News & Happenings
News & Happenings The King Fahd Center for Middle East Studies Newsletter
Upcoming Events Page 2 Recent Events Page 6 Faculty News Page 10 Graduate News Page 16 King Fahd Center Undergraduate News for Middle East Studies Page 18 at the University of Alumni News Arkansas Page 21 Volume 3 • Issue 1 October 2014
202 Old Main, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701• http://mest.uark.edu • [email protected] • 479-575-2175 King Fahd Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Arkansas
We certainly have not been lacking for headlines of UPCOMING: late in our part of the world. When we held a King Fahd Center forum in late August we contemplated MESA ANNUAL MEETING the ‘worst summer in history.’ Some of us came up November 21-25, 2014 with alternate dates, but few could argue that the geographic spread of civil strife, military activity, King Fahd Center faculty, students and alumni will be sectarian-national antipathy, and the destruction of attending and presenting their work at the upcoming human life, cultural heritage and the environment Middle East Studies Association annual meeting to be reached startling new levels in terms of scope, held in Washington, D.C. intensity and simultaneity. Ahmet Serdar Akturk (PhD/HIST 2013) ‘Kurdish Nationalism Our mission remains ongoing: to teach about the and Clothing Reform in the Post-Ottoman Era’ Middle East and Islamic world, to humanize its people, Sanket Desai (PhD/HIST) ‘Just Keep the Sheep Thieves Away: to describe realities without veiling them, from the Minority Challenges to Iraqi Nation-State Building, 1933-1945’ vantage points of our various disciplines and years of experience on the ground. Above all, we keep going Manal Al-Natour (PhD/CLCS 2012) ‘Women “in the Crossfire”: back where we can, when we can. Center affiliated The Syrian Revolution 2011’ faculty/students traveled this summer to Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Iraq, Bosnia and Asaad Al-Saleh (PhD/CLCS 2010) ‘Serving the Regime: Bangladesh. We continue to explore options for Buthaina Shabaan and the Legacy of a Public Intellectual undergraduate study abroad and to weigh the viability Siding Against the Syrian Revolution’ of graduate student and faculty research. Nadine Sinno (PhD/CLCS 2009) ‘Lebanon, the Land of Milk and Honey, Tabbouleh, and Coke: Orientalist, Local, and We endeavor to provide fresh critical perspectives Global Discourses in Alexandra Chreiteh’s Always Coca-Cola’ on current developments and historical roots, and to highlight the power of creative cultural expression. Ted Swedenburg (ANTH) ‘The New Social Media Archive of So far this semester we have hosted a visiting lecture Maghrebi Popular Music’ by Professor David Romano, an expert on the Kurds. Many of us have already presented papers and talks Wawan Yulianto (PhD/CLCS) ‘Al-Shanfara’s Lamiyyat al-Arab’ at conferences and symposia in this country and abroad. In November we will host Aizzah Fatimah who will perform ‘Dirty Paki Lingerie.’ Her 1-woman show speaks in comic tones to the ongoing journey of Muslims throughout the American social landscape – reminding us that there is much beyond daily headlines to which we also should pay attention.
Dr. Joel Gordon, Director King Fahd Center for Middle East Studies Cover: Tapa Maranjan, Kabul, Afghanistan Photo courtesy of Khalid Ahmadzai
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UPCOMING: STUDENT FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
The King Fahd Center offers financial support to advanced undergraduate MEST majors who have demonstrated a serious commitment to study and excellent performance in the classroom, as well as graduate students at the MA and PhD level working in academic disciplines with a focus in Middle East/Islamic Studies. Applications and further details can be found on the King Fahd Center website. MEST Summer Study Abroad Scholarship Graduate Summer Research Grants Deadline February 1, 2015 February 6, 2015
The King Fahd Center offers study abroad scholarships Graduate Students working in Middle East Studies may for undergraduate students majoring in Middle East apply for funding to support summer research or language Studies. A limited number of grants will be available on a study. Such funds are awarded on a competitive basis competitive basis. Scholarship applicants must declare a and may provide only partial support, based upon the MEST major prior to application. Applicants must secure submitted budget. positive recommendations from two faculty members; at least one recommender should be a faculty member Conference Travel Grants affiliated with the MEST program. Financial need will be Applications accepted on a rolling basis considered in awarding funding. Any Graduate Student funded by the King Fahd Center MEST Undergraduate Academic Year Scholarship and/or working on a relevant geo-cultural topic under Deadline March 13, 2015 the supervision of a MEST faculty member may apply for travel funds to support participation (presentation of a The King Fahd Center offers scholarships for advanced paper/poster or participation in a workshop/roundtable) undergraduate MEST majors who have demonstrated a at an academic conference. Proposals will be judged on serious commitment to study and excellent performance merit and the amount of support will be determined by in the classroom. To be eligible, scholarship applicants available funds. must have a minimum of 3.5 in MEST core courses and 3.25 in overall GPA, must attain junior status by the beginning Complete applications include: of the specified funding period and must declare a MEST major prior to application. • Statement of Purpose indicating the nature of the project, relevance to academic program, and Applicants must secure positive recommendations from anticipated outcome; two faculty members; at least one recommender should • Any relevant letters of invitation or affiliation with be a faculty member affiliated with the MEST program. an academic/research institution, or application Transfer students are also eligible and should solicit letters to and (if possible) acceptance into conference/ from professors at their prior institution who can speak to academic program; their interest and academic potential. Financial need will • A Proposed Budget outlining expected expenses; be considered in awarding funding. • Indication of support from any other source; • A formal Recommendation Letter from the applicant’s MEST faculty advisor.
