Iraq 2023: Twenty Years On

A One-Day Conference
on the Anniversary of the Invasion of Iraq

Friday, 31 March 2023
9:30 AM ET

Georgetown University Intercultural Center Auditorium & Zoom

Co-sponsored by Georgetown University Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, George Mason University Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies Department, and Arab Studies Institute

If you encounter registration issues, please contact coco.tait@georgetown.edu.

This event is free and open to the general public.

CCAS, in partnership with George Mason University’s Middle East and Islamic Studies Program, and the Arab Studies Institute are proud to host a conference marking the 20-year anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Panels will explore the invasion’s economic and geopolitical impact, as well as how it has been addressed within Iraqi arts and culture. The conference will also feature a showing of the 2004 documentary About Baghdad, the first film made about Iraq after the fall of the Ba’ath regime in July 2003. The screening will be followed by a discussion with the film’s directors.

SCHEDULE

9:30 AM - 10:00 AM ET: Registration

10:00 AM -11:30 AM ET: The Invasion of Iraq and After: Twenty Years On

12:00 PM - 1:30 PM ET: Perspectives on Cultural Production Post-2003

1:30 PM - 2:30 PM: Lunch

3:00 PM - 4:30 PM ET: Film Screening: About Baghdad

4:30 PM - 5:45 PM ET: Panel Discussion: About Baghdad

5:45 PM - 6:00 PM ET: Closing Remarks

SESSIONS

The Invasion of Iraq and After: Twenty Years On

(10:00 AM -11:30 AM ET)
Speakers

Sinan Antoon
Poet, novelist, translator, and scholar

Rochelle Davis
The Sultanate of Oman Associate Professor of Anthropology, CCAS, Georgetown University

Pete Moore
Marcus A. Hanna Associate Professor of Politics, Case Western Reserve University

Joseph Sassoon
Director, CCAS; Professor of History and Political Economy; al-Sabah Chair in Politics and Political Economy of the Arab World, CCAS, Georgetown University

Omar Sirri
Research Associate, Department of Politics and International Studies at SOAS, University of London

Bassam Haddad (moderator)
Founding Director, Middle East and Islamic Studies Program; Associate Professor, Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University

Perspectives on Cultural Production Post-2003

(12:00 PM – 1:30 PM ET)
Speakers

Muhannad Hayal
Iraqi Filmmaker; winner: Best Film from Busan and Cairo Film Festival (2019) and Rising Star Award from RIIFF, NYC (2014)

Hanan Jasim Khammas
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Lowkey
British-Iraqi hip-hop artist, academic and political campaigner

Rijin Sahakian
Writer, teacher and art-maker; founder, Sada

Sinan Antoon (moderator)
Poet, novelist, translator, and scholar

Film Screening: About Baghdad

(3:00 PM – 4:30 PM ET)
Runtime: 90 minutes

Panel Discussion: About Baghdad

(4:30 PM – 5:45 PM ET)
The speakers and moderator involved in this event constitute the Co-Directors of the film About Baghdad
Speakers

Sinan Antoon
Poet, novelist, translator, and scholar

Maya Mikdashi
Assistant Professor, Department of Women’s and Gender Studies; Lecturer, Program in Middle East Studies, Rutgers University

Suzy Salamy
Filmmaker and social worker

Adam Shapiro
Director of Advocacy for Israel/Palestine, DAWN