CENTER EVENTS
In the spring of 2008, the Middle East Center will be presenting or co-sponsoring a number of interesting events and programs of interest to scholars, students, and the community.
As always, we continue to involve and educate the larger community about the peoples and cultures of the Middle East. Click here for more information about our outreach programs.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
2008
JANUARY
Saturday, January 12, 10 AM-3 PM
K-12 Teacher Workshop
"Teaching the One Book, One Philadelphia book selection, 'What Is the What,'
by Dave Eggers, the true story of Valentino Achak Deng, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan"
Location: Terrace Room, Logan Hall (249 S. 36th St.)
Cost: Event is free and open to the public. Attendees can receive Act 48 credit.
For more information and to register for this event, contact shown@sas.upenn.edu.
For more information about One Book, One Philadelphia, 'What Is the What,' and other book selections about the Lost Boys of Sudan, click here.
Sponsored by the African Studies Center, and co-sponsored by the Free Library of Philadelphia and the Middle East Center.
Thursday, January 24, 4:30-6 PM
Book Talk, Signing and Reception
Spies, Scandals, and Sultans: Istanbul in the Twilight of the Ottoman Empire
Presenter: Prof. Roger Allen, NELC
Location: Wharton School, Huntsman Hall, Room 245 (3730 Walnut St.), followed by reception at the Huntsman Program for Business and International Studies (3732 Locust Walk)
For more information, contact the Middle East Center at 215-898-4690.
Co-sponsored by the Huntsman Program for Business and International Studies and the Middle East Center.
Tuesday, January 29, 8 PM
Bridging the Gap: An Evening of Middle Eastern Music and Conversation
"Intercultural Journeys"
Location: Hall of Flags, Houston Hall (3417 Spruce Street)
For more information, contact the Middle East Center at 215-898-4690.
Co-sponsored by Hillel, Muslim Student Association, Penn Arab Student Society, Middle East Center, and Fox Leadership.
Wednesday, January 30, 5 PM
Russia, Eastern Europe, and Eurasia: Past, Present, and Future Lecture Series
“Forced Migrants in the Caucasus: Social Networks and Livelihoods”
Presenter: Beth Mitchneck, Associate Professor of Geography & Regional Development, University of Arizona Associate Dean, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
Location: Logan Hall, Room 402 (249 S. 36th St.)
For more information, contact the Middle East Center at 215-898-4690.
Co-sponsored by the Department of Slavic Languages and Literature, Department of History, and Middle East Center.
Wednesday, January 30, 6:30 PM
Middle East Lecture Series
"PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) and the Big Picture: Turkey's Foreign Policy at a Juncture between Iran and the US"
Presenter: Dr. Soner Cagaptay, senior fellow and director of The Washington Institute's Turkish Research Program
Location: Room 265, Hunstman Hall (3730 Walnut Street)
For more information, contact the Middle East Center at 215-898-4690.
Co-sponsored by the Middle East Forum Club, Political Science Department, Middle East Center, the Penn College Republicans, the Jewish Federation of Philadelphia, and Standwithus.
Wednesday, January 30, 7-9 PM
Film Screening and Q & A
"USA vs. Al-Arian"
Discussants: Linda Moreno, Trial Attorney for Sami al-Arian; Laila al-Arian, journalist and daughter of al-Arian; and Justin Peyton, Director or Civil Rights, CAIR-PA.
Location: 214 Gittis Hall, Law School of UPenn (3400 Chestnut Street)
For more information, contact the Middle East Center at 215-898-4690.
Co-sponsored by the Penn Law Muslim Students Association, Middle East Center, the Penn Law Dean's Speaker Fund, and the Pennsylvania Council on American-Islamic Relations.
FEBRUARY
Sunday, February 3, 2 PM
InterAct Theater Play, Black Gold, and Post-Performance Discussion on the Geopolitics of Oil led by Prof. Deborah Harrold, Department of Political Science, Bryn Mawr College
Location: Mainstage at The Adrienne, 2030 Sansom St.
Cost: $15 for Penn students; $27 for general admission
For more information about the play, additional performances, and InterAct Theater, click here or call 215-568-8079.