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UPCOMING: COMMEDIENNE AIZZAH FATIMA AND DIRTY PAKI LINGERIE The King Fahd Center is pleased to welcome writer and Dirty Paki Lingerie will be performed in Giffels Auditorium actress Aizzah Fatima to the University of Arkansas for (201 Old Main) on Thursday, November 6th at 7pm, and is one-woman comedy play entitled Dirty Paki Lingerie. free and open to the public.
Set in post 9/11 America, Dirty Paki Lingerie depicts the In addition to her performance on November 6th, Fatima stories of six Pakistani-American Muslim women ranging will also take part in a special Nadi Cinema screening of in age from a six year old girl to a sixty-five year old director Chris Morris’ 2010 filmFour Lions, a ‘smart, pitch- woman at the chaotic juncture of two different cultures. black comedy’ (Rotten Tomatoes), which saw only limited Cross-cultural sparks fly and preconceptions about release in the US, about a group of hapless British jihadis Muslim women, sex, and politics are hilariously shattered set out to wreak havoc in their native country. in the show The Wall Street Journal says “Breaks down stereotypes of Muslim women in America” and that Fatima will also speak with students in a workshop that reviewers call a “must-see” production. Playing to sold- will further the discussion on religious, gender and out houses in NYC, Toronto, Pakistan, and Edinburgh ethnic stereotypes in America, and the difficulties and Fringe Festival, Dirty Paki Lingerie transcends boundaries opportunities in taking a show like Dirty Paki Lingerie to of culture, religion, and gender, moving and entertaining audiences abroad. The workshop will also take place on audiences with its unique and universal appeal. A rich, Thursday, November 6th before the play’s performance; sexy, and infectiously entertaining mosaic of the sublime, time and location to be announced. the comic, the poetic, and the political.
Aizzah Fatima is a writer and actress who has most recently appeared in Half Hearted (Cherry Lane Theater), #serials@theflea (The Flea Theater), Play by Play:Rendezvous (Stageworks, Hudson), Circumcaedere (LABrynth Ensemble), Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues (V-Day 2010), Seven by Paula Cizmar, Catherine Filloux, Gail Kriegel, Carol K. Mack, Ruth Margraff, Anna Deavere Smith and Susan Yankowitz (Hostos Cultural Arts Center), the interactive musical Bollywood Wedding, and Ripe For The Picking, an original ensemble piece about human rights violations around the world. She can be seen on the hit Pakistani TV series Mata-e-jaan on HUM TV, which was directed by the acclaimed Mehreen Jabbar. Other TV credits include: The Good Wife (CBS), Patrice O’Neil’s Guide to White People (Comedy Central), Food Detectives with Ted Allen (Food Network), and Cinematherapy with comedian Chuck Nice (WEtv). She has performed at Upright Citizen's Brigade, and appeared in sketches for collegehumor.com. She co-produces and co-stars in the webseries Landing in Mumbai (www.mumbaichopra. com). More details at www.AizzahFatima.com
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RECENT EVENTS
Middle East Studies & Spring International Langage Center Student Mixer September 24, 2014
Hailing from all over North Africa and the Middle East, International English teachers who teach economically disadvantaged youth in their home countries through the ‘Access’ program funded by the U.S. Department of State met with students and faculty from the Middle East Studies program to practice their English and share their culture. Organized in conjunction with the Spring Joel Gordon, Matt Parnell and Nani Verzon with visiting students International Language Center. from the Spring International Language Center. Photo courtesy of Nani Verzon. The Empire Strikes Back (Episode 3): ISIS, Iraq, Kurdistan and the U.S. September 19, 2014
Dr. David Romano is the Thomas G. Strong Professor of Middle East Politics at Missouri State University. He teaches courses in politics and government of the Middle East, international relations theories, foreign policies of Middle East States, and political violence and terrorism. The author of The Kurdish Nationalist Movement: Opportunity, Mobilization and Identity(Oxford University Press 2006), he is a leading expert on Kurdish politics and political movements across the Middle East. His lecture addressed the impact of events in Iraq and Kurdistan, particularly in light of the dramatic emergence of ISIS Dr. David Romano lectures on the emergence and impact of ISIS. (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) this summer, the degree Photo courtesy of Kathleen Doody. to which the political maps of Iraq and Syria have been reshaped, and the potential for increased US military involvement in the region.
