Event Archives

Sponsored by

Middle Eastern and
Islamic Studies Program
Distinguished Lecture Series
and Office of the Provost

 
Date: Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Time: 4:30-6:00 PM
Location: McGuinn 121

Ambassador Itamar Rabinovich is the incumbent of the Ettinger Chair of Contemporary Middle Eastern History of Tel Aviv University. He has recently completed an eight-year term as the University's President. He has also served as Chairman of the Department of Middle Eastern Studies, Director of the Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, Dean of Humanities and Rector.  Between 1992 and 1996, Ambassador Rabinovich served as Israel's Ambassador to the United States and as Chief Negotiator with Syria. He is the author of five books on the Modern History and Politics of the Middle East and the co-author and co-editor of several other volumes. His most recent books are The Brink of Peace and Waging Peace. Ambassador Rabinovich has held visiting appointments at the Institute of Advanced Studies in Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Toronto. He was the Andrew White Professor at Large at Cornell University, and has recently been appointed as Distinguished Global Professor at New York University and Visiting Professor at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Ambassador Rabinovich has been made by the Government of the French Republic a Commandeur l'ordre des Palmes Acad é miques.

March 2007

Thursday, March 29th 2007

Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies Program

Distinguished Lecture Series
Presents

Cassandra’s Curse, Pandora’s Box: The Lessons and Legacy of Iraq

 Ambassador Barbara K. Bodine

Thursday, March 29, 2007
Time: 4:30-6:00 PM
Location: Devlin 008
Ambassador Barbara Bodine is the Robert Wilhelm Fellow at the Center for International Studies’ Persian Gulf Initiative at MIT. Ms. Bodine’s work focuses on post-conflict political reconstruction, governance and reform, the relationship between security demands and legitimacy requirements, and the regional and global implications of US policy and the political dynamics in the region. Prior to joining MIT, Ambassador Bodine’s 30-year Foreign Service career with the Department of State in Washington and overseas was spent primarily on Middle East and Persian Gulf/Arabian Peninsula, including Ambassador to Yemen from 1997 through August 2001. Prior to Yemen, she served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Baghdad during the Iran-Iraq War and Kuwait during the invasion and occupation of that country by Iraq. In 2003, Ambassador Bodine was the senior Department of State official and the first coalition coordinator for post-conflict reconstruction for Baghdad and the central provinces of Iraq. She is the recipient of number of awards, including the Secretary’s Award for Valor.

Co-sponsored by Americans for Informed Democracy and Middle East & Islamic Studies Association

Click Here to View Ambassador Bodine's Lecture on Front Row

“Saudi Politics and US-Saudi Relations Since 9/11”

 Prof. F. Gregory Gause III

UVT

 Click Here to View Prof. Gause's Lecture on Front Row

2006

February 2006
 

Boston Premier of: The Optimists - a film by Jacky Comforty
The story of the rescue of the Bulgarian Jews from the Holocaust.

7:30 pm, Robsham Theatre.
Followed by a discussion with the filmmaker.
Special Guests: Jacky Comforty, Director; Meir Shlomo, Boston Israeli Consul
General; Elena Poptodorova, Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria to the
United States.

Middle East & Islamic Studies Program
Boston College presents a lecture-recital by:
Joel Cohen Director of the Boston Camerata

Music and Poetry in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Andalusia
Wednesday
15 March 2006
4:00
Devlin 101 (next to Admissions Office)

Joel Cohen is one of the leading contemporary interpreters of early music in the world today. He directs what Le Monde in Paris has hailed as "America's foremost early music ensemble."

Wednesday: October 4, 2006
The Boston College Coalition for Israel Present: Ushpizin (The Guests)
Wednesday, October 4, at 7:30 PM, in Higgins 300, there will be a showing of the award winning Israeli film "Ushpizin." The showing is sponsored by the Boston College Coalition for Israel, together with the Jewish Law Students Association, the Sociology Department, the Israel Campus Roundtable, and the Israeli Consul General of New England.

Official Paradise Now Homepage

This film is being shown in conjunction with the McMullen Museum's exhibit, Cosmophilia.

November 2006
 

Thursday: November 2, 7:00 pm, Devlin 101
"Adolf Loos, Alois Riegl, and the Debate on Ornament in Fin-de-Siecle Viennea."
Claude Cernuschi, Associate Professor of Art History, Boston College

Friday: November 3, 7:00-9:30 pm, McMullen Art Museum
Annual MEIS Faculty-Student Reception *CANCELLED*

Unfortunately, the Faculty-Student Reception for MEIS scheduled for Nov. 3 at the McMullen Museum has to be canceled for reasons beyond our control. Sorry for the inconvenience. We will hold a reception next semester--look for details to come.

