Events
The Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies supports events that increase awareness of the history and cultures of the Middle East and Muslim civilizations, and values diverse perspectives that promote dialogue and understanding. Events listed here originate from a variety of campus units and community organizations. The listing of an event does not constitute endorsement of or agreement with the views presented therein.
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February 2020
Cultural Event: Egyptian Folkloric Dance Workshops and Show
Mohamed Ali from Alexandria, Egypt will be coming to Durham to teach two styles of Egyptian folklore dance "Saidi" (upper egyptian stick dance), 11:00 am – 1:00 pm, and Shaabi (modern Cairo street dance), 2:00 – 4:00 pm, at the Living Arts Collective in Downtown Durham. No previous experience is necessary. Later that evening we will host a special Middle Eastern dance and music show at the Durham Fruit and Co theater, 7:00 pm. Mohamed will perform his traditional dances along…
Find out more »Cultural Event: Urdu Majlis
Please join us on Saturday, February 22, for the next monthly meeting of Urdu Majlis, the Triangle's Urdu Literary Forum. This Urdu Majlis will concentrate on the life and works of Saleem Ahmad (1927-1983). Participants are invited to bring refreshments to share. This event is free and open to the public. Co-sponsored by the Carolina Asia Center and the South Asia Section of the UNC Department of Asian Studies. Urdu Majlis is an intellectual endeavor with no political or…
Find out more »Film Screening: Prince Among Slaves
In honor of Black History Month, there will be a screening of UPF's award-winning film- Prince Among Slaves. Please click here to register for free tickets. Prince Among Slaves In 1788, the slave ship Africa set sail from the Gambia River, headed for American shores with its hold laden with hundreds bound in chains. Eight months later, a handful of survivors found themselves for sale in Natchez, Mississippi. One of them, 26-year-old Abdul Rahman Ibrahima, a highly educated African prince,…
Find out more »Documentary Screening & Discussion: The Romey Lynchings
Join us for a screening of The Romey Lynchings, a documentary about prejudice and racial violence against Arab immigrants in the United States. Produced by the Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies, the film explores the lynching and murder of N’oula Romey and his wife Hasna Rahme in Lake City, Florida. Their murders were indicative of a widespread pattern of racially-motivated hostility, vitriol and physical abuse directed at early Lebanese immigrants who came to America to work and build a…
Find out more »Krasno Global Events Lecture Series: “Ambassadors Forum- On the Brink of War?: Conflict and Rivalry in the Middle East”
Join the Krasno Global Events series for a talk & discussion with two former U.S. ambassadors based in the Middle East; Ambassador David Litt (U.S. ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, 1995-1998), and and Ambassador Marc Sievers (U.S. ambassador to Oman, 2016-2019). The event will be moderated by Klaus Larres (UNC-Chapel Hill). The Krasno Events Series is a series of regular lectures, talks and discussions at UNC-Chapel Hill to enhance our understanding and comprehension of global affairs, past and…
Find out more »Poetry Reading: Arab American Poet Nathalie Handla
The Khayrallah Center invites you to an evening of poetry and conversation with renowned Arab American poet Nathalie Handal. Nathalie Handal will do a reading, followed by a Q&A session. Parking is free in the Entrepreneurship Garage. For more information, please contact Ms. Kristen Porter: kristen_porter@ncsu.edu. Handal is the author of several works and editor of the groundbreaking classic The Poetry of Arab Women: A Contemporary Anthology, winner of the PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Book Award, and named…
Find out more »Training: Been Here, Still Here: Muslims and Islamophobia in the U.S.
