NEWS AND EVENTS :

JOSEPH MASSAD “Conjunctive Prepositions: Sexuality and/in Islam”

November 5, 2009, 4:30 pm, Maxwell Auditorium

Click here for an event poster

CONVERSATIONS IN CONFLICT STUDIES SERIES:
"What the 'Axis of Evil' Did to Iran"

Speaker: Matt Bonham, Professor of Political Science, Co-Director of Newhouse/Maxwell Public Diplomacy Program

November 4, 2009, 11:30 am - 12:30pm, 400 Eggers Hall, the PARCC Office Suite.

MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIES Program Undergraduate & Graduate Program Reception

November 4, 2009, 5:00 – 6:30 pm, 220 Eggers Hall (Public Events Room)

Click here for an event poster

HEBREW CONVERSATION TABLE: “Beyond the Textbook” Chug Ivrit

Lunch will be provided.

October 30, 2009, 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm, 341 Eggers Hall

Click here for an event poster

ARABIC CONVERSATION TABLE

October 29, 2009
November 12, 2009
December 3, 2009
5:00 pm – 6:30 pm, 104 Physics Building

Click here for more information

TAQWACORE: The Birth of Punk Islam
Screening and Q&A with Director Omar Majeed

October 27, 2009, 8:30 pm, Maxwell Auditiorium

Click here for an event poster

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT GRANT: 2010-2011

Click here for information on this grant

Proposals are to be electronically submitted to Mehrzad Boroujerdi at mboroujerdi@maxwell.syr.edu
or
Miriam Elman at melman@maxwell.syr.edu

JIMMY JOHNSON, Military and Global Analyst: Planning the Occupation

October 9, 2009, 12:00 pm, 341 Eggers Hall

Click here for poster with further details

MEHRZAD BOROUJERDI: The 2009 Elections and the Future of the Iranian Republic

October 8, 2009, 12:00 noon, 341 Eggers Hall. Open to the Public - Lunch will be served

Click here for poster with further details

KHALED HOSSEINI interviewed by FIROOZEH DUMAS

An Evening with Khalen Hosseini: October 5, 2009, 7:30 pm, Hendricks Chapel

Click here for poster with further details

Transcending Conflict Through Culture:
A Cultural Diplomacy Symposium with Joseph S. Nye, Jr., David Pogue, Paul Salopek, Marjan Satrapi and Shen Wei

September 20, 2009, 5:30 pm, Goldstein Auditorium
September 21, 2009, 2:00 - 5:00 pm, Joyce Hergenham Auditorium at Newhouse III

Click here for poster with further details

Reading by Dr. Mohja Kahf

Arab American Muslim Woman Balancing Act:
Reading by Dr. Mohja Kahf Reading, Associate Professor of Comparative Literature at University of Arkansas

 September 17, 2009, 4:30 pm, Maxwell Auditorium, Syracuse University

Reduced parking rates are available at the Irving Garage. Please mention the “Arab American Muslim Woman Balancing Act” reading to the parking attendant.

Click here for poster with further details

Fall 2009 Film Series

Battle of Algiers:  September 24, 5:00 pm, 060 Eggers Hall

The Kite Runner:  October 8, 5:00 pm, 060 Eggers Hall

USA vs. Al-Arian:  October 29, 5:00 pm, 060 Eggers Hall

Football Under Cover:  November 12, 5:00 pm, 060 Eggers Hall

Lemon Tree:  December 3, 5:00 pm, 060 Eggers Hall

Click here for a brief description of  these films

2009 Iran President Elections

Click here for Professor Mehrzad Boroujerdi's presentation on the 2009 Iran President Elections

March 26, 2009 SU DIME Conference

Click Here for brochure (.pdf)
Click Here for poster (.pdf)

The Project on Democracy in the Middle East at Syracuse University will be sponsoring a full day conference on "Democracy, Religion, and Conflict: the Dilemmas of Israeli-Palestinian Peacemaking" on Thursday, March 26, 2009 from 9:00-5:30 at the Schine Student Center, 2nd floor. The conference sessions are free and open to the SU community, and to the public. The conference will feature Israeli, US, and Canadian experts on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process who will present on a variety of social, institutional, and cultural aspects hindering conflict resolution. For those attending the conference, a reception following the panel presentations will take place from 5:30-6:30 at 204 Maxwell Hall in the Maxwell School. Faculty, students, and members of the public are welcome to attend any or all of the sessions. For more information, please contact:

Miriam Fendius Elman
Associate Professor
Department of Political Science
Faculty Research Associate, Program on the Analysis and Resolution of Conflicts (PARC)
Director, Project on Democracy in the Middle East, Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs
Maxwell School of Syracuse University
400G Eggers Hall
Syracuse, NY 13244-1020

Tel: 315-443-7404
Email: melman@maxwell.syr.edu

 

Yabroudi/Middle Eastern Studies Program Summer Research Grants
Syracuse University Graduate and Doctoral Students


Awards (approx. 4 from $1,500 to $3,000 each) will be allocated to (a) undergraduate students pursuing the Major or Minor in Middle Eastern Studies, (b) MA students (Maxwell or any other unit of the university), and (c) Ph.D. candidates who wish to travel to the Middle East for language training, internships, or field research (in the case of graduate students there will be a preference for students pursuing the Certificate of Graduate Studies in Middle Eastern Affairs). The proposals will be evaluated on the basis of (I) originality and significance of the proposed research, (II) organization and clarity of the proposal, (III) appropriateness and feasibility of the research plan in relation to the student's background and qualifications, and (IV) cost effectiveness. Maxwell doctoral students may wish to apply for the Goekjian Award as well.

Guidelines:  http://middle-eastern-studies.syr.edu/Awards.htm

Guidelines are also available at The Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs, 346 Eggers Hall

 

Spend your summer in London learning and studying Muslim Cultures!!  

Study Muslim cultures in London, the multiethnic metropolis of the world.

Islam is the world’s fastest-growing religion but also the least understood. This program will enrich your understanding of Islam, its rich history, and its contemporary issues and events. Through a combination of course work, guest lectures, and a field study tour to Granada and Morocco, you’ll encounter the diversity of Muslim communities from around the globe.

For more information contact SU Abroad at 443-9421 or suabroad@syr.edu

Comedy Show

April 3, 2009, 8:00 pm: Arabs Gone Wild - Stand up Comedy Show - Grant Auditorium

Spring 2009 Film Series

February 26, 4:00 pm: Summer Thefts (Egypt) - 060 Eggers Hall

March 5, 4:00 pm: Divine Intervention (Palestine) - 060 Eggers Hall

March 19, 4:00 pm: West Beirut (Lebanon) - 060 Eggers Hall

March 25, 4:00 pm: Persepolis (Iran) - 060 Eggers Hall

April 2, 4:00 pm: Kebab Connection (Turkey, Germany) - 060 Eggers Hall

April 9, 4:00 pm Control Room (Qatar, Iraq, USA) - 060 Eggers Hall

Click Here to read about the Spring 2009 Film Series

New Course Offered

Click Here to read about the new course named "Arabic Culture"

 

 

Project on Democracy in the Middle East (DIME)
presents

Michele Angrist, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Union College
Click Here for bio.

What’s Different About the Arab World?: Women, Parliaments, and War

Nov. 20, 2008 - Thursday
4:00 pm
341 Eggers Hall

Lunch will be served.

For more information on this project, please contact the Project Director:
Miriam Elman, Associate Professor of Political Science, melman@maxwell.syr.edu

http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/moynihan/ActivitiesDetail.asp?id=1306


Joint Experts' Statement on Iran

Click Here to view.

 

Middle Eastern Studies at Syracuse University Library
http://library.syr.edu/research/internet/mideast/index.html

Syracuse University Library receives gift of Middle Eastern collection

Syracuse University Library recently received the personal book collection of Dr. Khalil I. Semaan, Professor Emeritus of Arabic at Binghamton University. Dr. Semaan’s gift consists of approximately 3,000 items, and constitutes his personal research library collected over a period of more than forty years. The extensive collection provides a strong core of research support for the developing Middle Eastern Studies program.