Sponsored by the Middle East Center.
Wednesday, February 6, 12 PM
Works-in-Progress Seminar
"An 'Indispensible Precondition for the Region’s Definitive Conquest': The Russian Expulsion of the Mountain Tribes of the Caucasus, 1859-1864"
Presenter: Prof. Peter Holquist, Department of History, UPenn
Discussant: Prof. Mark Mazower, Department of History, Columbia University
Location: History Lounge, 209 College Hall (3450 Woodland Walk)
For a copy of the paper, contact tapp@sas.upenn.edu.
Sponsored by the Middle East Center.
Open to faculty and students of Penn and other area colleges only.
Monday, February 11, 12 PM
Middle East and Islamic Studies Graduate Student Colloquium
"L'inspecteur Ali: The Spoken Woman in the writing of Driss Chraïbi."
Presenter: Lara Dotson-Renta, Ph.D. Candidate, Romance Languages
Location: Williams Hall 816 (255 S. 36th Street)
Pizza lunch will be served, RSVP requested.
For more information and to RSVP, contact tapp@sas.upenn.edu
Co-sponsored by the Middle East Center and Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations.
Wednesday, February 20, 6:00 pm
The Philomathean Society Presents
"A Symposium on Terrorism: The Science, Politics, and Technologies of Fear"
Presenters: Dr. M. Susan Lindee, Dept. of History & Sociology of Science; Dr. Ian Lustick, Dept. of Political Science; Dr. Stanley Plotkin, M.D., Wistar Institute; Dr. Harvey Rubin, M.D., Director of Penn's Institute for Strategic Threat Analysis and Response
Location: Philomathean Halls, 4th Floor, College Hall
For more information, please contact the Philomathean Society @ (215) 898-8907 or Phil Rocco
Co-sponsored by the Philomathean Society and the Middle East Center
Thursday, February 21, 4:30 pm
Lecture and Discussion
"Chinese-Muslim Memory and Historiography in China"
Presenter: Dr. Zvi Ben-Dor Benite, Department of History, New York University
Location: College Hall, Room 209
For more information, please contact Nicole Riley or Fred Dickinson
Co-sponsored by the Center for East Asian Studies and the Middle East Center
Friday, February 22, 12:30 PM
Lecture and Reception
"US Foreign Policy Challenges: Syria and Lebanon"
Presenter: Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, Counselor, Senior Foreign Service, US Department of State
Location: Fels Seminar Room, Fels Institute of Government (3814 Walnut Street)
For more information and to RSVP, contact tapp@sas.upenn.edu
Co-sponsored by Fels Institute of Government and Middle East Center.
Sunday, February 24, 5 PM
Lecture and Discussion
"Challenges in the Middle East: Democracy, Media, and Human Rights"
Presenter: Khaled Abu Toameh, West Bank and Gaza correspondent for the Jerusalem Post and U.S. News and World Report
Location: Huntsman Hall, Room 225
For more information, please contact tapp@sas.upenn.edu.
Co-sponsored by the Penn Israel Coalition, Jewish Studies Kutchin Faculty Seminar Series, and the Middle East Center
Wednesday, February 27, 12 PM
Works-in-Progress Seminar
"Women, Domestic Violence, and Jewish Writing on the 'Arab Question' in Early Zionism"
Presenter: Andrea Siegel, Ph.D. Candidate, Middle Eastern and Asian Languages and Cultures, Columbia University
Discussant: Prof. Nili Gold, NELC, UPenn
Location: History Lounge, 209 College Hall (3450 Woodland Walk)
For a copy of the paper, contact tapp@sas.upenn.edu.
Sponsored by the Middle East Center.
Open to faculty and students of Penn and other area colleges only.
Wednesday, February 27, 6-8 PM
Middle East Lecture Series
"Escalating Diplomacy: Rethinking US Foreign Policy towards Iran"
Presenters: Trita Parsi, author of Treacherous Alliance -The Secret Dealings of Iran, Israel and the United States, co-founder and president of National Iranian Council; and Stephen Kinzer, author of All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror, Professor of Journalism and Political Science, Northwestern University
Location: Huntsman Hall F95, Wharton School (3730 Walnut Street)
For more information, contact TGreen@afsc.org.