Thursday, November 16, 7:00 pm, Devlin 101
"Islamic Architecture: The Triumph of Color."
Bernard O'Kane, Professor of Islamic Art and Architecture, American University in Cairo

2005

February 2005
 

February 8, 2005

Noon – 1:15PM
Boisi Center, 24 Quincy Road, Conference Room

Professor James Toth
Sociology-Anthropology/Northeastern University

“Local Islam Gone Global: The Roots of Religious Militancy in Egypt and Its Transnational Transformation”

Usama bin Ladin and his al-Qa'ida network of Islamic terrorists ( or "militants") have been well documented in the media. But understanding the roots of their emergence and growth remains insufficient. In particular, the parochial origin of this and other radical Islamic associations needs greater clarification if we are to better appreciate the current international extent of their range and power. This talk represents a case study of the rise and spread of one group of Islamists, those in southern Egypt. Although it is far too simplistic merely to extrapolate this biography into "representing" the global Islamism of bin Ladin, it nevertheless highlights the economic, political, social, and ethical issues that nourish both the local and the global manifestations of the Islamic campaign. The talk consists of two parts. First it elucidates the history, sociology, and doctrines of these activists in Egypt based on ethnographic field work in the region. Then it offers a number of models or interpretations that, combined together, may help explain how such parochial movements in the Egyptian Sa'id contributed to forming a global Islamic crusade.

A reserved lunch will be provided. Please contact Susan Richard at richarsh@bc.edu before Monday, February 7th to reserve a lunch.

For directions to the Boisi Center, please check our website: http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/research/rapl/directions.html

Lunches are free and open to the public, RSVP required. Some street parking is available on Commonwealth and Beacon Street; on campus parking is very limited.

February 15, 2005

4:00-6:00 pm, Heights Room

Majors Fair

Undergraduates have the chance to explore different options for a major. MEIS will host an information table.

February 16, 2005

7:00 pm, Gasson 305

Walid Phares, Ph.D.

Middle East Studies, Ethnic and Religious Conflict, Florida Atlantic University

"The War in Iraq and the Jihad Wars: Are They One?"

Walid Phares was born and raised in Lebanon, and has a degree in political science from St. Joseph Jesuit University and the Lebanese State University in Beirut. He has a Masters in international law from the University of Lyons (France) and a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Miami. Professor Phares has taught at Florida Atlantic University since 1993, where he specializes in courses on Middle East politics and government, political culture, social history, ideologies, and civilization. His books include Pluralism in Lebanon (1979) and Lebanese Christian Nationalism (1993). He has made frequent appearances as a commentator on the Middle East and international terrorism on CNN, the BBC, MSNBC, Fox News, NBC and PBS.

Sponsored by the Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies Program, the Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies Student Association, Political Science Department, and the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies

For questions, please contact Alexandra Pittman, pittmaal@bc.edu

Click Here to View Prof. Phares' Lecture on Front Row

February 22, 2005

7:00 pm, Cushing 001

His Excellency, Karim Kawar, Ambassador of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to the United States and BC Alumnus (CSOM '87) presents:

"A View from Jordan: Challenges and Opportunities in the Middle East"

Jordan stands as an oasis of peace during a challenging and difficult time in the Middle East. As a leading reformer in the Arab world, a peacemaker and a mediator, Jordan plays a crucial role in today's Middle East. Ambassador Kawar will discuss the developments in the region; both the challenges and opportunities on the regional scene and in Jordan's domestic arena.

An open reception will follow the lecture.

Sponsored by the BC Presidential Scholars, BC Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies Program and BC Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies Student Association

For questions, please contact Alexandra Pittman, pittmaal@bc.edu

March 2005
 

March 18, 2005

4:00 pm, McGuinn Auditorium

The Bradley Lecture Series presents:

ABDOU FILALI-ANSARY
Aga Khan University

“Was the Prophet a King? Religion and Politics in 20th Century Islamic Thought”

Discussant: Nasser Behnegar, Boston College

All lectures will be held at 4:00 P.M., McGuinn Auditorium
Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts

 April 2005
 

April 7, 2005

7:00 pm Gasson 305

Dr. Franck Salameh

"The Myth of Arab Nationalism"

Dr. Franck Salameh, one of Boston College's two Arabic professors and a native of Lebanon, offers his insights on "the fundamental faults of this misnomer" and seeks to address what has in effect become a type of wide-scale ethnic cleansing of a geographic region on a political and cultural level.

