NEWS & EVENTS
The Middle East Center at Penn sponsors and supports programs and initiatives across the disciplines and professional schools, and runs a dynamic outreach program in the Delaware Valley. Faculty and students at Penn are also active and prominent in the field of Middle East studies, making significant and highly regarded contributions to scholarly output in their areas of interest. We will continue to update news of the Center's activities and highlight the achievements of our faculty and students here.
November 6, 8 PM
Location: Lawrence Hall, Rosemont College (1400 Montgomery Avenue, Rosemont)
Journalism in Constitutional Iran
Speaker: Negin Nabavi, History, Montclair State University
Dr. Nabavi obtained her D.Phil in 1997 and since 1998, when she moved to the US, has taught at Princeton University, University of Maryland and NYU. Her field of research is the intellectual and cultural history of 19th and 20th century Iran. She has published a book entitled Intellectuals and the State in Iran: Politics, Discourse and the Dilemma of Authenticity (University of Florida Press, 2003), and is currently working on another on the emergence of the public sphere in early twentieth century Iran. Her other areas of interest include cinema and popular culture, as well as women’s movements in the Middle East. She has also taught many courses on aspects of the political history of the Middle East.
This event will be followed by solo Tar performance by Amin Torabkhani.
November 9, 5 PM
Location: B26, Stiteler Hall (208 South 37th Street)
War and Modernity: The Making of the New Jerusalem
Speaker: Salim Tamari, Sociology, Birzeit University
Salim Tamari is director of the Institute of Jerusalem Studies and professor of sociology at Birzeit University. He is currently a visiting fellow at the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at MIT. Dr. Tamari, who holds a PhD in sociology from Manchester University, is one of Palestine’s most distinguished scholars. His research draws heavily on archival materials and personal diaries to examine the social and political forces that shaped and re-shaped Palestine in the 20th century. He is author of "Jerusalem 1948: The Arab Neighborhoods and Their Fate in the War", "Palestinian Refugee Negotiations: From Madrid to Oslo II", and most recently, "Mountain against the Sea: Essays on Palestinian Society and Culture", published in 2008 by the University of California Press. Dr. Tamari served on the refugee committee in the multilateral peace talks that began in the wake of the 1991 Madrid Peace Conference.
November 11, 12:30 PM
Location: A17, Caster Building (3701 Locust Walk)
What Can the US Do to Make Israeli-Palestinian Pease Possible?
Speaker: Gershon Baskin, Israeli CEO of the Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information (IPCRI)
Gershon Baskin, Ph.D., is the Israeli Co-Director and founder of the Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information (IPCRI) - a joint Israeli-Palestinian public policy think. He initiated the founding of IPCRI in 1988 following ten years of work in the field of Jewish-Arab relations within Israel, in Interns for Peace, the Ministry of Education and as Executive Director of the Institute for Education for Jewish-Arab Coexistence (established by the Israeli Ministry of Education and the Prime Minister's Office). He has published books and hundreds of articles in the Hebrew, English and Arabic press about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict including: A Model Interim Agreement, Aspects of Internal Security in During the Interim Period, The Future of Jerusalem, How to Conduct Business in the Palestinian Territories, The Future of the Israeli Settlements in Final Status Negotiation, and more. Dr. Baskin meets regularly with Israeli and Palestinian policy makers at their invitation as well as similar people from the international diplomatic community and international organizations.
November 12, 5 PM
Multi-Lingual Poetry Reading
Location: Kelly Writers House Arts Cafe (3805 Locust Walk)
A Sea of Voices
MEC is proud to co-sponsor this multi-lingual group poetry reading, drawn from a recent anthology, A Sea of Voices: Women Poets in Israel, edited by Marjorie Agosin. The anthology collects poems by women who wrote or write in a number of languages in Israel--Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino, Arabic, German, Spanish, English, Russian, German, and Finnish. The event will feature readings by Marjorie Agosin, a Spanish professor at Wellesly College, as well as Penn faculty and students.
November 14, 8 PM
Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival
Location: Gershman Y (401 S. Broad Street)
The Wedding Song
In the midst of the Third Reich’s occupation of Tunis in 1942, two teenage friends, one a Sephardic Jew and the other a Muslim, prepare for their arranged marriages. When political upheaval threatens their friendship, the young women must decide what truly matter in their lives. This rich and complex film delves deep into the director’s fascination with feminine sexuality and religious intolerance.
This film is in Arabic and French with English subtitles. It's free for students! For non-students, the tickets are $10 if purchased in advance, $12 at the door, or $30 including reception. For more information, please visit https://www.gershmany.org/films.php?filmid=77