Past Events
The Impasse of Tunisian Democracy
Wednesday, 10/20/2021, 9:00am - 10:00am
The Middle East Policy Forum (MEPF) is excited to host The Impasse of Tunisian Democracy. Following Tunisian President Kais Saied's dismissal of the prime minister and suspension of Parliament this past summer, what are the near- and short-term prospects for liberal democracy in Tunisia? How have public attitudes shifted over the past few months? Join MEPF for a discussion of these questions with Dr. Robert P. Parks and Dr. Tarek Kahlaoui with discussant Dr. Laryssa Chomiak.
Thursday, 10/14/2021, 12:00pm - 1:30pm
In The Colonizing Self Hagar Kotef traces the cultural, political, and spatial apparatuses that enable people and nations to settle on the ruins of other people's homes.
"Saving Afghan Women" Twenty Years Later with Dr. Marya Hannun
Tuesday, 10/12/2021, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
The Middle East Policy Forum (MEPF) is excited to announce our first event of the semester, "Saving Afghan Women" Twenty Years Later. Join us Tuesday, October 12 from 2:00pm to 3:00pm in ESIA room #505 for afternoon coffee & pastries and for a reflection from Dr. Marya Hannun on the twenty years since 9/11 and the War on Terror's Impact on the study of women in Afghanistan, especially in light of the recent US withdrawal.
A City in Fragments: Urban Text in Modern Jerusalem with Yair Wallach and Shira Robinson
Thursday, 9/30/2021, 12:00pm - 1:30pm
A City in Fragments tells the modern history of a city overwhelmed by its religious and symbolic significance.
Arabic Teacher Workshop on Teaching Arabic Language & Culture through Food with Mariya Chakir
Monday, 9/20/2021, 12:00pm - 1:30pm
In this workshop I will show how we can teach Arabic language and culture through food.
A History of False Hope: Investigative Commissions in Palestine with Lori Allen and Arie Dubnov
Thursday, 9/9/2021, 12:00pm - 1:30pm
This book offers a provocative retelling of Palestinian political history through an examination of the international commissions that have investigated political violence and human rights violations.
'Anamel' a Collaborative Online Anthology of Arabic Modules
Saturday, 8/28/2021, 1:00pm - 3:00pm
DC Arabic Teachers' Council Workshop
Thursday, 8/26/2021, 4:00pm - 5:45pm
The US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the subsequent Taliban takeover will have a global impact. It seems likely to reshape regional politics, lead to questions about American credibility, and create a humanitarian crisis. What will Afghanistan look like with no American presence? How will the Taliban govern? How will other countries in the region deal with the collapse of the Afghan government? This panel invites several distinguished scholars and policymakers to discuss how developments in Afghanistan will influence central Asia, the United States, and the world in future months.
K-5 Arabic Teachers' Resource Exchange and Social Hour
Tuesday, 7/27/2021, 4:00pm - 5:30pm
DC Arabic Teachers' Council K-5 Social Hour
Dismantling Myths on Israel-Palestine
Wednesday, 6/16/2021, 1:00pm - 2:30pm
In the US, both media and popular narratives on the conflict in Israel and the Occupied Territories of Palestine are shifting. Information about the nature of Israeli domestic politics, life under occupation for Palestinians, and the tactics employed by the Israeli military is visible in the US mainstream in a way it was not just a few years ago. Join us for a discussion of some of the most lasting misconceptions around this conflict, where experts will help us contextualize and understand why these myths have endured so long.
Thursday, 6/3/2021, 12:00pm - 1:15pm
Dr. Austin Amy Holmes and Dr. Mark Beissinger discuss Dr. Holmes' new book "Coups and Revolutions: Mass Mobilization, the Egyptian Military, and the United States from Mubarak to Sisi."
MovieTalk in the Classroom with Leslie Davison
Wednesday, 5/26/2021, 11:00am - 12:30pm
DC Arabic Teachers' Council Workshop
Ruling the Savage Periphery: Frontier Governance and the Making of the Modern State
Tuesday, 5/4/2021, 11:00am - 12:00pm
Dr. Benjamin Hopkins and Dr. Dina Khoury discuss Dr. Hopkins' new book "Ruling the Savage Periphery: Frontier Governance and the Making of the Modern State." Moderated by Amb. Edward Gnehm.
The Lived Nile: Environment, Disease, and Material Colonial Economy in Egypt
Thursday, 4/15/2021, 12:00pm - 1:15pm
Dr. Jennifer Derr and Dr. Shehab Ismail discuss Dr. Derr's new book "The Lived Nile: Environment, Disease, and Material Colonial Economy in Egypt."
Producing the Middle East: New Directions in Regional Media and Politics (Day 2 - March 26)
Friday, 3/26/2021, 1:00pm - 3:45pm
Panel 3: Mediating the Sacred (March 26, 2021 1:00pm - 2:15pm) Panel 4: The Politics of the Popular (March 26, 2021 2:30pm - 3:45pm)
Producing the Middle East: New Directions in Regional Media and Politics (Day 1 - March 25)
Thursday, 3/25/2021, 12:45pm - 3:45pm
Panel 1: Regional Formations and the Nation (March 25, 2021 1:00pm - 2:15pm) Panel 2: State Policy, Industries and Media Landscapes (March 25, 2021 2:30pm - 3:45pm)
Beyond the Boxes: Increasing Student Engagement in Remote Learning with Rebecca Blouwolff
Tuesday, 3/9/2021, 3:00pm - 5:00pm
DC Arabic Teachers' Council Workshop
The Government of Pearling: A Social History of Law in the Arabian Gulf (1860-1950)
Thursday, 3/4/2021, 12:00pm - 1:15pm
Dr. Alexandre Caeiro and Dr. Nathan Brown discuss the legal regulation of the pearl trade in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; the effects of British attempts to re-organize the pearling industry and reshape the legal systems of the Gulf sheikhdoms; and the relationship between "ruler's courts", "merchants' courts," and "Islamic courts”.
Refugees in Middle Eastern history / the Middle East in refugee history, 1918–39
Thursday, 2/18/2021, 12:00pm - 1:15pm
The Middle East today seems indelibly associated with refugees, from the people displaced by current and recent conflicts in Syria, Yemen, or Iraq to the Palestinians who have lived as refugees since 1948. This conversation explores an earlier period, between the first and second world wars, to ask what role refugees played in Middle Eastern history in the years when its modern states emerged—and what role the Middle East has played in modern refugee history.
Egypt's Occupation: Colonial Economism and the Crises of Capitalism
Thursday, 1/28/2021, 12:00pm - 1:15pm
Aaron Jakes and Wael Gamal discuss Dr. Jakes' new book "Egypt's Occupation: Colonial Economism and the Crises of Capitalism."