Portland State University Middle East Studies Center Lecture Series: Recent Episodes
middleeaststudiescenter @ pdx
Kamal Abdel-Malek discusses his anthology of translated excerpts of travel writing from Arabic, portraying the many faces of the love-hate ties between the Arab world and the United States.
This multi-generic book moves back and forth between Amitav Ghosh's experience living in small villages and towns in the Nile Delta and his reconstruction of a Jewish trader and his slave's lives in the eleventh century.
A look across the layered landscape of the Morea, the medieval Peloponnese, to investigate the relationship between villages and monasteries.
From "Shock and Awe" to drone strikes, Therese Saliba looks at the real effects on women's lives from a decade of military interventions in the Middle East and the implications for women's human rights.
The political upheavals in the Arab republics since 2011 have shaken old political hierarchies and opened elections to once-banned groups. Because the republics sought support from minorities, these revolutions have put the latter in a difficult position
Conflicting positions on Iran stem from the fact that Iran itself is divided—a nation at once modern and medieval.
Written by Abu'l Qasim Firdausi at the end of the tenth century, the Shahnameh, the Persian Book of Kings, traces the course of Persian history from Creation to the mid-seventh century.
The Middle East Studies Center's monthly brownbag Lunch and Learn series provides an opportunity for the campus community to learn more about the Middle East through informal presentations and discussions with scholars and experts.
This illustrated talk discussed the Central Asian and Afghan origins of the Mughal Empire of India (1526-1739/1858) as revealed in the Turki or Chaghatai Turkish autobiography of the founder of the Empire, Zahir al-Din Muhammad Babur (1483-1530).
A discussion of Tunisia's first post-transition election following the ratification of its constitution by the constituent assembly.
A look at some of the continuities and connections between earlier and contemporary Iranian Women's writing.
Miko Peled is an Israeli writer and activist living in San Diego. His book _The General's Son: Journey of an Israeli in Palestine_ follows the development of the Israeli Palestinian issue from a national and personal perspective.
A panel discussion centering on the film, The Suffering Grasses, directed by Iara Lee, which aims to give voice to those most affected by the violence in Syria.
A roundtable discussion with the Readers of Homer, students, faculty and community participants, following a marathon Iliad reading.
Few would have ever anticipated that events 'triggering' the 'Arab Spring' would have come from Tunisia, and fewer still would have thought Algeria would weather the subsequent storm.
In October 2012 Hellenic Studies was honored to welcome the Onassis Scholar Program to Oregon with a three-lecture series by Professor Dimitrios Tsougarakis, renowned scholar of Byzantine history from the Ionian University, Greece.
Does territory exist over which sovereignty has been sought politically or militarily, or which would be insisted upon in the course of current territorial negotiations, solely because of its access to water sources?
Critical observation of Gulf cities' development in the last decade reveals a number of architectural and urban paradigms. Through an elaborate attempt to construct a new contemporary identity within a knowledge-based approach to urban development, Doha emerges as a new architectural and urban utopia. A critical reading of this model suggests a number of architectural and urban challenges. This presentation will trace the change from resource and industrial economies to a creative and knowledge-based economy, a transformation which has been seen as inevitable change for Gulf cities in a rapidly approaching post-carbon world.
Research on Dubai has typically focused on the city's spectacular and rapid urban transformation. Yasser Elsheshtawy goes beyond the city as spectacle by exploring and uncovering its hidden spaces. In this talk, Elsheshtawy will present one such case providing a detailed, empirical account of a street in one of its low-income districts, Hor Al-Anz. The neighborhood is a locale for South-Asian migrant workers, for whom the street is the only venue for public interaction. The street-corner in particular becomes a site for social gatherings, and thus provides a microcosm for the lives of these migrant workers, framed within a larger context of informal urbanism where city residents take matters into their own hands and subvert established planning practices. Elsheshtawy will use census data and content analysis of media reports to provide a brief overview of Dubai's urban development to contextualize the case study, in particular looking at immigration laws and the place accorded to such migrants. He will also discuss a unique mapping methodology utilizing GIS technologies, behavioral mapping and videography.
The solid gold headpiece crowning the mummy of the boy-king Tutankhamun is surely the best-known Egyptian artwork in the world. Or is it? While many have looked, all have failed to see. In this forensically detailed study, Nicholas Reeves reveals the mask's astonishing secret: that it had never been intended for Tutankhamun at all. When Howard Carter and George Herbert, the 5th Earl of Carnarvon, entered the long-sought tomb in the Valley of the Kings in 1922, few could have imagined the magnificence of the treasure soon to be revealed. Within a stone sarcophagus and three dazzling anthropoid coffins of descending size, the young king lay undisturbed, his richly bedecked mummy crowned with a burial mask of solid gold, twenty-one inches high and weighing over twenty-two pounds. Tonight we will hear how this magnificent mask has a startling new story to tell.
