassidy,Publications Assistant certificate,as well as the journalism experiencehe gained on the staff of the Georgetown Voice, drew him to the summer publications assistantposition at CCAS. Traviss is currently Lauren is a rising junior at Duke University, where she interning part-time in Congress and hopes to eventually is majoring in public policy and minoring in both Arabic pursue a Ph.D. in economics. and Hebrew.Raisedin Cleveland,Ohio, shehas always been interested in politics and international affairs, participating in Model UN and serving as captain of her debate team in high school. Lauren has traveled in Israel and plans to study abroadin the Middle East next spring. Anup comes to us from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, where he is one year away from completing his M.A. in German and internationalrelations.He was born in Bahrain but grew up in London, and has a keen interest in the Middle East and international affairs. Anup has studied in Yemen and has also traveledto Syria and Lebanon.He has worked at the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office and Lauren Weinberger and Anup Kelkar, CCAS Interns in the Scottish Government, and has served as a language assistantat a hotel managementschool in Berlin. *
Outreach News
SecondAnnual "Global Viewpoints" Con ference E*plores Energy inThree R"gions Catherine Parker his conference, the second in the annual "Global Viewpoints" series, I I developments addressed the and challenges in energy production in three key regions: Eurasia/Russia/ Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. Co-sponsored by the National Resource Center on the Middle East (NRC-ME), the Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies (CERES), the Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS), and CCAS, the conference sought to provide a
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multiregional perspectiveon the energy crisis and how both global and local politics impact developmentsin energy. From CCAS, Visiting Associate Professor Dr. Jean-Frangois Seznec spoke on oil and natural gas production in the Middle East.Dr. Seznecexplained the logistics of production, the internal politics of oil-rich nations that impact the availability of oil and natural gas both regionally and globally, and the future of energy in the region. Dr. Thane Gustafson. Professor in
the Department of Government, and Mr. Eleodoro Mayorga Alba, Lead Petroleum Economist at the World Bank, addressedsimilar topics in regard to Russia/Eastern Europe and Latin America, respectively. Collaboration between the three regional centersto produce the "Global Viewpoints" series has proven a successfulendeavorthat aids in bridging some of the gaps among regional scholarshipand provides a more holistic perspectiveon issues. * CCAS News* Summer2OO9
TeachersCelebrateNowrazin SaturdaySeminar Zeina Azzarn Seikaly n March 28 a group of 3l teachers attended a seminar at Georgetown entitled o'A Celebration of NowruzA.{evruz: The Spring Equinox in the Persian and Turkic Worlds." CCAS co-sponsored this program with Georgetown's Center for Eurasian,Russianand EastEuropean Studies (CERES), a collaboration that
colonial encroachments. She then discussedthe Silk Road and Islam as important aspects of Turkic cultures. Dr. Onder's many photographs offered a colorful glimpse into the traditions of the Nevruz celebration, such as costumes,dances,rituals, specialfoods, and poetry competitions. "The holidav is said to have started 15,000 years &go, beyond the last ice age," Farima said M o s t o w f i, SeniorLecturer and Director of the Persian Program at Ge orgetow n. "Since ancient times, Iran has celebrated CCAS's Zeina Seikaly (righ0 enjoys lunch with the chef, Najmieh Batmanglij. the new year on the vernal highlights the intersecting cultural and equinox, what we know as the 20th social themes across these two vast or 2lst of March," she continued. She regions. described the Nowruz celebration Nowruz, or Nevruz ("New Day"), a in Iran and other Persian-speaking holiday that marks the beginning of countries, which includes gifts and spring and is celebrated by millions new clothes, spring cleaning, outdoor of people from the Middle East to and indoor activities, and the coming CentralAsia, embodiesmany traditions of "Haji Firvz," a person who alerts and rituals that have developed community members of the coming of over thousands of years. Across the Nowruz and who entertains them with countries that