April 13, 2005

4:15 pm, Carney 302

LUCY AUSTIN NUSSEIBEH

Founding Director of MEND (Middle East Nonviolence and Democracy)

MEND is a Jerusalem-based non-governmental organization, which she established in 1998. Currently she is a visiting fellow at the JFK School of Government at Harvard. Mrs. Nusseibeh is the daughter of two distinguished Oxford philosophers Jean Austin and the late J.L. Austin. She is a graduate of Oxford and Harvard Universities. She will speak about MEND, Palestinian women and non-violence.

Sponsored by the Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies Program, Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies Student Association and the Women's Studies Department.

April 14, 2005

4:30 pm, Carney 302

SARI NUSSEIBEH

Professor of Philosophy and President of al-Quds University

"Palestine: Moral Questions"

Mr. Nusseibeh is currently the Rita E. Hauser Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute in Harvard University. He studied for his BA at Christ Church, Oxford and his PhD in Islamic Philosophy under the direction of Professor Muhsin Mahdi at Harvard. As a leading figure in the Palestinian cause, he and his family have been active in the public affairs of Jerusalem and the wider Arab world for generations.Among his many publications, he co-authored No Trumpets, No Drums with Prof. Mark Heller of Tel-Aviv University (formerly associated with the BC Political Science Dept.). With Ami Ayalon, former director of the Israeli Security Services, he has led the People's Voice, an Israeli-Palestinian civil initiative that aims to advance peace by
organizing a grass-roots petition based on the "two states for two peoples" formula. He has lectured widely in Europe and the United States and has received many prizes and awards, most recently, the Premi Internacional Catalunya Award, for his contributions to the development of cultural, scientific, or human values around the world.

Sponsored by the BC Presidential Scholars, BC Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies Program and BC Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies Student Association

Thursday, April 21 2005

Higgins 310

Professor Yehezkal Landau
Faculty Associate in Interfaith Relations
Hartford Seminary

"HEALING THE HOLY LAND: Abrahamic Resources for Peace Building"

Professor Landau is co-founder of The Open House Center in Ramle,
Israel, a unique experiment in building communities of conversation
and cooperation among Israeli Arabs, both Christians and Muslims, and
Israeli Jews (see www.friendsofopenhouse.org ) . Part of the
evening's presentation will be a video on the work of OPEN HOUSE.

Yehezkal Landau was also the director of Oz ve Shalom, a movement
of religious Zionists for Peace. He has written widely on the need for a
just solution to the conflict in Israel and Palestine to draw upon the
spiritual resources of the three Abrahamic families in the Holy Land.

He has contributed the Jewish commentary on the historical Jubilee
Year visit of Pope John Paul II to the Holy Land in 2000 in a newly
published book, John Paul II in the Holy Land: In His Own Words (Paulist
Press, 2005)

Sponsored by the Boston College Center for Christian Jewish Learning

 
September 2005
 
September 28, 2005

7:00 pm

Merkert 127

Boston College Students Presentation on Jordan

There will be a presentation by BC students, who went to Jordan this summer. The presentation will include a slideshow, personal accounts, and a Q & A session to answer any questions that others may have in regards to the "Questaway to the Middle East" program in which 18 BC students participated.

As always, refreshments will be served. Looking forward to seeing you there.

Sponsored by MEISSA

2004

December 2004
 

Natana Delong-Bas

Wahhabism Past and Present: From Revival and Reform to
Global Jihad

For Lecture see http://frontrow.bc.edu/program/delong/

Thursday, December 2, 2004
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
BC, Fulton 511

Wahhabism Past and Present: From Revival and Reform to
Global Jihad.

Presentation by Natana Delong-Bas
Natana Delong-Bas is an adjunct professor at BC in the Theology department. She is the author of Wahhabi Islam: From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad and Women in Muslim Family Law with John Esposito.

November 2004

November 3, 2004
6:00 pm-7:30 pm
BC, McGuinn 3rd Floor Lounge

Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies (MEIS) Faculty and Student Reception. Join MEIS faculty and students to learn more about this interdisciplinary program. A Middle Eastern dinner will be served.

Wednesday November 10, 2004
4:30 pm- 6:00 pm
BC, Gasson 305

Should Head Scarves be banned??!?