The Center for Muslim Life is offering a training on Muslims and Islamophobia in the United States this Spring. This introductory training includes a presentation and facilitated discussion about the history and presence of Muslims and Islamophobia in the US. Registration required here to attend. All are welcome. Send questions to ma321@duke.edu. Thursday, Jan 30: 9:30-11:30am Wednesday, Feb 26: 9:30-11:30am Thursday, Mar 5: 5-7pm Thursday, April 2: 5-7pm Sponsored by the Duke Center for Muslim Life. Multiple trainings The Center for Muslim Life…
Find out more »Wednesdays at the Center: “Istanbul: The Beloved City” with Professors Selim Kuru (UW Seattle) and Oscar Aguirre-Mandujano (U. Penn)
Speakers Selim Kuru and Oscar Aguirre-Mandujano will introduce the culture and gendered contexts of early modern Ottoman Istanbul through poetry and literature. Prof. Kuru received his Ph.D. degree in Near Eastern Languages and Civilization from Harvard University. Selim Kuru′s work focuses on Ottoman 14th-16th centuries Anatolian literary history, genres with respect to the topic of love and its place in the elite Ottoman society. Prof. Oscar Aguirre-Mandujano studies early modern Ottoman intellectual history, and its connections to literature, poetry,…
Find out more »Workshop: Gnawa LanGus: Community Music and Dance Workshop
Join Gnawa LanGus, fronted by GRAMMY-nominated musician Samir LanGus, for a free community workshop on the indigenous music and dance traditions of Morocco and North Africa. For all levels of ability. Gnawa music is the ritual trance music of Morocco’s black communities, originally descended from slaves and soldiers once brought to Morocco from Northern Mali and Mauritania. Often called “The Moroccan Blues,” Gnawa music has a raw, hypnotic power that’s fascinated outsiders as diverse as writer/composer Paul Bowles,…
Find out more »Global Career Night
Hear from a panel of extraordinary UNC alumni in globally focused careers! A networking reception will follow the panel. At the reception, representatives from a variety of UNC units will join the panelists and attendees. Please visit these guidelines for information on weeknight parking on campus. Co-sponsored by the UNC Curriculum in Global Studies, the UNC College of Arts and Sciences, the Carolina Asia Center, the UNC African Studies Center, the UNC Center for Global Initiatives, the UNC Center for Middle…
Find out more »A Conversation: “Overview of Academic Freedom in Turkey” with Duke Faculty & Guests
Join us for this special program where Duke Faculty and guests will discuss the current challenges that face academic institutions across the globe. For more information visit here, or please email: griffin.orlando@duke.edu. Organized by Duke Middle East Studies Center; co-sponsored by Duke University Center for International and Global Studies, Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. Special thanks to the Trent Memorial Foundation Endowment Fund. Pink Parlor, East Duke Building Duke University, East Campus
Find out more »A Conversation: “Overview of Academic Freedom in Turkey” with Duke Faculty & Guests
Join us for this special program where Duke Faculty and guests will discuss the current challenges that face academic institutions across the globe. For more information visit here, or please email: griffin.orlando@duke.edu. Organized by Duke Middle East Studies Center; co-sponsored by Duke University Center for International and Global Studies, Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. Special thanks to the Trent Memorial Foundation Endowment Fund. Pink Parlor, East Duke Building Duke University, East Campus
Find out more »Open House: International Students, Scholars, and Faculty
International students, faculty, and staff are invited to join the UNC College of Arts & Sciences for an open house on February 27, 4:00 – 5:30 pm. Global health scares, new federal travel policies, and international geopolitical tensions have prompted questions and concerns. The College, ISSS, and student support offices will come together to share information, review resources, and answer queries – and have some cookies. Sponsored by the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. FedEx Global…
Find out more »Film Screening: “For Sama” Screen/Society
Film Screening: "For Sama" (Waad Al-Kateeb/Edward Watts, 2019, 100 min, UK/Syria, Arabic w/ subtitles, Color, DCP) Best Documentary winner at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, "For Sama" is an intimate journey into the female experience of war. A love letter from a young mother to her daughter, the film tells the story of Waad al-Kateab's life through five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria as she falls in love, gets married and gives birth to Sama, all while…