Co-sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee, Haverford College Center for Peace and Global Citizenship, and Middle East Center.
MARCH
Saturday, March 1, 8:00 PM
Music and Memory: Legacy in a New World
Featuring Dr. Ali Jihad Racy and Mideast Ensemble: Joseph Tayoun, Roger Mgrdichian, Adeeb Refela, Hafez el-Ali and William Tayoun
Cost: This event is free and open to the public.
Location: Lang Performing Arts Center, Swarthmore College, Media, PA
For more information, email hsayed@albustanseeds.org.
Co-sponsored by Al-Bustan, Swarthmore College, and Middle East Center.
Sunday, March 2, 12:30-2:00 PM
Music Demonstration and Workshop
Featuring Dr. Ali Jihad Racy
Location: The Rotunda (4014 Walnut Street)
For more information, email hsayed@albustanseeds.org.
Co-sponsored by Al-Bustan and Middle East Center.
Wednesday, March 5, 5:00 PM
Lecture Series on Gender and Sexuality in Pre-Modern Islam
"Women's Mosque Attendance and the Construction of Gender in the Maliki School"
Presenter: Prof. Marion Katz, Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, NYU
Location: Room 219, College Hall (3450 Woodland Walk)
For more information, contact Prof. Joe Lowry at elowry@sas.upenn.edu.
Co-sponsored by the Middle East Center, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, and Women and Islamic Law Seminar.
Thursday, March 6, 4:00 PM
Lecture and Discussion
"Exploring the Long Duree in Iranian Archaeology from the Neolithic to Early Islam on the Iranian Plateau: Problems of Site Formation, Ecological Change, and Population Movement in the Region of Bam"
Presenter: Chahryar Adle, Head of Mission, CNRS, Paris
Location: Penn Museum Classroom 2, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology
For more information and a comprehensive list of CAS events, see http://www.sas.upenn.edu/ancient
Co-sponsored by the Center for Ancient Studies and the Middle East Center
Monday, March 17, 4:30 PM
Penn Humanities Colloquium
"East Asia and the Middle East: What Can We Learn from Comparative Approaches to Global History?"
Presenter: Cemil Aydin, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Princeton University, Asst. Prof. of History, University of NC-Charlotte
Location: Logan Hall, Room 17
For more information, visit http://www.ceas.sas.upenn.edu.
Co-sponsored by the Center for East Asian Studies and the Middle East Center
Wednesday, March 19, Noon
Lecture and Discussion
"Iran's Media Sphere: Communicating Reform, 'Regime Change,' and Legitimacy in the Islamic Republic"
Presenter: Dr. Ibrahim al-Marashi, Asst. Prof. at Bahcesehir University
Location: Annenberg School of Communication, Room 109
Please RSVP to Sbeauvais@asc.upenn.edu
Co-sponsored by the Center for Global Communication Studies at the Annenberg School and the Middle East Center
Thursday, March 20, 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Persian Cultural Event and Luncheon
"Navruz Celebration"
Location: Griski Room, Houston Hall
The cost of lunch is $6.00 per person, to RSVP and more information please contact Yohann Sidhwa at yohann@sas.upenn.edu, Frennie Jahmshidian at frenniej@nursing.upenn.edu, or Diana Dadachanji at dadachan@sas.upenn.edu
Co-sponsored by the Zoroastrian Association of UPenn and the Middle East Center
Monday, March 24, Noon
Middle East and Islamic Studies Graduate Student Colloquium
“(Re)New-ing the Literary Field in Syria after '67: Haydar Haydar's al-Zaman al-muhish (Desolate Time)”
Presenter: Alexa Firat, Ph.D. Candidate, NELC
Location: Williams Hall 816 (255 S. 36th Street)
Pizza lunch will be served, RSVP requested.
For more information and to RSVP, contact tapp@sas.upenn.edu.
Co-sponsored by the Middle East Center and Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations.