The collection reflects Dr. Semaan’s particular interest in the study of the Middle East, Arabic and Islamic culture and history. Additional subject coverage includes the Crusades, medieval history (Middle East and Europe), linguistics, politics, economics, modern history, and development. Consisting primarily of 20th century items, the gift includes many seminal works in Arabic, English, French, and German; significant runs of several periodical titles; and a number of items in Spanish, Persian, and Hebrew. A particular strength of the collection is the number of works by modern and contemporary Arab literary writers.

“Professor Semaan’s gift represents the largest donation of books related to the Middle East in the university’s history and will help us improve our collection in the vernacular languages of this important region,” said Mehrzad Boroujerdi, founding director of the Middle Eastern Studies Program at Syracuse University. “Professor Semaan was particularly gratified for his collection to go to Syracuse University Library, in the knowledge that it would make a real contribution to the development of Middle Eastern and Islamic studies there,” said Ali Houissa, Middle East and Islamic Studies Librarian at Cornell University, who, along with Gurnek Singh, Asian Studies Librarian at Syracuse University Library (now retired), met with Dr. Semaan and conducted an on-site evaluation of the collection. For more information on this collection, please contact Martha Hanson, Social Sciences & Area Studies Bibliographer at 443-1947 or mjhanson@syr.edu

New Spring 2009 Course

Geography of the Middle East (GEO 300)
MW (afternoon; time to be announced later)

Course description:
This course is oriented around the major political, economic, and cultural processes and power relationships within the Middle East and between the Middle East and the rest of the world. Key topics include the uneven historical-geographic diffusion of different religions, the Middle East in the eyes and arms of the West, the geographies of natural resources, the role of Middle Eastern cities, the modernization of Middle Eastern economies, and the intra and inter regional geopolitics that shape some of the world’s most explosive conflicts. Guided by a textbook, students will also read, see, and listen to primary source materials from a diversity of perspectives. By the end of the semester, students should have gained a solid understanding of the Middle East’s diverse array of political, economic, and cultural geographies.

Reception Invitation Offered:

Click Here for reception invitation.

Film Reminder:

Goal Dreams (Palestine)
October 14, 5:15 pm, 060 Eggers Hall
“How can a team without a recognized homeland, no permanent domestic league, no place to train and with players and coaches scattered around the globe compete in the world of modern football? Founded in 1928, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) is considered one of the oldest football associations in the Arab World. Since being recognized by FIFA in 1998, the team has risen 70 places in the international rankings, despite never having been able to play on home soil. Following the team as they prepare for the 2006 World Cup, Goal Dreams chronicles the suspension of domestic league games after an Israel air strike on Palestine Stadium, while Austrian coach Alfred Riedle makes a heroic effort to mold players from diverse countries such as the USA, Chile, Palestine and Lebanon into a national team unlike any other.”

 

Call to join a new working group

on Democracy in the Middle East (DIME), sponsored by Moynihan and the MES Program.
Click Here for complete details.

Call for Papers

Global Islam in Everyday America
April 3, 2009
University of Pennsylvania
Hosted by the Asian American Studies Program, the Middle East Center, and the South Asia Center

As Islam is increasingly associated with worldwide debates on terror, anti-West sentiment, and extremism, images of Islam and Islamic identity circulating in the media have become ubiquitous. Pictures of the veil, the turbaned terrorist, and the children schooled in madrasas are conflated to a singular representation of all Muslims. While Muslims face the challenges of negative imagery, researchers know relatively little about the lived experiences of Muslim Americans.

Global Islam in Everyday America is a one-day conference that explores Islam and Muslim identities in the U.S. by interrogating the multiple implications resonating from stereotypes of Islam and the ways in which the imagined versus the lived experience of American Muslims are implicated. We encourage papers that address the migration experiences, political participation and representation of Muslim Americans. We welcome scholars from a wide range of social science and humanities disciplines to submit their 750 word abstract that address these issues on Muslims of all racial and national backgrounds in the United States. Preference will be given to papers based on ethnographic research.

Possible topics may include but are not limited to the following:
Popular Culture and Islam
Gender and Islam
Second Generation
Social Practices
Race and Islam
Islam and Film
Muslims and Migration
Islam and Folklore
Muslim Identity

Please send your 750 word abstract along with your curriculum vitae to:
Dr. Fariha Khan
Associate Director, Asian American Studies Program
University of Pennsylvania
166 McNeil Bldg
3718 Locust Walk
Philadelphia, PA 19104
fariha@sas.upenn.edu

Abstracts are due by November 7, 2008 and we will notify you of the status of your proposed presentation by December 1, 2008.