Find out more »Performance: Gnawa LanGus: ‘Building Bridges: Muslims in America’
The Gnawa blended their own traditions with native religious beliefs - just as displaced sub-Saharan West Africans did in the Americas - and healing music was created for private use by a community that was not permitted to directly observe their relationship with Allah. Played with percussive instruments, Qarqaba (large iron castanets), polyrhythmic clapping, and a three-stringed, bass lute-like sintir - Gnawa music draws on an abundant African-Islam history of ritualistic music believed to heal people possessed by jinn,…
Find out more »Panel & Roundtable: “Turkish Novel in Global Contexts”
Panel presentation by Zeynep Uysal (Boğazici U.), Hülya Adak (Sabancı U.), Murat Gülsoy (Boğazici U.) and Efe Khayyat (Rutgers U.) on various academic themes and issues of the modern Turkish novel in global contexts as it pertains to their work and the field. This will be followed by Duke Faculty Roundtable with Nancy Armstrong, Shai Ginsburg, Anne Garreta, and Erdağ Göknar. For more information visit here, or please email: griffin.orlando@duke.edu. Organized by Duke Middle East Studies Center; co-sponsored by…
Find out more »Conference: “Who Speaks for Islam? Approaches to Authority within the Academy and Beyond” – 17th Annual Duke-UNC Graduate Student Conference in Middle East and Islamic Studies
The 17th Annual Duke-UNC conference is the longest running graduate student Middle East & Islamic Studies conference in the country. This year’s conference “Who Speaks for Islam?: Approaches to Authority within the Academy and Beyond” will be held in Chapel Hill, NC on Saturday, February 29, 2020. Keynote speaker Professor Kecia Ali will speak to gendered citational politics and structures of authority within the academy. For more information, please visit the conference website. Sponsored by the Duke-UNC Consortium…
Find out more »Performance: Welcoming Nowruz
Join Persian Art Center in Carolina for a Nowruz celebration with original music by Siavash Pourfazli and Shahram Mazhari, as well as classical Persian dance. Goodson Chapel is located next to the main Duke Chapel; park in the garage at Chapel Dr. and walk to the Divinity School. Doors open at 6:00. Free and open to the public. Contact Dr. Rezvani at amirrezvani65@gmail.com with questions. Sponsored by Persian Art Center in Carolina the Graduate Student Association of Iranians…
Find out more »March 2020
Lunch Talk: Professor Kecia Ali (Boston University)
Join the Center for Muslim Life and the Women's Center for lunch with Professor Kecia Ali, scholar of religion, gender, and ethics. Professor Ali's scholarship focuses on the study of Islamic Jurisprudence and Women in Early and Modern Islam. She is currently a Professor of Religion at Boston University, and her books include Sexual Ethics in Islam (2006), The Lives of Muhammad (2014), and Marriage and Slavery in Early Islam (2010). Duke undergraduate Sarah Chaoui '21 will lead a…
Find out more »KF Sephardic Studies Lecture: “Forging Ties, Forging Passports: Migration and the Modern Sephardi Diaspora” with Devi Mays (University of Michigan)
Devi Mays received her BA in Religious Studies at the University of British Columbia in 2006 and her PhD in History and Jewish Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington, in 2013. Dr. Mays works on transnational Jewish networks in the Mediterranean and global contexts, with a focus on Sephardic Jews. Her dissertation, “Transplanting Cosmopolitans: The Migrations of Sephardic Jews to Mexico, 1900-1934,” deals with Sephardic migrants between the Ottoman Empire, its successor states, and Mexico, studying the transnational identities,…
Find out more »Lecture: “Muslim Women: Unity & Diversity in A Global Tradition” with Professor Kecia Ali (Boston University)
Though 'the Muslim Woman' has often been portrayed one-dimensionally, Muslim women and girls defy easy generalizatiaons. Nearly one of every eight people on the planet is a Muslim woman or girl, and Islam is only one facet of their lives. Drawing from global examples, but emphasizing the United States, this talk explores how ideas about women are central to debates over Muslim identity and religious authority-and to outsiders' negative stereotypes about Islam. Kecia Ali (Ph.D., Religion, Duke University)…