Checkpoints are a centerpiece of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, yet remain understudied. How do they affect Palestinian preferences towards violence? What role do they play in the Peace Process and regional security? Some analysts contend that checkpoints defend against violence, while others say they perpetuate it. Which is it, and how can we tell? In this paper we exploit a natural experiment, based on an Israeli decision in 2009 to remove several checkpoints. We randomly sampled within two population clusters before and after this intervention. These results are then compared with an independent panel survey conducted in three waves between 2007-2009. Both studies suggest that checkpoints make Palestinians more likely to support violence - suggesting a rethinking of Israeli security policy, as short-term concerns over Palestinian movement may be compromising Israel's long-terms security interests. This argument has policy implications for conflicts worldwide, most notably in contemporary US-occupied Iraq.
Dr Pearce Paul Creasman holds a number of positions with the University of Arizona: Director of the University's Egyptian Expedition; Assistant Research Professor of Dendrochronology; Curator of the Laboratory of the University's Tree Ring Research collection; and assistant editor of the publication Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections. He is also president and founder of the Institute for Maritime Research and Discovery. He currently serves as President of ARCE/Arizona Chapter. He obtained his Ph.D. in Nautical Archeology/Anthropology at Texas A& M University. He has an avid interest in underwater exploration and is a leading researcher on the timber of ships and shipwrecks in an effort to better understand the relationship between the ancient Egyptian people and their culture/environment.
Professor Louis A Ruprecht, Jr., William M. Suttles Chair in Religious Studies at Georgia State, was an honored summer guest of the Hellenic Studies program who taught a summer course and gave two public lectures.
Richard Paxton, Professor of Education at Pacific University Oregon, speaks at a workshop for educators that focused on the use of film to teach about international topics in the K-12 classroom. Dr. Paxton is a former high school History and Language Arts teacher. His doctorate is in Educational Psychology, with a specific focus on the teaching and learning of History. A former faculty member at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Dr. Paxtons research and scholarship has been published in many national and international journals. He maintains exchange programs in Uganda and Kenya.
Sylvia Frankel, an adjunct member of the faculty of the Religious Studies Department at Lewis and Clark College, speaks at a workshop for educators focused on the use of film to teach about international topics in the K-12 classroom. Frankel served as director of the Oregon Holocaust Resource Center from 1983-1995. In that capacity she built up an oral history archive of Holocaust survivors, refugees, and concentration camp liberators. Frankel continues to be engaged in oral history activities under the aegis of the Oregon Jewish Museum. She is also on the faculty of the local Florence Melton Adult Mini School, a program developed by Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Frankel has taught classes on Jewish History, the Holocaust, and Israeli literature at Portland State University, Reed College, and Marylhurst. she organizes an annual Women's Day of Jewish Learning, in the Jewish community, with a focus on biblical women. She has directed and produced two videos based on her oral histories.
One of the latest revelations in the modern banking industry has been the introduction of Islamic finance and investment activities, referring to transactions that are compliant with Sharia Muslim law. Since its introduction in the late 20th century, Islamic banking has grown into an expanding global industry, and it is predicted that Shariah-compliant asset holdings will reach four trillion dollars by 2020. Muslim investors have also expanded Islamic finance activities into non-Muslim countries, often facing myths and misconceptions about the sector.
Carol Thomas (Ph.D., Northwestern University) is Professor of Greek History and Director of the Hellenic Studies Program at the University of Washington and author of Citadel to City State: The Transformation of Greece
An informal conversation with Masoud Kheirabadi, adjunct faculty for International Studies, Geography, and Sociology at Portland State University.
North Africa is a relatively understudied region in the Muslim world, yet it has been at the center of the Arab Spring. The Jasmine Revolution began in Tunisia in December 2010, leading to the ouster of President Ben Ali and unleashing a wave of popular discontent through the Middle East and beyond. North Africa stands at a crossroads, with Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt holding parliamentary, and in some cases, presidential elections in 2011 and 2012. Yet, the future of reform is uncertain and its results likely to be varied.