Assessing the Worst Summer in the Middle East August 27, 2014
King Fahd Center faculty members Nikolay Antov, Mounir Farah, Joel Gordon, Adnan Haydar, and Ted Swedenburg discussed the waves of political violence -- civil war, holy war, insurrection, invasion and occupation, the destruction of civil society and failure to conclude elections, and the erasure of traditional borders and alliances -- that swept the Middle East and adjacent regions, from Libya to MEST sophomore Jacob Rowlett presents on street art in the Afghanistan during the summer months of 2014. Middle East. Photo courtesy of Sarwar Alam.
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Visit from Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud University Solving Mysteries in the Valley of the Crescent Moon: August 18, 2013 Two Decades of research in Petra, Jordan April 18, 2014 The King Fahd Center hosted a group of students from Dr. Tom Paradise discussed the university’s Petra Project the College of Computer and Information Sciences at Al- using photographs from the site. This 25-year research Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi project is one of the oldest programs in the ruined Arabia. The students were accompanied by Dr Ali Saad al- Jordanian city described as a ‘rose-red city half as old as Ali, Vice Dean for Administrative and Student Affairs and time.’ Research in the area has focused on identifying and Dr. Ahmed Abu Halimeh, a graduate of UALR. The group assessing the impact of nature and tourists on the Valley also visited Little Rock and Atlanta. of the Crescent Moon.
Undergraduate Islamic Studies Symposium 2014 Arabic Speech Contest April 30, 2014 April 18, 2014
On April 30, select students from Sarwar Alam’s courses The King Fahd Center helped to sponsor the annual WLLC (MEST 2003 Intro to Islam and MEST 410V Sufism: Islamic Speech Contest, which is part of the Fulbright College Mystical Traditions) who had papers accepted at the 12th Language Festival and held every April. A total of11 Annual Research in Religious Studies Conference at the undergraduate and graduate students participated at University of Calgary, and the 2014 Eastern International Elementary, Intermediate, and Advanced levels. Regional Meeting of American Academy of Religion at Syracuse University. Students presented their papers in Elementary: Chris Cowan, Daniel Ince, a one-day forum on ‘Islamic Studies: Belief, Expression, Khalid Ahmadzai, Bradley Graves, Journey, Debate’ at the University of Arkansas sponsored Josie Graves-Long (Runner-Up), Mehreen Humayun (Winner) by the King Fahd Center. Participants were: Intermediate: Tanner Callison (Runner-Up), Brian Hughes, ‘Apostasy in Contemporary Sara Kouchehbagh, Susanna Ripley (Winner) Islam: Use of Hadith Narratives in Contradiction with Qur’anic Revelation within Islamic Advanced: Delilah Clark (Runner-Up), Jurisprudence’ JP Huber (Winner) Deborah Lee, ‘Me, My Nafs and I: The Journey Students also created a trailer video about Arabic at the of Spirituality in Islam’ U of A (Arabic with English subtitles.) The video is now posted on the Arabic Program web page of WLLC. Meghan Perry, ‘The Hijab and Women’s Sexuality in Islamic Culture’ Performers: Tad Moore, Julia Gardner, Bradley Graves, Khalid Ahmadzai, Rebekah Harvey Jacob Rowlett, ‘From the Qur’an to the Can: An Exploration of the Roots of Modern Islamic Graffiti’
Kacee Sparks, ‘On the Edge of the Binary and Follow the King Fahd Center on Society: Sufism’s Role in Social Tolerance of Hijra Facebook and Twitter and Transgender Communities in Pakistan’ for news and upcoming events.
