Minorities: Between Marginality and Participation in the Middle East
BRISMES Graduate Student Conference
8 May 2013
Oxford, United Kingdom
The events of the last two years have thrown into sharp relief the debate about the cohesion of societies and regimes in the Middle East and North Africa. Particular focus has been given to the place of the individual within their community, and the prospects for these communities to contribute to the wider process of change in the region.
Analysing the treatment of minorities, and the opportunities or obstacles they face for participating in all spheres of decision-making or community life, will help facilitate discussion on how far the various regimes are committed to democracy and human rights. In this context it is intended that `minorities` should be interpreted widely in order to include ethnic, religious, linguistic, sexual, social, cultural, economic and political minorities.
The conference will analyse traditional and innovative modes of participation, and discuss how recent political events have changed, challenged or maintained these. The organisers welcome papers which focus on alternative ways in which minorities have sought or rejected involvement, thereby alleviating or reinforcing their marginality.
The Graduate Section of BRISMES and its co-hosts, the Oxford Middle East Centre and Ertegun House, extend a call to all young researchers and PhD candidates to present research that addresses these issues. Submissions are invited from any disciplinary field which covers the main theme. It is anticipated that discussion will include the variety of perspectives from which this topic can be understood, dealing with all the regions of West Asia, North Africa, the Gulf, or with minorities originating from these regions but located elsewhere. Proposals for panels and abstracts for individual papers should be sent to: graduate.section.brismes@gmail.com
Abstracts should be around 250 words and include the paper title and the name and contact details of the presenter. Panels will comprise three papers of 15 minutes’ presentation time plus 5 minutes for discussion.
Please find additional information and announcements on the website.
Deadline for submission of abstracts: 22 February 2013
Notification of acceptance of abstracts: 15 March 2013