The Women’s Studies Program presents a lecture by
Professor Nacira Guénif-Souilamas
Centre d’analyse et d’intervention sociologiques and
Université de Paris-XIII

YOUNG FRENCH ARAB WOMEN (BEURETTES): AN OVERVIEW OF GENDER/ETHNICITY ISSUES
Co-Sponsored by the International Studies Program; Center for International Partnerships and Programs, and The Middle Eastern Studies Program.

 
October 2004

October 16 -17, 2004
9:00 am -5:00 pm
BC, Higgins Hall

Balkan Development Conference: Lessons Learned. This two-day conference will look back at what the international community has learned from the wars in the Balkans and look forward to viable solutions for reconstruction, reconciliation, and lasting security—both from the perspective of the former Yugoslavia and also as a laboratory for those doing similar work in other parts of the world, specifically Afghanistan and Iraq. $15 BC students

For registration and more information see http://www.balkandevelopment.org/lessonslearned/

October 21, 2004
8:00 pm
BC, Gasson Hall 100

Concert, The Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies Program will present a free concert by the Yuval Ron Ensemble, Mystical Music of the Middle East open to the BC community and the public. The performers are of Lebanese, Armenian, and Israeli origin, presenting a fusion of different musical traditions. Co-Sponsors: Arts & Sciences Interdisciplinary Program, Calderwood Chair in Islamic Art, Department of History, Jesuit Institute, Department of Music, Program in Religion and the Arts, Department of Theology, UGBC Contact: Alexandra Pittman pittmaal@bc.edu , Assistant Coordinator , Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies Program, 617-552-2939, 341 McGuinn

 
April 2004
 

April 22, 2004 Cushing 001 4:30-6:30pm
Ann Lesch will give a lecture on "Why the Palestinian Intifada? What Prospects for Peace?"
Ann Lesch is a Professor at Villanova University, where she regularly teaches courses on Middle Eastern politics and the Israeli Palestinian conflict. Her scholarship centers on Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, Egyptian and Sudanese politics, ethnicity and religion in politics, and conflict resolution.

April 28, 2004 McGuinn 3rd Floor Lounge 4:30-6:30pm
Meeting and reception for all MEIS minors

"The Viability of Democracy in Iraq"
Dr. Hayder Karim

Dr. Karim, is a physician who is heavily involved in the reconstruction of medical facilities in Iraq and the creation of grass-roots democratization.

March 2004
March 25, 2004 Hovey House Library 2:30pm
A meeting with Dr. Ben Fortuna from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. SOAS has an excellent program of study in Middle Eastern & Islamic affairs and is part of BC's study abroad program. Dr. Fortuna will be talking about SOAS courses and the application process to study there.

March 25, 2004 Devlin 026 5:00-6:00pm
The Department of Theology, the Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies Program, and the Norma Jean Calderwood Chair in Islamic and Asian Art present
Professor Carl Ernst, Zachary Smith Professor of Religious Studies at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, to discuss: "Islamic Ethics, from the Premodern to the Postcolonial."

February 2004
February 12, 2004 Fulton 115 4:30-6:30pm
Maria Rose Menocal will give a lecture on "The Ornament of the World": Saving the Memory of al-Andalus
Professor Menocal received her Ph.D. in Romance Philology from the University of Pennsylvania, taught at Bryn Mawr College, then at Pennsylvania and, for the last 16 years, at Yale, where she is the R. Selden Rose Professor of Spanish and Portuguese. She is now also the Director of the Whitney Humanities Center.

February 17, 2004 Location: Gasson 100 4:30-7:00pm
Anne K. Rasmussen will discusss

"Bodies, Voices, Religion, and Nation: Indonesian Women and the Performance of Islam"

While the Western imagination hides the Muslim woman under a black cloak and scholarship confines her to a sphere of segregated interiority, in contemporary Indonesia professional female reciters of the Qur'ân as well as performers of Islamic music, work as agents of Indonesian religion and nation. Ethnomusicologist, Anne Rasmussen maps contemporary Indonesian perspectives and practice unto assumptions about Islamic women, music, and the public body. Based on nearly two years of fieldwork, the presentation will be illustrated with ethnographic video and slides of religious performance in contemporary Indonesia. A reception and informal concert of Middle Eastern Music follow the lecture. Dr. Rasmussen, performing on the 'ud (traditional fretless lute) will be joined by musical colleagues, Anne Elise Thomas (playing the qanun, 75 string plucked zither) and master percussionist Karim Nagi Mohammed.