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Lebanese Zajal Performance April 5, 2014
The King Fahd Center hosted and produced ‘Zajal Live: A Poetic Duel in Lebanese Arabic,’ a special public performance by two of Lebanon’s masters of the art of oral poetry – zajal – Antoine Saadeh and Bassam Harb.
Antoine Saadeh is one of the leading zajal poets of his generation and one of the most famous senior duelists in Lebanon. Bassam Harb, the son of poet Edward Harb, is a star of the new generation of poets keeping the zajal tradition alive. Dr. Anna Stevens presents on archaeological work in Amarna, Egypt. Photo courtesy of Nani Verzon Zajal, a traditional form of oral poetry declaimed in Visiting Scholar Dr. Anna Stevens colloquial Arabic dialects, is semi-improvised and semi- April 14-18 sung and is most often performed in the format of a lively duel on a common theme between as many as 8 poets, Dr. Anna Stevens is affiliated with two important sites in who divide into competing jawqas or teams. Their word the Nile Valley. She is Assistant Director for the Amarna play consists of original rhyme schemes, punning, satire Project in Upper Egypt, where she works in tandem with and colorful insults. UA archaeologist Jerome Rose, and is Site Supervisor and Project Curator for the Amara West Project in As a prelude to the performance, UA faculty member Paula Northern Sudan. Her primary research interests are the Haydar delivered an introductory lecture on the history reconstruction of urban life and religion in ancient Egypt, and tradition ofzajal poetry. Prior to the event, Professor primarily through material remains. She is the author of Adnan Haydar explained the ‘rules of engagement’ and Private Religion at Amarna: The Material Experience, The during a short intermission he summarized the opening Amarna Stone Village Survey, and co-editor of Busy Lives half of the duel. at Amarna. Iranian Poetry in Translation Dr. Stevens delivered a public lecture entitled ‘Akhenaton’s April 1-3, 2014 People: Excavation of the Amarna Cemetery (Ancient Egypt)’ on April 17 and participated in a King Fahd Center The King Fahd Center, in conjunction with the Program in ‘On the Ground’ forum on Archaeology and the Egyptian Creative Writing, sponsored the visit of 10 Iranian poets Revolution’ on April 18 along with Professor Gretchen and translators to Fayetteville. The visitors toured campus Dabbs of Southern Illinois University (PhD/ANTH 2009). and met with King Fahd Center faculty, representatives of She and Jerry Rose prepared for the upcoming research UA Press and Fulbright College deans. They participated season at Amarna, along with Professor Dabbs and a in the Poetry Translation Workshop and an evening number of Rose’s graduate students, and sketched out recitation in which students from the workshop read plans for the publication of data of approximately 400 translations of their works. skeletons excavated in recent years.
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Antoine Saadeh, Mounir Farah, Ted Swedenburg, Joel Gordon, Ted Swedenburg, Ali Ahmida and Joel Gordon. Adnan Haydar, Pierre Chelala, and Bassam Harb attend the post- Photo courtesy of Nani Verzon. duel reception. Photo courtesy of Jaime Holland. Malcolm X and the African-American Journey to Islam Professor Ahmida spoke in 3 classes: Middle East March 28, 2014 Politics, Introduction to Comparative Politics, and the graduate seminar in Modern Middle East History. He Richard B Turner is Professor of Religious Studies met informally with graduate students. He co-hosted at the University of Iowa, where he also holds joint a special screening of Mustapha Akkad’s Lion of the appointments in the programs of African American Desert – the epic tale of the Libyan resistance against Studies and International Programs. He is the author of Fascist Italy led by Omar Mukhtar. He also spoke on Islam in the African-American Experience, Jazz Religion, Italian Colonialism in Libya to the Society of European the Second Line, and Black New Orleans, and chapters Historians, and led a King Fahd Center ‘On the Ground’ in The Cambridge Companion to Malcolm X, The Black forum on ‘Libya: Beyond Qaddafi and Benghazi.’ Muslims in America, and Black Routes to Islam. He is currently writing a book on John Coltraine. Dr. Turner’s In the Presence of the Imam: Core Beliefs and Ritual lecture was co-sponsored with African-American Studies, Practices in Shi’ite Shrine Architecture UA Multicultural Center, and al-Islam RSO. January 31, 2014
Visiting Scholar Dr. Ali Ahmida Dr. Yasser Tabbaa, Professor of Art History and the Dorothy March 17-21, 2014 Kayser Hohenberg Chair of Excellence at the University of Memphis, presented a lecture based on his book project, Dr. Ahmida, Chair of the Political Science Department at entitledIn the Presence of the Imam: Architecture, Ritual, New England University, visited the University of Arkansas and Representation in Shi’i Shrines, examining Shi’i shrines in March. The author of The Making of Modern Libya with special emphasis on those in Damascus and Najaf, and Forgotten Voices: Power and Agency in Colonial and against normative and widely accepted Shi’i core beliefs Postcolonial Libya, ahis scholarship focuses on power, and ritual practices. agency and anti-colonial resistance in North Africa, especially modern Libya.