Tuesday, March 25, 6:00 PM
Book Talk, Signing and Reception
Writing by Women of the Iranian Diaspora
Presenter: Prof. Persis Karim, editor of book, Department of English and Comparative Literature, San Jose State University
Location: Kelly Writers House (3805 Locust Walk)
For more information, contact the Middle East Center at 215-898-4690.
Co-sponsored by the Middle East Center, Kelly Writers House, and Women and Islamic Law Seminar.
Wednesday, March 26, Noon
Works-in-Progress Seminar
"The Social History of Modern Egypt: North and South as opposed to Center and Periphery"
Presenter: Prof. Peter Gran, History, Temple University
Discussant: Prof. Robert Vitalis, Political Science, UPenn
Location: History Lounge, 209 College Hall (3450 Woodland Walk)
For a copy of the paper, contact tapp@sas.upenn.edu.
Sponsored by the Middle East Center.
Open to faculty and students of Penn and other area colleges only.
Wednesday, March 26, 5:00 PM
Lecture Series on Gender and Sexuality in Pre-Modern Islam
"Hooking Up: A Tenth-Century Arabic Taxonomy of Varieties of Sexual Pairing"
Presenter: Prof. Everett Rowson, Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, NYU
Location: Room 219, College Hall (3450 Woodland Walk)
For more information, contact Prof. Joe Lowry at elowry@sas.upenn.edu.
Co-sponsored by the Middle East Center, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, and Women and Islamic Law Seminar.
Wednesday, March 26, 5:00 PM
Russia, Eastern Europe, and Eurasia: Past, Present, and Future Lecture Series
“Cultural Histories of Kidnapping in Russia and the Caucasus”
Presenter: Prof. Bruce Grant, Anthropology, New York University
Location: Logan Hall, Room 402 (249 S. 36th St.)
For more information, contact the Middle East Center at 215-898-4690.
Sponsored by the Middle East Center
Thursday, March 27, 4:30 PM
Middle East Lecture Series
"Visual Artists, Islamic Televangelists, and the Battle for Culture"
Presenter: Prof. Jessica Winegar, Anthropology, Temple University
Location: 370 Huntsman Hall (3730 Walnut St.)
For more information, contact the Middle East Center at 215-898-4690.
Sponsored by the Middle East Center.
Monday, March 31, 7:30 PM
Middle East Lecture and Discussion
"Semitism and the Palestinians"
Presenter: Dr. Joseph Massad, Associate Professor of Modern Arab Politics and Intellectual History at Columbia University
Location: Houston Hall, Hall of Flags
For more information, contact Farah Mokhtareizadeh, farah@vcnv.org.
Co-sponsored by the Department of Political Science, Penn Students for Justice in Palestine, the Penn Arab Student Society, and the Middle East Center.
APRIL
Tuesday, April 1, 3-6:30 PM
Afternoon Colloquium on Modern Arabic Literature convened by Roger Allen
Presenters: Miriam Cooke, Duke University; Hala Halim, New York University; Muhsin al-Musawi, Columbia University; William Granara, Harvard University
Location: Meyerson Conference Center, 2nd floor, Van Pelt Library, UPenn
For more information, contact the Middle East Center at 215-898-4690.
Co-sponsored by the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations and Middle East Center.
Wednesday, April 2, 12 Noon
Women and Islamic Law Seminar
"How Our Mothers Drive Us Crazy: Women, Ritual, and the Power of the Social".
Presenter: Prof. Norma Moruzzi, Political Science and Gender & Women's Studies, University of Illinois at Chicago
Location: Williams Hall 816 (255 S. 36th Street)
For more information, contact the Middle East Center at 215-898-4690.
Co-sponsored by Middle East Center, the Women's Studies Program, and the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations.
Thursday, April 3, 11:00 AM-9:30 PM
Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues at Dickinson College
"The New Mediterranean Symposium"
Presenters: Mark LeVine, UC Irvine; Tahar Lamri, author
Location: Dickinson College
For more information, click here.
