News

Doria El Kerdany, a writer, a translator, and an Arabic language instructor at UNC-Chapel Hill, has been volunteering in Cairo’s Tahrir Square with a group looking to prevent the sexual harassment of women during protests. She is one of the 22 million people who have signed a petition in Egypt [...]

“We had not meant to find ourselves in the midst of the Istanbul demonstrations, or thinking about tear gas. It just kind of happened. I had come Turkey to lead twoeducational tours focused on the historical and spiritual dimensions of Turkey, when we found ourselves in the very midst of the Gezi [...]

As one of seven National Resource Centers at UNC-Chapel Hill, the Center joins in partnership with World View, a UNC program to support international education in North Carolina schools and community colleges.  Through World View, the Center reaches thousands of educators, offering professional development conferences, curriculum development grants, and classroom resources [...]

The Boston Marathon bombing and its aftermath—the week that started with deadly explosions and ended with a manhunt— left us with unanswered questions about home-grown terrorism, religious extremism, the pressures of the 24-hour news cycle, the legal system, and political struggles as far away as Chechnya.   UNC faculty met on [...]

This February (2013), the Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies took on the politically charged topic of veiling  at its annual conference with several goals in mind: to examine the persistence of stereotypical representations of the veil; to understand the veil and its multiple meanings, styles, and practices; and to [...]

The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation is pleased to announce that Natalia Suit, a student member of the Carolina Center for the Study of the Middle East and Muslim Civilizations, has been named a 2013 Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellow. Ms. Suit is a doctoral candidate in anthropology at [...]

Gain Knowledge about Islamic civilizations, including religion, history, politics, culture, and society, from 7th century Mecca to Islam in 21st century America; Learn about the diversity of interpretations and expressions of Islam that exist among Muslims;  Be exposed to Muslim cultures from around the world through multimedia, art, and literature; Understand problems [...]

In the UNC Honors program, each semester students meet in the Dunlevie Honors Colloquium to discuss a broad interdisciplinary topic of their own choosing.  The Spring 2013 topic is “Perspectives on the Arab Spring [link to site].” Faculty presenters from Duke University, NC State University, and Carolina include:  Cemil Aydin, Akram [...]

On February 22-23, the 2013 Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies conference was held at the FedEx Global Education Center, UNC-Chapel Hill.  “ReOrienting the Veil” focused on Muslim women’s veiling practices in transnational contexts, and featured lively, interdisciplinary discussion of the headscarf.  Presenters included Elizabeth Bucar, Todd Drake, Carla Jones, [...]

The 2013 Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies conference will be held at the FedEx Global Education Center, UNC-Chapel Hill, Feb. 22-13, 2013, and will focus on Muslim women’s veiling practices in transnational contexts.  The one and a half day conference is a forum for an interdisciplinary discussion of the [...]

The 10th annual Duke-UNC Islamic Studies Graduate Conference will be held on February 16-17, 2013, at Duke University (The Franklin Center).  We have 15 papers this year, with participants attending from all over the country and a few international students as well. The theme is "(De-)Centering Islam and the Question of Authenticity."  The keynote [...]

The new WRAL Documentary “Faith, Fear and Freedom” explores the lives of Muslims living in our state and examines the anti-Islamic prejudice and discrimination that is fueled by the actions of Islamic extremists. “Faith, Fear and Freedom," hosted by WRAL News anchor David Crabtree, aired Thursday, Dec. 20 at 7 [...]