speak Persian and songsand dances. Turkic languages, this celebration The audience welcomed Najmieh of life and renewal is a society-wide Batmanglij, a chef, author, and educator, event; some communities in Arabic- who described speaking countries celebrate Nowruz the Nowruz as well. Through lectures,artifacts, and ceremony. The food, the Saturday Seminar speakers haft sinn table, in provided the audience of teacherswith particular, is one a historical, cultural, and social context of the principal for this celebration. elements of the Onder, Visiting Assistant Nowruz tradition. Q Vlvia family LJ Professor of Turkish Language Each and Culture at Georgetown, described prepares such the Nevruz festival in the Turkic a table at home world. She first offered an overview for the duration of the Turks in world history from of the holiday. It the nomadic era and the early horse includes seven riders to imperial times and European basic items CCAS Newst Summer2OO9
that symbolize aspects of fertility and renewal: sabzeh (green sprouts), apples, wine vinegar, garlic, wild olives, and sumac.Ms. Batmanglij also introduced the audience to her book, Hoppy Nowruz: Cooking with Children to Celebrate the Persian New Year In addition to a plethora of information, the book containsactivities and recipes that can be done in the classroom. Each of the teachersreceived a copy of this publication, courtesy of CCAS and CERES. A noted chef, Najmieh Batmanglij also catered the lunch, an authentic Persian celebratory meal, much to the delight of everyone in attendance. The last speakerwas BarbaraPetzen, Education Director at the Middle East Policy Council, whosepresentationwas titled, "Savoring Geography:Lifestyles, Culinary Cultures, and Celebrations in the Middle East." She explored the basics of food in the Middle East and all the influences it has experienced throughout history, including particular agricultural contexts, imperial cuisine (for example, of the Ottoman court), multicultural influences, and nomadic vs. sedentary lifestyles. Ms. Petzen examined the intersections of food, geography and environment, ways of life, religion, and celebrationsacrossthe region, and mentioned spring festivities other than Nowruz, such as Shamm alNaseem in Egypt, which occurs the day after Coptic Easter Sunday. *
Learning About Egypt-fn D.C. and First Hand Zein;t Azz:rm Seikaly he Center offered a study-tour of Egypt this summer. Fifteen educatorstraveledwith CCAS AssistantProfessor of Arab Politics, Dr. Samer Shehata,and Director of Educational Outreach, Zeina Azzam Seikaly, for a tour of the country July 6-18. They visited Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor, and Aswan, with attention to both ancient Egypt and contemporary life in the country. During this trip Dr. Shehatagaveacademic lecfures and offered continuing explanations and commentary while traveling with the group. The outreach program was pleased to partner in organizing this study-tour with Hands Along the Nile Development Services,Inc., a nonprofit that sponsorsexchangeand dialogueprogramsbetweenthe United Statesand Egypt. On Safurday, June 6, the outreach program organrzed an orientation program on Egypt that included scholarly presentationsby four experts on the country. The seminar was open to the largerteachingcommunity in the D.C. metropolitan area,and 52 educatorsattended. The first speakerwas Amy Riolo, an independentauthor and food historian,whosepresentationwas titled "Ancient Egypt for Educators." She focused on the early dynasticperiod, starting from about 3150 BCE to 4l CE, with the adventof Christianity and Romancivilization. Ms. Riolo exploredthe foods of ancient Egypt, such as fish, spices,grain, beans,and dates,and many cultural traditions of that era, including literature,music, sports, and Nile festivals.She suggestedand describedmany activities for teachingthesefields in the classroom. Sumaiya Hamdani, Associate Professorin the History and Art History Departmentsof George Mason University, spoke about "The Past in the Present: Exploring Islamic Cairo's Living Heritage." She said that there are many connections and a tremendousamount of continuity between ancient and Islamic Egypt. Dr. Hamdani gave a historical sweepof Islamic history from the Umayyad period in the seventh and eighth centuriesto Napoleon'sinvasionof Egypt in 1798.Shefocused on the Islamic influence in the city of Cairo itself, especially $;
Teachersfrom the D.C. area pay close attention to the day's talks.