New E-mail Address:

I would like to inform everyone that the Middle eastern Studies Program now has a new e-mail address. All inquiries about being added or dropped from listservs, change of mail or e-mail address, declarations of major, Minor and the Graduate Certificate should be send to mes@maxwell.syr.edu

Also, I would like to inform everyone that printed brochures for the new graduate Certificate in Middle Eastern Affairs can be obtained from the International Relations Office (Ryan Williams), at the Moynihan Institute Commons area and from Amy Marsden (346 Eggers) as well as from me.

We are still working on the brochures for the new Major in Middle Eastern Studies.--Mehrzad

Syracuse mentioned in latest issue of the MESA newsletter

The Middle eastern Studies Program at Syracuse is mentioned in the latest issue of the MESA newsletter as the latest university to become an institutional member of MESA.

I would encourage those of you who are interested in the Middle east to become members of the Middle east Studies Association (MESA). MESA is the LEADING organization in the world devoted to the study of the Middle East. It publishes the flagship journal in the field, International journal of Middle East Studies along with MESA Bulletin and a very useful newsletter which lists jobs, grants, etc. The annual MESA conferences are the best way to establish contact in the field and hear the latest works of hundreds of scholars working on this region. In short, I highly recommend membership and the new site mentioned below makes it easy to do.--Mehrzad

The Middle East Studies Association has expanded its website services for updating individual information. You are invited to begin using myMESA to check and update (if needed) the information we have on record for you. We are finalizing information to be included in the upcoming 2008 Roster of Members; please review your information and make changes by September 25 for your entry in the printed Roster.

Go to http://mesa.wns.ccit.arizona.edu/mymesa.html to learn more about myMESA. From there, click the “Take me to the login page” link. You will need to obtain a temporary password, so click the “need or forgot password” link to have one sent to your email address. Once you login, you will choose your own password. If in the future you forget it, another temporary password can be sent to you.

There are limited features available at this time, but in the coming weeks, you will have the opportunity to not only view and update your record, but make payments (a simplified version of our current process) and submit proposals for the annual meeting. We will keep you updated with our changes, so please do the same!

Two scholarships of $2500 each:

To Undergraduate and Graduate Students Interested in Studying in Istanbul, Turkey:

Thanks to a generous gift from a university donor, SU Abroad announces the availability of two scholarships of $2500 each for spring 2009 applicants wishing to study at Bogazici University in Istanbul. The deadline for applying is September 25th. Interested students can contact Ms. Ginny Pellam-Montalbano for more information. Her contact information is below:

Ginny Pellam-Montalbano
Special Programs Coordinator
SU Abroad
T: 315-443-9417
F: 315-443-2971

Announcement:

The Luce Project is making available grants to faculty and graduate students who would be interested in writing case studies of international events related to religion, media and international relations. Click Here for details.

Announcement:

The latest issue of the Middle East Studies Program Newsletter was recently mailed to all the people who are on our active mailing list. If you have not received a hard copy it means that we don’t have your mailing address. If you are interested in receiving a hard copy of this and all future issues please send me your mailing address.

The online version of the newsletter is available at: http://middle-eastern-studies.syr.edu/Newsletter.htm

Amos Kiewe Course Reminder:

Amos Kiewe wants to remind everyone that he is teaching a course on anti-Semitism this fall. In case there are interested students from the Middle Eastern Studies program, he thinks there are still few spaces.

Information Meetings:

Egypt – Sept. 4th noon at SU Abroad (The due date has passed for the spring but Ginny A. Pellam-Montalbano will talk about Fall 09.)
Turkey – Sept. 10th 12:30 at SU Abroad
Israel – Sept. 11th 12:30 at SU Abroad

Announcement:

Todd G. Patkin Visiting Fellowship in Arab Democracy and Development. Click Here for more information.

Announcement:

The Middle East Journal Electronic Archive Now Available. Click Here for full details.