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FACULTY NEWS
Sarwar Alam (MEST) will publish his essay in a forthcoming issue of Journal of Comparative Islamic Studies, entitled ‘Sufism Without Boundaries: Pluralism, Coexistence, and Interfaith Dialogue in Modern Bangladesh’. He is co- editing a volume on Sufism, Pluralism and Democracy (Equinox) that will include his essay, ‘In Search of God and Deema Shehabi, Marilyn Hacker, and Mohja Kahf at the Humanity: Vilayet-e-Mutlaka of Hazrat Delaor Husayn 2014 RAWI conference. Photo courtesy of Mohja Kahf. Maizbhandari.’ He recently taught two mini-courses for Mohja Kahf (ENGL) gave a reading at the Radius of Arab the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at the UA American Writers (RAWI) conference in September 2014 in Global Campus, on Islam and Hinduism. Minneapolis, MN. Her essay ‘Lord, Make Me Not Obvious: The Things I Want My Daughters to Know’ appeared in Nikolay Antov (HIST) presented ‘The Abdals of Rum(eli): Iraj Omidvar and Anne R Richards (Eds.) Muslims and Heterodox Islam, Turcoman Colonization, and Legitimacy American Popular Culture, Vol 2: Print Culture and Identity in the Eastern Ottoman Balkans (15th-16th centuries)’ (Praeger 2014). at the American Research Institute in Turkey’s annual meeting in May 2014. Adnan Haydar (WLLC), collaborating with Paula Haydar (MEST) and Nadine Sinno (UA PhD 2009) of Virginia Tech, Jesse Casana (ANTH) was published ‘The Late Roman completed work on Haki bil-Lubnani, their textbook for Landscape of the Northern Levant: A view from Tell Eastern Arabic (Lebanese) dialect. The text has been Qarqur and the lower Orontes River Valley’ in the published by Georgetown University Press as a companion Oxford Journal of Archaeology and ‘Landscapes of volume to al-Kitab, the leading text for Modern Standard Tells in the Near East and Beyond’ in Antiquity. His Arabic in this country. chapter ‘A Landscape Context for Paleoethnobotany: The Contribution of Aerial and Satellite Remote Sensing’ Paula Haydar (MEST) published her translation of appeared in John M. Marston, Jade d’Alpoim Guedes Jabbour Douahi’s novel June Rain (Bloomsbury Qatar and Christina Warinner (Eds.), Theory and Method in Foundation Publishing) in July, and will publish (with Paleoethnobotany (University Press of Colorado). He Nadine Sinno) the translation of Who’s Afraid of Meryl co-authored ‘Satellite-based monitoring of looting and Streep (University of Texas Press) by Rashid al-Daif in damage to archaeological sites in Syria’ in the Journal of October. She also defended her dissertation ‘The Art of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies. Verbal Dueling in Lebanon: the Battle of Beit Mery and Beyond’, and graduated with her PhD in August. Mounir Farah (CIED) spoke to KNWA regarding the history and nature of ISIS in light of recent acts of violence in Iraq Tom Paradise’s (GEOS) article ‘Earth-Sun relationships and and Kurdistan. Architecture in Petra, Jordan: an assessment of principal tombs and structures’ will appear in a forthcoming issue Joel Gordon (HIST) was sought by KNWA for comment of the American Journal of Archaeology; his chapter on the recent Sulphur Springs scandal that shined a light ‘Analysis of sandstone deterioration on petroglyphs, on culturally insensitive social media messages being architecture, inscriptions, and dressed surfaces across distributed by the city’s mayor.
