MENA-related Events Calendar

Organiser: Security in Context

Speakers: Sonia Boulos (Nebrija University/Mada al-Carmel); Ussama Makdisi (University of California Berkeley); Alex Lubin (Penn State University); Mandy Turner (Security in Context/International State Crime Initiative - Queen Mary University of London)

Moderator: Omar Dahi (Hampshire College/Security in Context)

The upcoming webinar aims to discuss the role of academics and intellectuals, particularly those working in institutions outside Israel, in denouncing the Israeli crackdown on the academic freedom of the Palestinian academic community. Furthermore, we seek to discuss the role of the Israeli academia in legitimizing flagrant violations of international law, including the complete destruction of the Palestinian educational institutions and infrastructure in Gaza.

Organisers: LSE and University of Sheffield

Registration is now open for the second Kurdish Studies Conference. This interdisciplinary event builds on the inaugural conference at LSE in 2023 and is organised by the Kurdish Studies Series at the LSE Middle East Centre and the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Sheffield. The Kurdish Studies Series encourages dissemination and discussion of new research on Kurdish politics and society and provides a network for scholars, students and all others with related research interests.

Leiden Yemeni Studies Lecture Series

Speaker: Zacharie Mochtari de Pierrepont (University of Liège)

Discussant: Vincent Cornell (Emory University)

Organiser: Westminster Higher Education Forum

This conference will examine the way forward for freedom of speech in higher education institutions in the UK. It will bring together stakeholders, regulators and policymakers to discuss the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023, which aims to ensure that universities promote freedom of speech as a fundamental value.

Delegates will assess implications of the legislation for the HE sector, its staff and students. It will be an opportunity to consider the roles going forward of stakeholders and policy in setting and implementing boundaries for discussion in higher education settings, and more widely in society.

Organiser: The Alwaleed Centre for the Study of Islam in the Contemporary World, University of Edinburgh

Speaker: Dr Sofia El Arabi (Researcher in residency, Institute for Advanced Studies of Aix Marseille University, Iméra and Associate Fellow, Alwaleed Centre, University of Edinburgh)

Dr Sofia El Arabi will examine the dynamics of sub-Saharan migration through the prism of migration policies, lived experience and migrant struggles in Morocco, which has been transformed into a country of transit, residence and reception of sub-Saharan migrants. This event is available to attend both in-person and online. Tea, coffee and delicious cakes will be available before the event begins for those attending in person.

Organiser: BRICUP Seminar Series 2023-4

Speaker: Professor Avi Shlaim (University of Oxford)

All seminars are on-line events, and take place at 18.00-19.30 London time. They consist of a presentation by the guest lecturer, an exchange with a discussant, and then questions and contributions. All participants are expected to read a short extract of the relevant text in advance, around which the discussion will revolve. Advance registration is necessary.

Organiser: Council for Arab-British Understanding (CAABU)

Speaker: Christopher Phillips (Author and professor of international relations at Queen Mary University of London)

Caabu invites you to an in person briefing with Christopher Phillips, author, and professor of international relations at Queen Mary University of London, who will discuss his new book, Battleground: 10 Conflicts that Explain the New Middle East, on Tuesday 30 April 2024 at 6.30pm at The Arab British Centre, 1 Gough Square, London, EC4A 3DE.

Christopher Phillips explores geopolitical rivalries in the region, and the major external powers vying for influence: Russia, China, the EU, and the US. Moving through ten key flashpoints, from Syria to Palestine, Phillips argues that the United States’ overextension after the Cold War, and retreat in the 2010s, has imbalanced the region. Today, the Middle East remains blighted by conflicts of unprecedented violence and a post-American scramble for power – leaving its fate in the balance.

Leiden Yemeni Studies Lecture Series

Speaker: Ingrid Hehmeyer (Toronto Metropolitan University)

Discussant: Daniel Varisco (American Institute for Yemeni Studies)

Conference, UCL Institute for Global Prosperity, 18 May 2024

This conference is organized to examine the ways in which feminist imagination is changing the face of the Global South by challenging gendered political structures, legal systems, and development trajectories in the Global South. On the one hand, the existing normative attitudes around gender are protected by advocating misogynist tradition and law, thus leading to feminist critique of constitutionalism, especially in Malaysia, India, Iran, and Afghanistan. On the other hand, feminists in the Global South, including Africa, Asia, and South America, encounter the challenges of colonial feminism.

Online short course, Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations, 23-24 May 2024

The course attempts to introduce participants to understanding ways in which Muslims use the Qur’an in practice in both religious and social contexts. After initially situating the Qur’an as a religious text within the context of Muslim beliefs and perceptions, the remaining sessions will explore the use of the Qur’an in calligraphy, in healing rituals, and in Sufi practices.

Online short course, Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations, 4-5 June 2024

This two-day course introduces participants to the different approaches to development and how these approaches inform development policies. Participants will be able to share their own understanding of development and explore current datasets on development indicators to investigate the experiences of Muslim-majority countries (MMCs). We will also look at the historical evidence to see what can be learnt from today’s industrialised or high-income countries, and what this implies for the types of policies to promote development in MMCs, including the roles of government, private sector, civil society and NGOs.

Leiden Yemeni Studies Lecture Series

Speaker: Marieke Brandt (Austrian Academy of Sciences)

Discussant: Noha Sadek (French Research Centre of the Arabian Peninsula in Kuwait)

Organisers: Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations (London) in cooperation with the Academy of Science (Portugal)

The Aga Khan University, Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations (London), in cooperation with the Academy of Science (Portugal), is pleased to announce an advanced training course entitled Manuscripts for Research: An Advanced Course in Arabic Manuscript Studies, which will be held at the prestigious Library of the Academy of Science of Lisbon (founded on 24 December 1779). The course will take place from 8-11 July 2024. 

During this course, participants will have the chance to examine the vibrant collection of manuscripts at the Academy of Science of Lisbon. An outstanding collage of manuscripts covers different subjects and geographies. The course will consist of interactive lectures about codicology and philology and hands-on sessions focusing on a selection of manuscripts from the valuable collection at the Academy of Science. 

The exhibition introduces contemporary art from the Barjeel Foundation, with a focus on the overarching theme of "Boundaries" as both a subject and a tool for meaningfully accessing a diverse array of art from the SWANA region. Delving into the profound implications of walls and borders on artistic expression, the exhibition prompts the question of whether it is the artist's perspective that ultimately transcends these boundaries.

Leiden Yemeni Studies Lecture Series

Speaker: Sabine Schmidtke (Institute of Advanced Study)

Online short course, Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations, 7-8 October 2024

This course introduces students to the study of manuscripts (codicology). It will allow participants to apply the technical terminology of codicology and understand how writing materials were prepared. We also explore the institutional contexts in which manuscripts were produced and discuss how codicological methods can inform research in history and art history.