Announcement:

The New York Board of Education has approved our proposal to offer a MAJOR (B.A. degree) in Middle Eastern Studies beginning Fall 2009. Students interested in the major can take classes during the 2008-09 academic year and then officially declare their MES major in Fall 2009.

Announcement:

MES has been accepted as an institutional member of the Middle East Studies Association (the largest and most prestigious academic organization in the world devoted to the study of the Middle East).

Announcement: Accepting Applications: Leaders for Democracy Fellows Program

Click Here for details.

Annual Report

Click Here for annual report in printer friendly .pdf format.

Two New Courses for Fall of 2008

Click Here for details.

Library Consultant Visit: June 10, 2008

Dr. Ali Houissa, Middle East and Islamic Studies librarian at Cornell University and past President of the Middle East Librarians Association will be on campus to consult with the librarians and faculty on Monday, June 9, and Tuesday, June 10.

At the request of Dean Thorin, Dr. Houissa has agreed to consult with the library to examine the current collection for strengths and needs as it supports the teaching and research of the Middle Eastern Studies program. The main purpose of the consultation is to more clearly determine the scope of the collections that are needed, the kinds of materials to acquire, and related budget/personnel issues. To realize that objective, portions of the visit will be for meeting with faculty (or chairs of programs with interest in the area) and another portion will be devoted to the library. The library portion will mainly include meetings with interested managers/librarians, visits to the book stacks and reference collections in the main library. The schedule is being developed and I welcome your ideas for these meetings.

The Library will receive a report from Dr. Houissa, which will include recommendations based on these discussions and existing assessments of the collection, already done by the Library. In addition he will include information on acquisitions channels for Middle Eastern materials and related services.

If you will be on campus during that time and would like to meet with Dr. Houissa, please indicate your interest and availability as soon as possible in an email message to Roberta Gwilt, Assoc. University Librarian for Academic Resources at rbgwilt@syr.edu.

Considering the importance of this issue even the If you are not going to be on campus please tell me what type of collection buildup (i.e., Arabic literature, Ottoman history, Egyptian films) you are most interested in so that we can give our “wish list” to the library.

The Fulbright Scholar Program

The Fulbright Scholar Program is now accepting applications for 60 awards for lecturing and research in North Africa and the Middle East during the 2009-10 academic year. Awards for both faculty and professionals range from two to ten months and are available in all disciplines. Multi-country research awards allow one to spend time in two or more countries.

Applicants may propose projects and host institution preferences or respond to specific institutional requests in certain countries. Foreign language skills are needed for most research awards, but lecturing assignments are in English.

Applicants must be U.S. citizens, have a Ph.D. or equivalent terminal degree or professional credentials, and have a record of university lecturing or advanced research and publication.

New for 2009-10:
(1) Awards are available for Americans to teach or conduct research at three Palestinian universities in the West Bank;
(2) Awards to faculty and professionals in performing and visual arts are available in Egypt

The application deadline for 2009-10 awards is August 1, 2008.

For information and application forms, visit www.cies.org or contact:
Gary Garrison, Asst. Director
202-686-4019
ggarrison@cies.iie.org
Rachel Kolb, Program Officer
202-686-4013 rkolb@cies.iie.org
Jaclyn Assarian, Program Associate
202-686-4022
jassarian@cies.iie.org
Council for International Exchange of Scholars
3007 Tilden Street, N.W. - Suite 5L
Washington, D.C. 20008

Dissertation Proposal Development Fellowship (DPDF)
Request for Proposals ­ Faculty Opportunities

Click Here for details.

We Welcome New Professor: Miriam F. Elman to Syracuse University.

Miriam (Ph.D., Columbia University, 1996) will join the Political Science Department as an Associate Professor in Fall 2008.