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Dr. Samer Shehatalectures on Eglptian politics to an audience of educators.
during the Mamluk era. Samer Shehataaddressed"Politics in ContemporaryEgypt" from the 1952 Free Officer coup that overthrew the monarchy to the present day. He discussedland reform initiatives, the nationalizationof the Suez Canal, the presidenciesof Gamal Abdel-Nasser,Anwar Sadat, and Hosni Mubarak, the various wars in which Egypt hasbeeninvolved, and the emergencylaws that have been in place in the country since 1981. Dr. Shehata describedthe major political institutions in Egypt, including the presidency and bicameral parliament. He also explained the history and currentpolitics of the Muslim Brotherhoodand other major opposition parties, such as the Wafd, Tagammu', and Arab SocialistNasseristparty.He talked about the Kifaya movement,the "Egyptian Movement for Change," the first to openly challengePresidentMubarak, and the vibrant pressand civil societyin Egypt. "There is also a vibrant feminist movement in Egypt," said the next speaker,Farha Ghannam,AssociateProfessorin the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Swarthmore College, who addressed "Gender and Social Life in ContemporaryEgypt." Shedescribedthe movementas starting in the nineteenthcenturywith a seculardiscourse;it advocated women's rights in employment, education, and the political sphere. At present, Islamist feminists are drawing on the religion of Islam to apply Islamic nonns, and Muslim feminists, whose aims are human rights and equality, encourage female scholarsto reinterpretIslamic texts. Dr. Ghannamalso talked aboutwomen's work insideand outsidethe home,mariage and the family, the hijab, and the challengesfaced by the Egyptian working class. The program also held a screening of Cairo as Seen by Chahine, a documentary directed by the famous Egyptian filmmaker Youssef Chahine (1991). Everyone received a resourcepacket with background information about Egypt and enjoyeda Middle Easternlunch with colleagues,speakers,and CCAS staff. *
CCAS News * Summer 20O9
Workshop Looks At Contemporary Arab Literatarc Catherine Parker Reflections on ContemporaryArab Literature," T.* a workshop convened in March by Dr. Yvonne I \ I \ Haddad, addressed a wide range of issues and ideas surroundingArab and Arab-American literature written in both Arabic and English. Approximately 50 students,academics, and community members attended this panel-style workshop sponsoredby the National ResourceCenter on the Middle East (NRC-ME) in partnership with CCAS, the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding,and the DepartmentofArabic and Islamic Studies. The NRC-ME was fortunate to have Dr. Amal Amireh, Associate Professor of Women and Gender Studies at George Mason University, discussAhlam Mosteghanemi's Memory in the Flesh, contrasting it with anotherAlgerian novel by Fadilah al-Faruq titled Th'Al Khajal. Dr. Amireh examinedthe different approachesboth authors took to addressing(or not addressing) the violence against women that took place before and during the Algerian civil war. Dr. ReemBassiouney,AssistantProfessorofArabic Linguistics at Georgetown,delivered a detailed analysison code choice and identity in modern Egyptian novels. She discussedhow authors chooseto use Modern StandardArabic and dialects to redefine reality and project different identities. Joining the workshop from CCAS wereAssistantProfessorDr. 6 6\
Dr.AmarAmirehdiscusses women in *"^,,r,'
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Rochelle Davis and Adjunct Instructor Mr. Gregory Orfalea. Dr. Davis discussedthe use ofpoetry in Palestinianautobiographical writings in order to addresssubjectssuch as longing, love, and gnef that are more difficult to express in prose. Mr. Orfalea focusedhis analysison Arab-American literature in the post-9/l I world, expounding upon themes and styles prevalent in novels with Arab-American protagonists. The interest that the workshop generatedindicates a desire by the Georgetown community to further explore cultural developmentsin the Arab world and how they relate to or reflect the politics and history of the region. *
femalelabor force participationratesin the Middle East.