Find out more »Lunch Seminar: “Masada: From Jewish Revolt to Modern Myth” with Jodi Magness (UNC Chapel Hill)
Each semester, the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies hosts informal lunch seminars to discuss academic topics related to the field of Jewish Studies. The lunch seminars are for Carolina’s faculty and graduate students, and interested undergraduates. Reservations are required as lunch will be provided. Reading materials are often sent in advance of the lunch seminar. For more information and to RSVP, visit here. Guest speaker: Jodi Magness (www.JodiMagness.org) is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (category…
Find out more »Cultural Event: Common CommUNITY Annual Open House
The Islamic Association of Raleigh's Outreach Team invites you to the educational Annual Open House, scheduled for Saturday, March 7, 2020, at 11:00am. This year's theme is "Our Common CommUNITY.” It will feature a keynote address by a decorated war veteran and Imam AbuTaleb. Come learn about your fellow American Muslims, observe them at prayer and sample culinary treats from around the Islamic world. This is a free event. Please refer here for the detailed program, timings and registration. Sponsored…
Find out more »Seminar: “Reciprocity in Business-Government Relations: A Comparative Perspective—Turkey, Japan, and France” with Patrick Fridenson (École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris)
On Monday, March 16, 3:30-5:00, in Hamilton 569, Professor Patrick Fridenson (of the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris) will offer a seminar on his current research: “Reciprocity in Business-Government Relations: A Comparative Perspective—Turkey, Japan, and France.” Professor Patrick Fridenson has taught at a number of American universities. His research deals with the strategies, innovations, ethics, structures, and performances of business enterprises in relation to consumers and to the regulatory and social environment in international perspective. He has published extensively…
Find out more »Nowruz Celebration
Student Research Forum at 1:00 p.m. Reception at 2:00 p.m. Lecture at 3:00 p.m. Enjoy traditional refreshments in recognition of the Persian New Year. Program will feature student presentations and a talk, “The Last Iranian Americans? Bans, Sanctions, and Immigrant Disintegration,” by Neda Maghbouleh, University of Toronto. Sponsored by the UNC Libraries, co-sponsored by the Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies. Wilson Library, Pleasants Family Assembly Room UNC Chapel Hill
Find out more »Carolina Seminar: Varieties of Esoteric Islam in Post-Soviet Tatarstan with Agnes Kefili (Arizona State University)
After the collapse of the USSR, intellectuals from traditionally Soviet Muslim ethnicities began the complicated process of rethinking their religious identities, political philosophies, and worldviews. Although Western scholars often present this process as an unproblematic “return to Islam,” the newly religious thinkers of the 1990s engaged the rich philosophical universe of their time, incorporating and rejecting elements of New Age, occult, and esoteric systems in their efforts to formulate answers for the contemporary world. My paper focuses on the Tatars (the largest…
Find out more »K-12 Teacher Training: Middle East & African Cultures Teacher Fellows Program Orientation
The Middle East and African Cultures Teacher Fellows Program is a funded, eight-month intensive fellowship for teachers to explore Middle Eastern and African history, cultures, and diaspora through structured experiential learning experiences across North Carolina. Running March to December 2020, this program aims to enhance teacher expertise in Middle Eastern and African studies in part by making relevant connections to local communities. Participation is through competitive application process. Participants will attend a two-day orientation workshop, Friday, March 20…
Find out more »World View’s Spring Programs for Community College Educators: Global is Local
This program is a collaboration between North Carolina global industries, North Carolina community colleges and UNC World View. Each event will provide community college leaders and faculty a unique opportunity to hear from local industry leaders about meeting the needs in the competitive and ever-evolving economy. Two events are planned for spring 2020. Sponsored by UNC World View. Eastern North Carolina, Co-hosted by Pitt Community College March 20, 2020 Click here to find out more. Piedmont…