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Wadi Rum, Jordan’ is forthcoming in S. Fares (Ed.) Desert & Man (University of Lorraine Publications). Paradise will KING FAHD CENTER appear in the NOVA-PBS special ‘The Lost City of Petra’ (premiering in January/February 2015). IN THE FIELD The King Fahd Center supports financially the operation Jerry Rose (ANTH) and his team excavating Amarna, Egypt of two archaeological field schools organized/supervised were featured in the cover story (‘Egypt’s City of the by faculty members Jerome Rose and Jesse Casana. Sun God’) of the May/June 2014 issue of Archaeology, published by the Archaeological Institute of America. Amarna – Egypt. Despite concerns with the political stability in Egypt, Professor Rose was able to lead a field Ted Swedenburg (ANTH) penned program notes, ‘Electro expedition of faculty and advanced graduate students Sha’abi: Autotune-Rebels in Cairo’ for the Norient Music to continue analysis and exacavation of remains at Film Festival in Bern, Switzerland in January. His chapter the Amarna field site. This May Professor Rose’s team ‘Mizrahi/Arab/Israeli/Queer: The Cultural Politics of Dana included faculty colleagues Gretchen Dabbs and William International’ was recently published in The Routledge Schaffer, and UA graduate students Heidi Davis and Handbook of Contemporary Jewish Cultures (Routledge); Ashley Shidner. Davis and Shidner are among 4 graduate his article ‘Beur/Maghrebi Musical Interventions in students working under Professor Rose’s supervision on Contemporary France: Rai and Rap’ is under review for a dissertations rooted in the Amarna excavations. special issue of Journal of North African Studies (2015). He has recently joined the Editorial Board of the International Upper Diyala River Valley – Iraqi Kurdistan. Since 2013 Journal of Middle East Studies (IJMES). Professor Casana has been scouting sites in the Upper Diyala River Valley in Iraqi Kurdistan with an eye towards future excavation projects. In May 2013, supported by King Fahd Center funding, he led a team of 5; this summer he returned to the area with a team of 3 graduate students (Mitra Panahipour, Chris Fletcher, Autumn Cool) and a recent PhD (Eric Jensen), all supported by a combination of KFC Summer Travel Grants and general KFC support funds.
Bioarchaeology Field School Egypt Summer 2016 Applications for Dr. Rose’s Summer 2016 Bioarchaeology Field School in Egypt are currently being accepted by the Study Abroad Office. Visit the UARK Study Abroad Website at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/egypt for more pricing and program information. Application Deadline: August 1, 2015 Tom Paradise on location with PBS film crew in Petra, Jordan. Photo courtesy of Tom Paradise.
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The King Fahd Center for Middle East Studies Dhia Ben Ali is an MA supports graduate study for students at the MA student in Political Science, and PhD level working in academic disciplines interested in the role NGOs with a Center faculty specialist in Middle and Civil society play in East/Islamic Studies by providing graduate advancing democracy in assistantships. The following students will be post-revolutionary countries, supported by King Fahd Center assistantships particularly Tunisia and during Academic Year 2014-2015. Egypt. His research includes the study of Islamic governments after the Arab Spring, their ability to Kaveh Bassiri is a PhD student develop democratic processes, and the reactions of in Comparative Literature Middle Eastern governments to new Islamic regimes. concentrating on translation Dhia recently completed an internship with a Public and post-colonial studies. Affairs firm in Little Rock that helped introducing him to Bassiri’s current research local political campaigns. is in modern Iranian and American poetry; his thesis Clayton Clark is an MFA will bring together these two student in Creative Writing cultures in an anthology of and Translation. He is currently contemporary Iranian poetry with English translations by working on a number of leading American poets. He has taught honor seminars on translation projects including Iranian and Muslim mystical literature, and has recently short stories by Fayyeza Bint presented at both the Iranian Studies and American Muhammad Abdullah, short Comparative Literature Association annual meetings. stories and children’s stories by the Syrian Zakaria Tamer, Baris Basturk is a PhD student and a book on Lebanese culture and traditions by Joseph specializing in Ottoman Abee Dhaher, ‘A al-Barakeh. Clayton recently published intellectual history. He hopes two short stories by Zakaria Tamer in Banipal, and teaches to trace how early Islamic Arabic levels one and two with Adnan and Paula Haydar. and Persianate concepts and ideas permeated Ottoman Charles Davidson is an MA thought, how the Ottomans student in Anthropology. He reflected on the past and their has traveled extensively in place in the wider world. His the Middle East, Africa and Master’s thesis, from Sabanci University examined the Latin American and will focus 17th Century Ottoman intellectual Katip Celebi and how his thesis on the effects of he reflected on the politics, law, and society of the age. war and violence on culture in war-torn countries in the Middle East. Charles is a national member of the Explorer’s Club, and spent part of the summer undertaking field research in Jordan, supported by a grant from the King Fahd Center.