Co-sponsored by the Office of the Dean of Students, Department of Music, Multi-Organization Board (MOB), Panhellenic, Intrafraternity Council at Dickinson College, and Middle East Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
Friday, April 4, 9:30 AM-1 PM
Symposium on Ottoman-Iranian Relations
Speakers: Karen Kern, Professor of History, Hunter College; Nader Sohrabi, Professor of History; Fariba Zarinebaf, Northwestern University; Firoozeh Kashani-Sabet, Professor of History
Moderator: Sukru Hanioglu, Professor of Near Eastern Studies, Princeton University.
Location: History Lounge, 209 College Hall (3450 Woodland Walk)
For more information, contact the Middle East Center 215-898-4690.
Sponsored by the Middle East Center, the Department of History, the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, and TAFSUS (Turkish-American Friendship Society of US)
Saturday, April 5, 10 AM-3 PM [Postponed]
K-12 Teacher Workshop
"Contemporary Issues in Islam"
Presenters: Haroon Moghul, author My First Police State and The Order of Light; Carolyn Baugh, Ph.D. Candidate, NELC
Location: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (3620 South Street)
Cost: $30 (Lunch included)
For more information, contact the University Museum at 215-898-4016 ext. 4065
Co-sponsored by the Education Department at the University Museum, Camden County College, and Middle East Center.
Monday, April 7, 12 PM
Middle East and Islamic Studies Graduate Student Colloquium
"Courtly Places, Sacred Spaces: The Social and Political Significance of Monumental Wall Painting in Late Antiquity"
Presenter: Dr. Susanna McFadden, Art History
Location: Williams Hall 816 (255 S. 36th Street)
Pizza lunch will be served, RSVP requested.
For more information and to RSVP, contact tapp@sas.upenn.edu
Co-sponsored by the Middle East Center and Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations.
Wednesday, April 9, 5 PM
Lecture Series on Gender and Sexuality in Pre-Modern Islam
“The Black, the White and the Brown:” Race and Concubinage in the Mamluk Empire"
Presenter: Prof. Shaun Marmon, Religion, Princeton University
Location: Room 219, College Hall (3450 Woodland Walk)
For more information, contact Prof. Joe Lowry at elowry@sas.upenn.edu.
Co-sponsored by the Middle East Center, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, and Women and Islamic Law Seminar.
Thursday, April 10 and Friday, April 11
Christian Missions and National Identities: Comparative Studies of Cultural “Conversions” in the Middle East, Africa, South Asia, and East Asia
Presenters: Betty S. Anderson, Boston University; Beth Baron, City University of New York Graduate Center; James De Lorenzi, University of Pennsylvania; Ellen Fleischmann, University of Dayton; David Gordon, Bowdoin College; Paul Stuart Landau, University of Maryland; Kathleen Lodwick, Pennsylvania State University; Aleksandra Majstorac-Kobiljski, City University of New York Graduate Center; Chandra Mallampalli, Westmont College; Eugenio Menegon, Boston University; Mrinalini Sebastian, Centre for the Study of Culture and Society, Bangalore; Heather J. Sharkey, University of Pennsylvania
Location: 207 College Hall, UPenn
For more information, contact the Middle East Center at 215-898-4690. or click here for conference program (pdf).
Co-sponsored by the Middle East Center, African Studies Center, Center for East Asian Studies, South Asia Center, Graduate School of Education, University Research Foundation, and the Departments of Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations and South Asian Studies.
Thursday, April 10, 2:45 PM to Friday, April 11, 5:30 PM
Second Annual GDI Forum
Higher Education and International Development
Speakers: Jorge Balan , OISE/CEDES, Argentina; Cigdem Kagiticibasi, Koc University, Turkey; Devesh Kapur, Penn/CASI; Adama Samassekou, Minister of Education, Mali; I.V. SubbaRao, Govt of Andhra Pradesh, India
For more information and to register, visit the Penn GDI website here.
Co-sponsored by the Middle East Center, among others.
Thursday, April 10, 7:00 PM
Middle East Dance Performance
"Dances of the Middle East: Tradition, Interpretation, Innovation"
Featuring the Habiba Dance Ensemble
Location: Marcus Auditorium, Cheyney University
For more information, contact Erika Tapp, tapp@sas.upenn.edu, or click here for flyer.