Dr. Elman’s work focuses on international relations theory and security studies in general, and the relationship between democracy and war in particular. With regard to Middle East Studies, her research and teaching interests include: democratization in the Middle East; the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; and the intersection of religion and politics in the region. She is the editor of Paths to Peace: Is Democracy the Answer? (MIT Press, 1997), and the co-editor of Bridges and Boundaries: Historians, Political Scientists, and the Study of International Relations (MIT Press, 2001) and Progress in International Relations Theory: Appraising the Field (MIT Press, 2003). Elman’s research has been supported by Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, where she was a Security Fellow from 1995-1996 and from 1998-2000, and by the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict at Arizona State University, where she taught from 1995-2008. Her recent publications include a series of essays on the role of religious political parties in promoting and moderating violence. She is also currently co-editing a book on the city of Jerusalem viewed from an interdisciplinary perspective. Joining the Maxwell School in Fall 2008, Elman plans to develop a cross-disciplinary faculty-student project on Democracy in the Middle East and will teach Politics of the Middle East (Fall 2008) and Religion in the Israeli Palestinian Conflict (Spring 2009).

MIRIAM.ELMAN@asu.edu

Award Ceremony

Friday April 25
(5:00-7:00 pm)
(dinner served)
220 Eggers Hall

Come and celebrate with us the first ever Middle Eastern Studies ceremony. We will recognize a few students who have received various awards, say goodbye to our 20 democracy activists from the Arab world, and celebrate the end of the 2007-08 academic year over dinner and music.

Free and open to the public.

Film: The Cult of the Suicide Bomber

Wednesday, April 23 (2:15-4:00 pm)

060 Eggers Hall

Their devastating and deadly actions punctuate the world news almost nightly, yet they remain faceless figures amidst the violence and turmoil that engulf the Middle East. And, whether it's the C4-laden martyrs of Hezbollah or the car bombing insurgents of Iraq, what could possibly compel a suicide bomber to voluntarily take their own lives, along with those of hundreds of innocent victims? There is perhaps no one better equipped to investigate this terrifying practice than Robert Baer, a decorated, former Middle East CIA Agent and the man George Clooney's character was based on in the Academy Award®-winning film, Syriana.

Robert Baer returns to his former center of operations, the Middle East, to trace the origins of the modern day bomber. In this poignant documentary, Baer reveals the fascinating story of a 13-year-old suicide bomber (Hossein Fahmideh) who was martyred in the Iran-Iraq war and is now a hero in Iran; and visits his highly decorated grave in the graveyard of martyrs just outside Tehran.

Approx. running time: 96 minutes

Free and open to the public.

Call for Newsletter Content:

Once again we are collecting news about students, faculty, staff and alumni affiliated with the Middle Eastern Studies Program for our upcoming newsletter.

Alumni News (jobs, publications, graduate degrees, travels, marriage, children, new contact info, etc.)

Faculty News (recent publications, grants received, conference presentations/talks, editorial responsibilities, new courses offered, travels, etc.

Student News (awards and degrees received, travels, internships). Also feel free to list the titles of your Honors Thesis, Master’s Thesis, Ph.D. dissertations (completed or currently in progress).

Please e-mail this information to me (mboroujerdi@maxwell.syr.edu) by April 21 at the latest.

Announcements:

New Islamic Law course announced. Click Here for details.

Student Paper Award. Click Here for details.

Arabic 101& 102 will be offered this summer at Syracuse University:
ARB 101: 5/28-6/27/08 12:00-4:45
ARB 102: The date and time will soon be posted

Film Reminder: Deserted Riviera. Click Here for more information.

Position: Middle East Studies Post Doctoral Fellowship
Deadline: April 21, 2008--Click Here for more information.  

Position Announcement, Cornell. Click Here for more information.

End of the Semester Dinner Reception and Award Ceremony

The Middle Eastern Studies Program will hold its end of the semester dinner reception and award ceremony on Friday April 25 from 5:00 to 8:00 PM in Pubic Events room. At this event we will also say goodbye to the democracy activists from the Arab world who will be on campus from March 15 to April 26 (more on this later) Please keep this date open on your calendars.

Documentary “Faith Without Fear”

Muslim Students Association is inviting anyone interested to view a documentary “Faith Without Fear” (2007) produced by Gordon Henderson and Silva Basmajian, directed by Ian Mcleod, which follows Irshad Manji (current leader of Moral Courage Project at NYU, and the author of “Trouble with Islam”), often referred to in American media as Muslim dissident, on a journey through some Muslim and not communities. In light of Ms. Manji’s lecture on the 15th of February this documentary becomes an important introduction to her perspective on Islam and contemporary conditions in/of Muslim communities.