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Sanket Desai is a PhD student Nicole Fares currently in History interested in ethnic completing her PhD in and religious minorities in Comparative Literature and the modern Middle East working on translating a novel with a special focus on Iraq. by Mahmoud Shukair. Her This summer he conducted research focuses on gender research at the Briscoe Center and Lebanese LGBT literature for American History (Austin, under the supervision of TX) and the Eisenhower and Dr. Mohja Kahf. Excerpts Truman presidential libraries. from Nicole’s most recent translation were published in Jadaliyya and Alchemy Journal of Translation. Kathleen Doody is working toward the MA in Political Mehreen Humayun is a Science. Her academic PhD student in History, interests are the Middle specializing in the Modern East and North Africa and Middle East and South Asia. international relations. After She completed her MA in living in Jordan for the year History at Karachi University, of 2012, with the Arab Spring where she has been revolutions underway in the appointed a full-time lecturer. MENA, she is primarily interested in working toward the She is interested in pursuing resolution of modern problems facing Jordan, Syria, and comparative legacies of Gamal Abdel Nasser and Zulfiqar Palestine, in particular issues surrounding the current Ali Bhutto, two charismatic revolutionary leaders, in refugee crisis. national, regional and trans-regional perspective.
Blake Duffield is a History Erika Morey is a new PhD student in Anthropology with PhD candidate specializing interests in Egyptian archaeology. in 19th and 20th century British Empire. His dissertation Michelle Moody is a is ‘The Grey Men of Empire: Geography MA student The British Colonial Service, interested in conflict within 1854 to 1931,’ and will the European Muslim explore the impact of colonial community regarding the use administrative officers on the of Shariah Law, particularly formulation of imperial policy. Blake began his research in the case of arranged and in July at Rhodes House Library, Oxford. He is currently forced marriages. Michelle running the International Relations Academic Learning is an active member of the Community and teaching Introduction to International Geosciences honors society Gamma Theta Upsilon. Relations.
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Mitra Panahipour is a PhD Wawan Eko Yulianto is a student in Anthropology, PhD student in Comparative specializing in ancient Near Literature and Cultural Eastern landscapes, utiliz- Studies. He is interested ing remote sensing data, in American literature by prospecting technologies Muslim authors, authors of and GIS and spatial analyses, Middle Eastern heritage and combined with field survey and ethnic American literature excavation to uncover long- in general. He also has a term patterns of cultural activities. She has been working passion for literary translation. In addition to translating on the ongoing and remote sensing-based project ‘Planning English and American literary works into Indonesian, he for Safeguarding Heritage Sites in Syria’ over the past also translates Indonesian poems and short fiction into year; during the summer she participated in the Sirwan English. His translation of a celebrated Indonesian author Regional Project, an archaeological landscape survey and Seno Gumira Ajidarma has been published in Moon City site documentation in Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Review of Missouri State University.
Harris Sheikh is a new PhD student who will begin a Malek Zuraikat is beginning a PhD program in Comparative program in Public Policy in Spring 2015. Literature.
Peter von Groote IV is an MA Geography student JOIN MESGA! specializing in historic geography and cartography. The Middle East Studies Graduate Association His thesis, ‘A Spatial (MESGA) is a Registered Student Organization under Assessment of the Crusader the auspices of the Arkansas Student Government Fortress of Al-Habis -- (ASG) run by graduate students affiliated with the implications for the Medieval King Fahd Center. Landscape of Petra, Jordan,’ sheds light on Petra during an era that has been poorly MESGA welcomes new members, and is open to documented and often overlooked. graduate students of all disciplines either working or interested in the Middle East. Members help Keith Whitmire is an facilitate each other’s research and endeavor to Anthropology PhD student provide academic outreach to the university and with interest in Morocco, broader community, in addition to sponsoring guest particularly social class and speakers, film screenings, current events forums, masculinity in Moroccan language circles, and provides a forum to discuss coffee houses which will be graduate student issues and to peer review each the topic of his dissertation. other’s work. Keith spent two and a half months this summer in To get involved, email MESGA President Nicole Fares Morocco to conduct preliminary field research and at [email protected] undergo language training in Moroccan darija.
