Between Monday 2 February and Wednesday 4 February, Jadaliyya Co-Founder and Co-Editor Bassam Haddad will be visiting Simon Frasier University in Vancouver, Canada.
Understanding the Syrian Tragedy: Lecture
Monday, 2 February, 6:00pm
Simon Fraser University
515 West Hastings St., Room 1700
Vancouver, Candada
Nearly four years after the beginning of the Syrian uprising, many contend that the current multisided conflict has buried the revolution, contributed to furthering the disarray of the non-militant oppoisition, and produced widespread demoralization. This lecture will address the causes and dynamics of this state of affairs, with attention to both the pre-2011 context and the growing internationalization of the uprising.
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Teaching the Middle East: Lessons from the Jadaliyya Experience
Tuesday, 3 February, 2:30–4:30pm
Harbour Centre, Room 7000 (Earl & Jennie Lohn Policy Room)
Simon Fraser University
Vancouver Campus
Registration: http://bit.ly/1BgX1CV
How do you teach a topic fraught with preconceptions, misconceptions and conflicting points of view? In this informal presentation, visiting scholar Dr. Bassam Haddad , Director of the Middle East Studies Program at George Mason University, will describe his experience creating the educational publication Jadaliyya , which is part of an initiative by the Arab Studies Institute to produce instructional tools, resources, databases and multimedia content to supplement curricula on the Middle East across disciplines. Dr. Haddad will present his work within the context of challenges in teaching about the region. He will also discuss the double-edged sword of news coverage about the Middle East and how it can be both detrimental and beneficial for teaching engagement. The event will include a presentation component followed by a Q&A/group discussion session. Attendees will leave with a greater knowledge of the resources available to educators about the Middle East. They will also learn about the challenges of teaching a region in a state of political flux and how best to manage and use the barrage of information being disseminated in the media.
About Baghdad: Film Screening and Discussion with Director
Wednesday, 4 February, 6:30-9:00pm
Harbour Centre, Room 1425
The Institute for the Humanities and the School of Communication
Simon Fraser University
About Baghdad is the first film made about Iraq after the fall of the Ba`ath regime in July 2003. It is also perhaps the first effort to privilege the voices of the Iraqi people, from all walks of life as well as social, economic and ethnic backgrounds. While many have talked about and for the Iraqi people, few media outlets have sought to probe beyond the simplistic binary of pro-US/pro-Saddam perspective so often found in Western and Arab media portrayals of Iraq. About Baghdad presents Iraqis who describe the pain, complexity and suffering of living under decades of tyranny, oppression, wars, sanctions and now occupation. Silenced for so long by a regime that sought to replace the people with the image of just one man, and re-silenced by the bombs and occupation forces, the Iraqi people long to speak out and to claim their future. About Baghdad is a small step forward towards that goal in presenting audiences with their first opportunity to hear unadulterated Iraqi voices that should be privileged regardless of one`s perspective on the war and the justifications given for it. We found in Baghdad a people who are tired, traumatized and uncertain about their future, and yet determined and united in seeking to build a strong nation for its people.