year and an assistant professor at James Madison University, examined the impact of donor assistanceto civil society in the The Iraqi Refugees:The New Crisis in Film Screening: Chronicles of a Refugee, Palestinianterritories and El Salvador. the Middle East Part VIr "The Return of Thlk" March 24, 2009 April 15,2009 Development in the Arab World: Dr. Joseph Sassoon,one of CCAS's MAAS alum Adam Shapiro screened Successesand Challenges visiting scholars dwing the 2008-2009 an episodeof his most recentdocumentary April 16,2009 academic year, discussedissuesthat have project, Chronicles of a Refugee. Ms. Amat Al Alim Alsosw4 United recently developedin the Middle East due Chroniclesis a six-part seriesthat looks at Nations DevelopmentProgramme(LINDP) to the drastic increasein Iraqi refugees. the Palestinianrefugeeexperienceover the Assistant Secretary-General, Assistant last 60 yearsin its global context. Adminisftator, and Director of its Regional Gender and Economic Isolation in an BureauforArab States,gavean overview of Era of Globalization Civil Society Development and the the 2009Arab Human DevelopmentReport. April6, 2009 Limits of Western Donor Assistance: Dr. JenniferOlmstedofDrew University Palestineand El Salvador Compared Angeleno Days:A Reading examined the roles that local economies April 15,2009 April 22,2009 and the relationship between local and Dr. Manal Jamal,one of CCAS'visiting CCAS Adjunct Insfructor Mr. Gregory global economiesplay in explaining low scholars for the 2008-2009 academic Orfalea read excerpts from his recently published memolr, Angeleno Days. Though Mr. ffalea has spent half of his life elsewhere, he has remained preoccupiedwith Los Angeles.That brutal, beautiful city along the Pacific sea,he says, shapedhim and led to a series of essays originally published in the Los Angeles CCAS Director Dr. Michael Hudson (left) queries CCAS Visiting Scholar Dr. JosephSassoonafter his talk TimesMagazine. *
Public Events
CCAS News * Summer 2OO9
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CCAS Graduatesthe MAAS Classof 2009 Mimi Kirk CAS is pleasedto announcethat it awarded31 Masterof Afts in Arab Studiesdegreesthis spring.The graduates will go on to a varietyof fields,includingacademia,law, policy, andjournalism. This classshowedparticular facility for the Arabic language, eaming 11 FLAS @oreign Language and Area Studies) fellowships from the U.S. Deparbnent of Education and six full-year fellowships to the prestigious CenterforArabic Study Abroad (CASA) in Cairo and Damascus.The total number of fullyear CASA fellowships offered eachyear has been around 35. The Center held a ceremony on Friday, May 15, to honor the graduates.During the hour-longprograrn,Dr. JudithTuckeqDirector of the MAAS Program, called each graduateup to the podium, where she spoke about their interests,experiencesdwing MAAS, and future plans.An audienceof 200 family members,friends, stafl and faculty watched and cheered.An open bar and buffet dinner followed" and somestayedto danceand celebrateinto the night. Theses: Alex Thurston: "Interactions betweenNorthern Nigeria and the Arab World in the TWentiethCentury" Committee: Drs. Yvonne Haddad andAhmad Dallal Victoria Zyp: "Islamic Finance in the United States:Product Development and Regulatory Adoption' Committee: Drs. Jean-FrancoisSeznecand David Walker Graduates: Ali Alkandari ChristianAssad Kala Camrthers Azar* SeanBraniff Mike Corradini David Mansfi eld DeBartolo Katherine Dunn Emma Elbuzedi HassanElhaj* Kate Eyerman Harald Fuller-Bennett Jean-BaptisteGallopin Elizabeth Grasmeder* Hunter Grunden YassmineHamayel Andrew Helms
Marcia Hook* Alex Iannaccone Amanda Johnson Javier Lesaca Wynne Mancini JeffMorency Olivia Moseley NassimaNeggez* JosephPearce Jaime Bennett Stansburv Lucy Thiboutot Lauren Torbett Alex Thurston** Noor Zahid Victoria Zyp** *Earneddistinctionon oral exams **Eameddistinctionon thesis