Thu Feb 14 2008
3:00PM HBC GIFF

Nowrouz Celebration 1387

in the Ballroom of
Doubletree Hotel
6301 Carrier Pkwy
East Syracuse, NY 13057
(315) 432-0200
Saturday, March 22, 2008, 7:00 PM – 1:00 AM

Click Here for poster in printer friendly .pdf format

Hasan Abdullah Yabroudi Student Paper Award 2008

This year the Middle Eastern Studies Program will launch its annual essay contest for undergraduate and graduate students.

The Hasan Abdullah Yabroudi Prize will be awarded to the best two essays dealing with any aspect of the Middle East written by one undergraduate and one graduate student enrolled at Syracuse University. The authors of the winning papers will be presented with an award of $500 and a certificate.

The entries, which can originate as course papers, will be evaluated by a faculty committee on the basis of originality of research and conceptualization, cogency of argument and clarity of writing. The essays must not exceed 7500 words (including bibliography) and must have been produced between May 13, 2007 and April 1, 2008. Essays can be nominated by the faculty or by students (with a letter of support from a faculty member). Please send 2 copies to the Yabroudi Prize Contest, Middle Eastern Studies Program, 332 Eggers Hall. For further information, please contact Mehrzad Boroujerdi at (315) 443-5877 or mboroujerdi@maxwell.syr.edu. Submission deadline is April 7, 2008.

Please note that we have changed the submission deadline from the original date of May 15 because we would like to present these awards at an end of the semester party on April 25 at 5:00 PM in 220 Eggers Hall.

Spring Film Series

  • Ceasefire
    February 7, 4:00 pm, 060 Eggers Hall,
    Click Here for poster.
  • "Unsettled,"
    Monday, February 18, 2008 at 7 p.m. in the Joyce Hergenhen Auditorium in Newhouse III. A Q&A with director Adam Hootnick will occur after the screening.
    Click Here for poster.
  • Syriana
    February 21, 4:00 pm, 060 Eggers Hall
  • An Educational Film
    March 5, 4:00 pm, 060 Eggers Hall
  • To Die in Jerusalem
    March 20, 4:00 pm, 060 Eggers Hall
  • Deserted Riviera
    April 3, 4:00 pm, 060 Eggers Hall
  • War Spin: The Media and the Iraq War
    April 17, 4:00 pm, 060 Eggers Hall

New Database Subscription

The library’s subscription to the Middle Eastern & Central Asian Studies database has started. This database is now available on the library’s Find Articles/databases page, and should be available through the catalog before too long. To find it on the databases page, you can click on M or type Middle Eastern into the search box.

Rami Khouri Lecture: Free at last! Free at last! Allahu Akbar, we are free at last!

November 13, 2007
5:00 pm
Public Events Room
220 Eggers Hall
Click Here for poster

Middle Eastern Studies Program Presents the Fall 2007 Film Festival

Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People
November 2, 4:00 pm, 060 Eggers Hall
Click Here for poster

Divorce Iranian Style
November 8, 4:00 pm, 060 Eggers Hall
Click Here for poster

The Yacoubian Building
November 15, 4:00 pm, 060 Eggers Hall
Click Here for poster

In the Name of the Father
November 29, 4:00 pm, 060 Eggers Hall

Information Meeting for Students Interested in Studying in Egypt, Turkey, and London (Muslim Cultures Program)

October 29, 2007
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
341 Eggers Hall

Click Here for poster in printer friendly .pdf format.

Tenure Track Assistant Professorship in Arabic

Syracuse University announces a tenure-track assistant professorship position in Arabic in its Department of Languages, Literatures & Linguistics. The position will begin in fall 2008. The successful candidate will teach advanced Arabic language courses, as well as courses in Arabic Linguistics, Literature & Culture. The candidate's research specialty may be in one or more of these areas. We seek candidates with native or near native fluency in Arabic and a demonstrated record of excellence in research and teaching. The candidate hired must have Ph.D. in hand by August 2008. Salary is competitive. Send cover letter, dossier (CV, 3 letters of recommendation, evidence of teaching excellence and research interests, with at least one writing sample) to Gerlinde Ulm Sanford, Chair / Languages, Literatures & Linguistics, 340 D HBC Hall, Syracuse, NY 13244-1160. Submission deadline is December 1, 2007 (postmark). Women, minorities urged to apply: AA/EOE employer.