Salam Atta Sabri is an Iraqi artist and the founder and Director of the Iraqi Pioneers Committee in Baghdad. Following the looting of 2003, he published a partial list of the artwork missing from the Museum. In addition, he founded a non-governmental organization that works to preserve the history and artworks of the pioneers of modern Iraqi fine arts (one of whom was his father). This lecture was presented with co-sponsorship from The American Academic Research Institute in Iraq and the Council of American Overseas Research Centers, with funding from Carnegie Corporation of New York; Portland Community College's Internationalization Initiative; the MA in Critical Theory and Creative Research at the Pacific Northwest College of Art; and the Portland State University Department of Art
On December 18, 2011, all U.S. military troops withdrew from Iraq, leaving behind an uncertain and undoubtedly fragile state. Steve Niva, member of the faculty at the Evergreen State College, shared his thoughts on the current state of Iraq. This lecture was presented with funding from the Portland State University Internationalization Council Minigrant Program
A lecture by Father Pavlos and Sister Joanna from St Catherine's Monastery, Sinai, Egypt.
The history of Imperial Japan's interplay with the Muslim world reflects a history of transnational nationalism that is part of the inception of twentieth century world power behavior. By using the Islam card primarily through diaspora transnational actors, the pre-war Japanese global claim to Islam reflects the interlacing of intellectual history with that of intelligence in global strategic ambitions. Ayse Selcuk Esenbel is Graduate Student Advisor in the Department of History at Bogazici University. Esenbel completed her undergraduate degree in History in the International Christian University (Japan) and George Washington University. She received her master's degree from the Department of Japanese Language and Linguistics at Georgetown University and a PhD in Japanese history from Columbia University. She is a Professor in the Department of History at Bogazici University. This lecture was presented by the Centers for Japanese and Middle East Studies. Co-sponsored by the Center for Turkish Studies and the Department of History
This talk focused on displacement and the psychological and socioeconomic conditions that influence the transition of Iraqi refugees in Portland. Baher Bhutti earned his PhD in Psychiatry from Baghdad University. He worked in Iraq as a psychiatrist, activist, and prolific writer until 2006 when his community activism made him a target of the emerging Iraqi militias. He found refuge in Portland, Oregon in 2007, was joined by his wife and children by 2009, and has since been working as a counselor, Iraqi refugee advocate, and community activist. In addition to working for the Lutheran Community Services, he serves on the Boards of the Center for Intercultural Organizing, Arab-Americans Cultural Center of Oregon, Advisory committee of Colored Pencils Art group, and is the founder of the Iraqi Society of Oregon. Yasmeen Hanoosh is Assistant Professor of Arabic Language and Literature, Portland State University. She received her PhD in Arabic Language and Literature from the University of Michigan (2008) and specializes in the literatures and history of ethno-religious minorities in the Middle East, and also in Arabic literary translation. This lecture was presented by the Middle East Studies Center and co-sponsored with Better-Life USA & the Iraqi Society of Oregon
Media drove the Arab Spring and it is a tool in the global spread of terrorism. Now governments are striking back. In this talk, Dr. Lawrence Pintak explores the battle for hearts, minds and the computer. Lawrence Pintak is the founding dean of the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University He is a veteran of more than 30 years in journalism and the media business on four continents who now writes and lectures on America's relationship with the Muslim world, the role of the media in shaping global perceptions and government policy, the future of journalism in a digital/globalized world, and the responsibilities of reporters covering conflict and social injustice.
Nohad A. Toulan is Dean Emeritus of Portland State University's College of Urban & Public Affairs and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of the School of Urban Studies & Planning, and is an internationally recognized urban planner who contributed extensively to the development of major urban and regional plans in the U.S., the Middle East, North and West Africa. Dr. Toulan has been an adviser to the United Nations Development Program and to local and foreign governments on development issues. A native of Cairo and Alexandria, Dr. Toulan recently visited Egypt to witness firsthand the country's "Second Revolution." In this talk, Dr. Toulan provides an update on the political and economic conditions in post-Mubarak Egypt. He also reports on the demands of the movement that overthrew the government and what changes the interim government has made in response to those demands since Mubarak's departure. This lecture was presented by the Portland State University Toulan School of Urban Studies & Planning, the Center for Turkish Studies, the International Studies Program, the Middle East Studies Center, and the Portland Center for Public Humanities.
Vangelis Kechriotis is Assistant to the Chair in Bogazici University Department of History. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Leiden. His research interests include late Ottoman political and cultural history, Christians and Jewish communities, nationalism, the Balkans, port-cities, imperial ideology This lecture was presented by the Portland State University Centers for Hellenic, Middle East and Turkish Studies and the Departments of History and World Languages & Literatures.
Assistant Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History, Laura Robson speaks at a workshop for educators which focused on the use of hip hop music and art to teach about social and political protest in the Occupied Palestinian Territories