Find out more »World View K-12 Global Education Seminar: Global Conflict and Peacebuilding
K-12 educators will gain relevant information and innovative approaches to teaching about global conflict and peacebuilding. Educators will be introduced to key themes, diverse resources and strategies for exploring these topics in the classroom. Continuing Education Units offered. #WorldView2020 Click here to register. Educators who have participated in a World View program in the past two years are encouraged to apply for the James L. Peacock Scholarship! One recipient will receive a scholarship to attend the March 24-25,…
Find out more »Symposium: Revisiting Discourses of Love, Sex, and Desire in Modern Iran and Diaspora
This one-day symposium is an attempt to provide a safe space for public discussions of the nuances around discourses of love and desire in modern Iran, challenging and contributing to the dominant discourses on key topics. From their mundane to their sublime forms, love and desire have played a central role in various discourses in modern Iran. From romantic epics to ghazals, and from arranged marriages to white marriages, and from companionate love to contemporary cohabitations, desire is undoubtedly one…
Find out more »April 2020
17th Annual Duke-UNC Rotary Peace Center Spring Conference: Voices of Peace
Please join us on 4 April 2020 for the 17th Annual Rotary Spring Conference. The theme this year is "Voices of Peace". Class XVII Rotary Peace Fellows will be presenting their research and sharing examples of hope, peace-making, and positive change from every corner of the world. The conference will take place at the FedEx Global Education Center on UNC-Chapel Hill's campus, from 8.30 am to 4:00 pm. Parking will be available for free in the McCauley Parking Deck,…
Find out more »Film Screening: Tel Aviv on Fire
Join the UNC Department of Asian Studies for a screening of Tel Aviv on Fire, a 2018 internationally co-produced comedy-drama satire film directed by Sameh Zoabi and co-written by Zoabi and Dan Kleinman. The film premiered internationally at the 75th Venice International Film Festival in the Orizzonti section, where Kais Nashef won the Best Actor award. The Israeli premiere was at the Haifa International Film Festival, where the film won the Best Film and Best Screenplay awards. The film directly and intelligently addresses sensitive topics related…
Find out more »Public Talk: “Help a Woman, Help the Planet” with Annie Griffiths
Photographer Annie Griffiths will present a 60-minute talk entitled Help a Woman, Help the Planet, followed by Q&A. This touches on all aspects of the Ripple mission of assistance to women globally, and will have a component on Syria and the refugee crisis. She will also show the Ripple Short Film The Water Wheel shot in a refugee camp by Ripple photographer Lynn Johnson, with music written by Syrian-American composer Malek Jandali. Guest Speaker: Annie Griffiths | National Geographic Photographer | Founder and Executive…
Find out more »Humanities in Class Webinar: “Understanding the Modern Middle East” with Akram Khater (North Carolina State University)
Far too often, the Middle East appears as doubly alien: out of place and out of time. A century of popular culture caricatures, at least two centuries of Orientalist representations, and decades of American military interventions, have all fed into the notion of the Middle East as turmoil-laden, sectarian and tribal pre-modern world. In this webinar, we will go beyond these stereotypes to look at the historical forces that shaped the region across the 20th century, and to understand the…
Find out more »World View K-12 Workshop: Food for All: Local and Global Perspectives
Learn about food, food systems and how food is used to express culture and identity in our state and globally. Includes curriculum resources. For K-12 educators of all disciplines. Continuing Education Units offered. #WorldView2020 Click here to register. Sponsored by UNC World View. NC Botanical Garden, Chapel Hill, NC
Find out more »June 2020
World View: K-12 Global Education Teacher Leader Institute
Educators are invited to apply to the Teacher Leader Institute to further their own knowledge and understanding of global issues and to develop global competencies that support global education initiatives in their classroom. Application period will open in January. Continuing Education Units offered. #WorldView2020 Click here to for more details. Sponsored by UNC World View. Chapel Hill, NC
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