Co-sponsored by the Office of International Programs and the Middle East Center
Friday, April 11, 12:00 PM
A Women's Studies Program "Works-in-Progress Faculty Seminar"
"Translating Slavery: Memories of Forced Labor in the Nile Valley"
Featuring: Dr. Eve M. Troutt Powell, Professor of History; Dr. Barbara D. Savage, Professor of History; and Dr. Beth Barron, Professor of History, CUNY
Location: Logan Hall, Room 436
To receive a copy of the paper and reserve a lunch, please RSVP by Tuesday, April 8th to Luz Marin, lmarin@sas.upenn.edu.
Co-sponsored by the Women's Studies Program and the Middle East Center.
Friday, April 11 to Sunday, April 13
Comparative Cultural Foundations and Development
"Concepts of Change and Transformation: inter-cultural and inter-disciplinary approaches "
Location: ARCH Crest Room (3601 Locust Walk)
Co-sponsored by Society for the Study of World History at UPenn, Center for East Asian Studies at Penn, Department of History, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, the Dean’s Office and the Middle East Center.
Saturday, April 26, 10:00 AM - 8:30 PM
Conference
"Iran Today"
Featuring: Dr. Ahmad Ashraf (Columbia), Dr. Firoozeh Kashani-Sabet (UPenn), Dr. Shouleh Vatanabadi (NYU), Dr. Peter Chelkowski (NYU), Dr. Mahmood Karimi Hakak (Siena College), Dr. Majid Mohammadi (Princeton), Dr. Mehrangiz Kar (Wellesley), Dr. Farhad Khosrokhavar (Ecole des Hautes en Sciences Sociales), Dr. Hamid Zangeneh (Widener), and Dr. Trita Parsi (National Iranian American Council)
Location: Busch Student Center Multipurpose Room, Rutgers University, 604 Bartholomew Rd., Piscataway, NJ
The conference will be followed by a dinner and cultural event. The cost of the dinner is $50, and advanced registration is required to secure a seat.
To register and for more information, go to http://mideast.rutgers.edu/EVENTS/events-index.html
MAY
Friday, May 2, 8 PM
Celebration of International Iranica Week
"Iranian Image of History" and Persian Music Performance
Presenter: Prof. Ahmad Ashraf, American Institute of Iranian Studies
Location: Rosemont College, Lawrence Hall
For more information, visit www.shabahang.org
This event will be presented in Persian (Farsi).
Sponsored by the Iranian Cultural Society of America, and co-sponsored by the Middle East Center.
Saturday, May 3, 2008 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Celebration of the Republic of Turkey
Turkish Delight! A Celebration of the Republic of Turkey
Location: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (3260 South Street)
Cost: Free with Museum admission
For more information, contact 215-898-4000, or visit museum website here.
Co-sponsored by the Turkish Cultural Foundation, the Turkish American Friendship Society of the U.S. (TAFSUS), the Middle East Center, and the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia.
Saturday, May 3, 7:00 PM
Film Screening and Discussion
Faith without Fear, an Evening with Irshad Manji
Featuring: Irshad Manji
Location: Meyerson Hall, 34th & Walnut
Co-sponsored by the Middle East Forum Club, SPEC Connaissance, Atalanta Network, Men's Roundtable Leadership Group - Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, Stand with Us, Center for Programs in Contemporary Writing, Hillel of Greater Philadelphia, Margot & Camille Optique, J-BaGeL, College Republicans, College Democrats, and the Middle East Center.
Sunday, May 4, 5 PM
Rapturous Song and Mystic Poetry Launch
Mehr and Sher Ali perform Qawwali Music of Pakistan
Location: The Painted Bride (230 Vine Street in Old City, Philadelphia)
Cost: Tickets cost $35, 25% discount for students
To purchase tickets, contact The Painted Bride box office at 215.925.9914.
To read the press release, click here.
For more information, contact 215.925.9914; or visit www.paintedbride.org.
Co-sponsored by the Painted Bride, Middle East Center, South Asia Center, among others.