Luce Project in Religion, Media and International Relations:
Grants for Curriculum Development,
Grants for Case Study Development

In its work augmenting the number and variety of graduate-level courses related to the study of its major themes, the Luce Project announces the availability of development grants for faculty who wish to incorporate one or more of the Luce subject areas into their courses.
In addition, the Project is making available grants to faculty and graduate students who would be interested in writing case studies of international events related to religion, media and international relations.
The grants will be worth up to $4,000 each for new courses and new case studies, and up to $2,000 each for revamping existing courses and cases.
They are available to faculty and graduate students within the schools participating within the Luce Project: The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, the College of Arts & Sciences and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.
A discussion of the grants, along with guidance in the development of case studies, will be held Thursday, Sept. 20, at 5 p.m., in 341 Eggers Hall. A dinner will be served.
Persons interested in attending should reply to Gustav Niebuhr at rgniebuh@syr.edu by Tuesday, Sept. 18, at 5 p.m.

Curriculum Development Grants

As part of its plans to augment the number and variety of Middle East-related courses offered at both the undergraduate and graduate level, the Middle Eastern Studies Program announces the availability of two curriculum development grants of $4,000 each to full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty members. Half of the funds will be given once the proposal is selected, and the other half will be distributed at the beginning of the semester in which the new course is first offered.

Please electronically submit your course proposals (1-3 pages) by September 20, 2007 to Mehrzad Boroujerdi at mboroujerdi@maxwell.syr.edu

Major Gift Received

Mr. Abdallah H. Yabroudi (78 BS/’79 MIE Engineering), Chairman and Deputy Managing Director of Dubai Contracting Company has provided a $300,000 endowment for the Middle Eastern Studies Program named after his father, Hasan Abdallah Yabroudi. Established by Mr. Yabroudi’s father in 1962, Dubai Contracting Company is an international private construction company with over 5,000 employees that specializes in building and civil engineering projects, including high-rise construction projects. Mr. Yabroudi has also helped MESP establish a best paper award named after his father.

Middle East Film Festival

On March 5, 2007 the Middle Eastern Studies Program launched the first film in SU’s inaugural Middle East film festival, which was founded by the Chancellor’s Feinstone Grant for Multicultural Initiatives. For a period of five weeks the program provided students and the greater Syracuse community the opportunity to view some of the region’s most important films. The series began with the highly acclaimed and politically charged film Paradise Now that explores the Palestinian-Israeli conflict by tracing the lives of two Palestinians who are chosen to go on a suicide mission into Israel. In the following weeks, the screened films included Children of Heaven (Iran), Turtles Can Fly (Iraq), and Yol (Turkey).

Middle East Partnership Initiative

Under a program funded by the U. S. Department of State’s Middle East Partnership Initiative, 22 emerging leaders from fifteen countries in the Middle East came to Syracuse University for a month-long fellowship at the Maxwell School in February 2007. The Middle Eastern fellows studied the foundations of democracy before participating in a three-month skill-building internship, in Central New York or Washington, DC. The participants, men and women ranging in age from 25 to 40, returned to their home countries in June with new knowledge and skills to help foster positive democratic change. While at the Maxwell School, the fellows – representing Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, the Palestinian territories, Qatar, Syria, Tunisia, UAE, and Yemen – participate in classes, lectures, panel discussions, and simulations. The academic program focused on comparative politics and the development of democratic institutions; leading and managing the democratic state; and citizenship, private action, and private enterprise. The internships provided the opportunity for participants to work in organizations that match their professional interests and provide a grassroots view of democracy in action.

North African Journalists Visiting SU

Thanks to another State Department-funded program -- Edward R. Murrow Program for International Journalists -- twelve journalists from Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and France came to Syracuse University for a seven day period in April 2007. The journalists, who ranged in age from their late 20’s to mid 40’s, spent their week in Syracuse participating in a series of social, academic and professional events around the city and campus. This was the second year in a row that the Maxwell School and the Newhouse School of Communications had jointly participated in the widely successful Edward R. Murrow Program.