The unfolding tragedy in Israel and Gaza highlights and perpetuates acute suffering in the region. The reverberations of this tragedy are being felt around the world and at Lewis & Clark. We believe that exploring the multiple historical trajectories, intersecting perspectives, and possible futures that frame the tragedy can be one step in examining our own positions and understanding those of others in our community. This teach-in considers how scholarship in history, anthropology, religious studies, psychology and other fields can help to reflect on the politics and ethics of justice, reconciliation and peace.
You are invited to submit proposals for presentation at Lewis & Clark’s 6th annual Middle East and North African Studies (MENA) Symposium, which will proceed under the following theme:
Alternative and Emerging Histories of the Middle East and North Africa
The sixth annual MENA Symposium will strive to uphold the legacy of Edward Said, one of the founders of postcolonial studies, whose criticism of Orientalism started a movement to rethink and rewrite histories of the region.
The speakers and panelists at this symposium are invited to think critically about how to represent the Middle East and North Africa in academia and beyond. Papers, presentations, and performances will help to shift our conversations in order to make room for alternative perspectives, methods, and media so that we may better understand the full spectrum of human experience, including marginalized and underrepresented communities, in the region.
We welcome submissions of any and all presentations that develop this theme or that pertain to the MENA region, geographically inclusive of North Africa, Turkey and the Levant, and the Arabian Peninsula. We also will accept research in Southwest Asia (Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan).
Selected presentations will be organized into thematic panels. Presentations will be limited to 15 minutes.
To send a proposal, please complete this submission form.
Proposals must be received no later than Feb. 29, 2020.