February 26, 2004 Gasson 306 3:00-5:00pm
The Department of Theology and the Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies Program present
Kamran S. Aghaie, Assistant Professor of Islamic and Iranian History, Department of Middle Eastern Studies & Associate Director, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, The University of Texas at Austin, to discuss: "Transcendence, Passion, and Devotion in Muharram Rituals of Shi'ite Islam"

Anne Rasmussen Lecture/Concert at Boston College

On February 17, Anne Rasmussen spoke on "Bodies, Voices, Religion, and Nation: Indonesian Women and the Performance of Islam"
Professor Rasmussen's lecture was part of the Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies program Distinguished Lecture Series and was co-sponsored by the Journal of Religion and the Arts. Anne Rasmussen is an Associate Professor of music and ethnomusicology at The College of William and Mary where she also directs a Middle Eastern Music Ensemble. The short concert that followed the program featured Professor Rasmussen, performing on the 'ud (traditional fretless lute). She was joined by her musical colleagues, Anne Elise Thomas playing the qanun (75 string plucked zither) and master percussionist Karim Nagi Mohammed. To view the complete program, click on the following link: Bodies, Voices, Religion, and Nation.

2003

October 2003
October 11, 2003 Higgins Hall 300 2-4pm
Boston College Department of Theology & Pakistan Association of Greater Boston (PAGB) Invites you to a reading and book signing by Qamar-ul Huda, Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies & Comparative Theology, on the topic of: "The Legacy of Suhra wardi Sufi Muslims"

October 23, 2003 Carney 302 4:30 pm
A representative from the Army Linguist Program for Arabic will discuss career opportunities in this field. Some advantages of the program: $65,000 college loan repayment; average salary $48,000; sign-up bonus $20,000; additional language training at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA. Language requirements and proficiency level to qualify for the program will be discussed at the meeting. Light refreshments will be served.

November 2003
 November 3, 2003 Gasson Hall 100 5:00-7:00 pm
"A Roadmap to Nowhere? Israel, Palestine, and the Prospects for a Just Peace"
Speakers: Yoav Peled, Tel Aviv University, Israel and Saleh Abdul Jawad, Birzeit Univerity, Ramallah, Palestine

November 6, 2003 Cushing Hall 001 4:30-6:30 pm
Professor Charles Tripp will discuss "What Iraq's history tells us about its future."
Professor Tripp is a leading expert on the government and politics of the Middle East. He received a BA from Oxford University and an MsC and PhD from the University of London, where he is now Senior Lecturer in the Department of Political Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).

November 11, 2003 Hovey House Library 4:30-6:00 pm
Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies program faculty and student reception.
Join MEIS faculty and students to learn more about BC's most exciting new program. Refreshments will be served!

November 13, 2003 Gasson Hall 306 3:00-4:30 pm
"Social Justice Issues In The Progressive Muslim Movement"
Speaker: Omid Safi, Assistant Prof. of Philosophy & Religion at Colgate University & author of "Progressive Muslims"

Hillel Fradkin speaks on Islam and the Contemporary Crisis

On November 14, 2003, Hillel Fradkin, the president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C., gave a lecture on Islam and the Contemporary Crisis. The lecture examined radical Islam in the modern world and was sponsored by the Institute for the Study of Politics and Religion. To view the program click on the following link: Islam and the Contemporary Crisis.

Charles Tripp Lecture Held at Boston College

On Thursday, November 6, Charles Tripp, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Political Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), gave a lecture on "What Iraq's History Tells Us About Its Future." Prof. Tripp discussed se veral key aspects of Iraq's troubled history, and their particular relevance in the light of current events in the country.

Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies Program Hosts a Faculty Student Reception

On Tuesday, November 11, the MEIS program hosted a faculty/student reception in the Hovey House Library. Faculty from the program were present to discuss the MEIS minor as well as the various courses that satisfy the pro gram requirements. Resources on the MEIS minor, study abroad programs, and future opportunities in the field were also available. Traditional food and Middle Eastern music made this event one not to be missed in the future!

December 2003
December 2, 2003 Higgins Hall 225 4:30-6:30 pm
Ann Elizabeth Mayer will give a lecture on "Women's International Human Rights and Islamic Law -- An Uneasy Existence?"
Ann Elizabeth Mayer is an Associate Professor of Legal Studies in the Department of Legal Studies at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Her scholarship centers on Islamic law in contemporary legal systems, comparative law, and internat ional law, with a special focus on human rights in North Africa and the Middle East.