Beyond the Margins: Researching and Teaching the Middle East in Ohio
An Ohio Symposium on Middle East Studies
(9 April 2016)
University of Dayton
Over the past several years, numerous universities, colleges, and community colleges across the state of Ohio have hired new faculty whose research focuses on the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) region. Some have created minors, majors, and/or public events programs that center on the topic.
This symposium brings together faculty from a variety of Ohio colleges and universities to meet one another, introduce their research agendas, and provide an opportunity for public education about the Middle East.
Symposium Date:
Saturday 9 April 2016
Symposium Location:
Kennedy Union Building, Room 222
University of Dayton
Dayton, Ohio
Free parking is available in B Lot.
For driving directions, once on Stewart Street heading east, cross Brown Street and Alberta Street (at a traffic light) continuing past the entrance to University of Dayton, past Alberta Street (at a traffic light). Turn right on Zehler Street (at a traffic light), then left at the roundabout and then into B Lot. To get to Kennedy Union, walk through the arch at the southeast corner of the parking lot and Kennedy Union is the building in front and slightly to the left.
Click here for general driving directions to University of Dayton.
Click here for a map of the University of Dayton campus.
Attendance Details:
This event is free and open to the public.
A complimentary lunch meal will be provided to those attendees that RSVP by no later than 15 March 2016. To RSVP, please send an email containing your full name, institutional affiliation (if any), and email address to abuz@ohio.edu.
The University of Dayton strives to provide equal and easy access to programs and services for individuals with disabilities. Individuals requiring accommodations to attend this symposium are encouraged to contact the LTC’s Office of Learning Resources (OLR) with their request by (April 1) in order to ensure adequate processing time. Contact OLR by telephone at 937-229-2066 (TTY 937-229-2059 for deaf/hard of hearing) or by email at disabilityservices@udayton.edu.
Symposium Agenda
8:30am Registration
9:00-9:30 Introductions
- Ellen Fleischmann, University of Dayton
- Ziad Abu-Rish, Ohio University and Arab Studies Institute
- Dean Jason Pierce, College of Arts & Sciences, University of Dayton
9:30-11:00 Panel 1: Critical Perspectives on Islam and Islamic Practices
Chair: Christopher Hemmig, Ohio State University
- “The Decline of the Private Estate and the Rise of the Public Ribat in Early Islamic Transoxania”
–Robert Haug, Cincinnati University - “Epistemology and Authority in Shiite Philosophy”
–Sayeh Meisami, University of Dayton - “Intersections and Transformations of Traditions: Islamic Tradition and the Laws of the Economy”
–Nada Moumtaz, Ohio State University - “Exegetical Trends in Contemporary Turkey”
–Susan Gunasti, Ohio Wesleyan University - “Islamic Interreligious Covenants: Pathways to Peace and Prosperity”
–Anas Malik, Xavier University
11:00-11:15 Coffee Break
11:15-12:45 Panel 2: Thinking Pedagogy
Chair: Indira Falk Gesink, Baldwin Wallace University
- “Critical Information Literacy in Middle East Studies: Opportunities for Collaboration”
–Johanna Selman, Ohio State University - “Comparative Approaches to Teaching the Arabic Novel”
–Michal Raizen, Ohio Wesleyan - “Active Learning and Empathy: Teaching the Middle East to the Midwest”
–Vaughn Shannon, Wright State University - “Decolonial Challenges in Teaching about Women and Gender in the Middle East and North Africa”
–Isis Nusair, Denison University
12:45-2:00 Lunch Break
2:00-3:30 Panel 3: Palestine in the World
Chair: Abed el-Rahman Tayyar, Cleveland State University
- “From Palestine to Ohio: The Collection of Arab Flags at the Garst Museum in Greenville, Ohio”
–Awad Halabi, Wright State University - “Economies of War: Aid and the Liberal Encounter in Palestine”
–Lisa Bhungalia, Ohio State University - “The Fifth Branch: Palestinian Literature in Chile”
–Heba El Attar, Cleveland State University - “Secularism in Exile: The Dialectics of Disenchantment and Religious Return among Palestinians in Chicago”
–Loren Lybarger, Ohio University
3:30-3:45 Coffee Break
3:45-5:15 Panel 4: Contemporary Politics in the Region
Chair: Jane Hathaway, Ohio State University
- “Jordan’s Longest War”
–Pete Moore, Case Western University - “(Re)Definition of Ethno-Religious Kinship and Solidarities: The Case of Turkey’s Alevis and Syrian Alawites”
–Nukhet Sandal, Ohio University - “Military Inc. & Dividing the Spoils: A Political Economy of Egypt’s Uprising”
–Joshua Stacher, Kent State University
5:15-5:45 Closing Remarks
- Ellen Fleischmann, University of Dayton
- Ziad Abu-Rish, Ohio University and Arab Studies Institute
Co-Sponsors:
- Alumni Chair in Humanities at the University of Dayton
- College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Dayton
- Department of History at Ohio University
- Center for International Studies at Ohio University
- Arab Studies Institute (ASI)