Past Events
How Do We Understand Authoritarianism?
Thursday, 12/5/2024, 1:30pm - 3:00pm
Join us for a discussion of how to understand authoritarianism in the world today? Systems that we call "authoritarianism" vary greatly--most have parliaments, judicial systems, and other structures we encounter in democratic systems. How do we understand how they differ from democracies--and how they differ from each other? How should those who seek to promote democracy approach such institutions?
Arabic Curriculum Development Workshop: Using Popular Arabic Music in the Language Classroom
Saturday, 11/23/2024, 10:00am - 2:30pm
The Institute for Middle East Studies (IMES) invites Arabic educators in the Washington D.C. metro area to submit an application to participate in an upcoming curriculum development workshop on November 21st. The curriculum content will be based on the DC Arabic Teachers Councils (ATC) workshop, Using Popular Arabic Music in the Language Classroom.
Thursday, 11/21/2024, 4:15pm - 5:45pm
Please join us for the 2024 Elliott School Research Celebration Keynote Lecture: Anthropology, History, and the Question of Palestine.
(Re)Mobilizing the Masses: Youth, Civil Society, and Social Change in the 21st Century
Wednesday, 11/20/2024, 12:00pm - 1:30pm
Join the Institute for Middle East Studies and the Humanitarian Action Initiative for a discussion of Dr. Catherine Herrold’s forthcoming book (Re)Mobilizing the Masses: Youth, Civil Society, and Social Change in the 21st Century, featuring author Dr. Catherine Herrold in conversation with Dr. Michael Barnett.
Using Popular Arabic Music in the Language Classroom
Tuesday, 11/19/2024, 12:00pm - 1:00pm
In this workshop, DC-based music journalist Danny Hajjar will provide guidance on how to mobilize popular Arabic music for your language classroom, including through the use of compelling clips and music videos.
The Art of Tarab: Music in the MENA
Thursday, 11/14/2024, 5:30pm - 7:30pm
Join us for an informative workshop on music in the MENA region!
The Next Administration's Middle East Policy
Tuesday, 11/12/2024, 1:30pm - 3:00pm
The Middle East Policy Forum presents “The Next Administration’s Middle East Policy” on Tuesday, November 12 at the Elliott School of International Affairs, room 602, from 1:30-3 p.m. Join this timely discussion with experts Andrew Miller (Center for American Progress) and Farah Pandith (Council on Foreign Relations) as they explore the potential direction of U.S. policy under the next administration.
Amulet Tales: Race, Magic, and Medicine in Egypt
Thursday, 11/7/2024, 2:00pm - 3:30pm
Amulet Tales: Race, Magic, and Medicine in Egypt uses amuletic objects as archives to reveal how Upper Egyptian and Black African women healers—and the amulets they wielded—shaped the global development of anthropological expertise and the robust spiritual economy of healing in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Egypt.
Wednesday, 11/6/2024, 7:00pm - 8:00pm
This talk investigates the construction of renewable energy and clean technology infrastructures in oil-rich Abu Dhabi as the era of abundant oil supplies slowly comes to an end.
Smugglers and States: Negotiating the Maghreb at its Margins
Friday, 11/1/2024, 3:00pm - 4:30pm
Smuggling is typically thought of as furtive and hidden, taking place under the radar and beyond the reach of the state. But in many cases, governments tacitly permit illicit cross-border commerce or even devise informal arrangements to regulate it.
Wednesday, 10/30/2024, 7:00pm - 8:00pm
This webinar explores the lived realities of Palestinian and Syrian refugees in Jordan, with a particular focus on their senses of belonging to different places.
The Stories We Told Ourselves: Community Narratives about “The War on Terror”
Tuesday, 10/29/2024, 5:30pm - 8:00pm
Join IMES for an oral history workshop, which will demonstrate how to gather, articulate and share our own experiences of the War on Terror and its aftermath.
The War on Lebanon: History, Politics and Resistance
Thursday, 10/24/2024, 12:00pm - 1:30pm
Join IMES for a discussion of the deeper history and context of Lebanon's history of resistance to Israeli violence and its entwined struggle with the Palestinian people. The event will feature a discussion with the co-authors of MERIP's recent primer on Lebanon.
Promises, Then the Storm: Memory, US Politics, and the Israel-Gaza War
Wednesday, 10/23/2024, 2:00pm - 3:30pm
On the outbreak of the war in Gaza in October 2023, Melani McAlister began to use her journal to track the rapid development of the conflict and the parallel evolution in the ways it was represented in the US media.
State Department Dissent: Gaza and Syria as Case Studies
Tuesday, 10/15/2024, 2:30pm - 4:00pm
Join the Middle East Policy Forum's discussion entitled “State Department DIssent: Gaza and Syria as Case Studies.” The event will take place on Tuesday, October 15 from 2:30-4 p.m. at the Elliott School of International Affairs, room 505.
The End of Ambition: America's Past, Present, and Future in the Middle East
Tuesday, 9/24/2024, 5:30pm - 7:00pm
In The End of Ambition, Steven Cook argues that while analysts are rightly concerned that engagement drains U.S. resources and distorts its domestic politics, the broader impulse to disengage tends to neglect important lessons from the past.
The Home I Worked to Make: Voices from the New Syrian Diaspora
Friday, 9/20/2024, 11:15am - 12:45pm
War forced millions of Syrians from their homes. It also forced them to rethink the meaning of home itself. A tapestry of voices of displaced Syrians now on five continents, The Home I Worked to Make: Voices from the New Syrian Diaspora shares their journeys through revolution, war, displacement, and self-discovery. As anti-migrant rhetoric intensifies across the world, these gripping stories challenge readers to grapple with refugees’ hard-earned wisdom about belonging and to see, with fresh eyes, what home means in their own lives.
The Threats of AI and Disinformation in Times of Global Crises
Wednesday, 5/29/2024, 11:00am - 12:30pm
Join IMES and Arab Center Washington DC on May 29th for this online panel discussion on The Threats of AI and Disinformation in Times of Global Crises.
Serving Arabic Language Students: Challenges and Opportunities
Thursday, 5/2/2024, 8:30am - 2:00pm
The Washington, DC Arabic Teachers Council invites you to our 2024 mini conference on challenges and opportunities in teaching Arabic language students. Three expert speakers will cover the topics of heritage language learners, inclusive approaches to teaching, and issues regarding AI and ChatGPT in the classroom. Dr. Kamilia Rahmouni, Teaching Assistant Professor in the School of World Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University and a member of the DC-ATC Advisory Board, will also present a keynote address on “Bridging Arabic Instruction from High School to Higher Education.” We hope to see you there!
Middle East Knowledge Production In the Aftermath of October 7 | 2024 IMES Annual Conference
Friday, 4/19/2024, 9:00am - 3:30pm
Join the Institute for Middle East Studies for our 2024 Annual Conference on April 19th. The Conference will feature panels on academic freedom in the age of precarity and censorship, decolonizing MES knowledge-production, and knowledge-production amidst dehumanization.