Page 14 http://mest.uark.edu • 479-575-2175 • [email protected] ARABIC CONVERSATION TABLE
Tuesdays 4-5 PM & Thursdays 5-6 PM in Arkansas Union 308SW September 2 - December 11
Practice your Arabic conversational skills with fellow students and native speakers, learn to speak about daily life and current events with confidence, and improve your spoken Arabic for class, travel, and study abroad.
Join the Facebook group Arabic Table at University of Arkansas for updates and changes to the schedule.
For more information, contact Delilah Clark at [email protected] (Tuesdays) or Clayton Clark at [email protected] (Thursdays) Sponsored by the King Fahd Center for Middle East Studies and the WLLC Arabic Program King Fahd Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Arkansas
Clayton Clark (MFA/TRANS) published the translations of GRADUATE NEWS two poems by Zakaria Tamer, ‘The Treasure’ and ‘Stars Above the Jungle’ in the Spring 2014 issue of Banipal. Kaveh Bassiri (PhD/CLCS) presented ‘The Scorned Avant He also led weekly sessions of Arabic Conversation Table Garde: Reconsidering Tundar Kiya and the Emergence of during Spring 2014, sponsored by the King Fahd Center. Iranian Postmodern Poetry’ at the Tenth Biennial Iranian Studies Conference in Montreal, Canada, and ‘Considering Delilah Clark (PhD/CLCS) led weekly sessions of Arabic Arabic Prosody when Translating Persian Poetry’ at the Conversation Table during Spring 2014, sponsored by the American Comparative Literature Associations annual King Fahd Center. meeting in New York. He is also teaching a course for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute on the Mystical Autumn Cool (MA/ANTH) undertook field research Dimension of Islam. His translations of Yushij’s poems in Northern Iraq along with Professor Jesse Casana, ‘Night’ and ‘Phoenix’ were published in the Fall 2014 supported by a grant from the King Fahd Center. issue of Two Lines Online (Issue 21), and he is a regular contributor to the Michigan Quarterly Review; his Charles Davidson (MA/ANTH) presented ‘Mitigating the postings ‘The Middle East through Graphic Novels’, Effects of Poverty through Closed Religious Community’ ‘Iranian Literature Born in Exile’, and ‘On Transformative at the 2014 Southwestern Social Science Association Compassion’ have appeared recently on the site. Annual Meeting in San Antonio. He spent this summer in Jordan undertaking research for his MA thesis on the Baris Basturk (PhD/HIST) studied Arabic at the Indiana effects of war on Syrian refugees, supported by a grant University’s Summer Language Workshop this summer, from the King Fahd Center. supported by a grant from the King Fahd Center.
Heidi Davis (PhD/ANTH) accompanied Jerry Rose to Dhia Ben Ali (MA/PLSC) completed a 2-semester Amarna, Egypt this summer to continue skeletal analysis internship with Impact Management Group, a public from prior excavations. affairs firm in Little Rock that assists clients with political strategy, research, evaluation, image consulting, campaign Sanket Desai (PhD/HIST) passed his comprehensive exams management, and other objectives. in September, and defended his dissertation prospectus in May. He won the Willard B. Gatewood Graduate Fellowship from the UA Department of History and a Research Grant from the Harry S. Truman Library Institute to pursue archival research, as well as a Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship by the U.S. Department of Education to study Arabic at the University of Wisconsin’s Arabic, Persian and Turkish Language Immersion Institute (APTLII). This summer he conducted research at the Briscoe Center for American History and the Eisenhower and Truman presidential libraries.
Dhia Ben Ali at the offices of Impact Management Group, Little Rock, AR. Photo courtesy of Dhia Ben Ali.
Page 16 http://mest.uark.edu • 479-575-2175 • [email protected] King Fahd Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Arkansas
Blake Duffield (PhD/HIST) defended his dissertation prospectus, and spent much of Spring 2014 in UK conducting research at the National Archives in Kew, Rhodes House and Bodleian Libraries in Oxford, and the British Library in London.
Nicole Fares (MFA/TRANS) defended her thesis and graduated in May 2014, and will begin a PhD program in Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies beginning Fall 2014. She published an excerpt of her translation of Sahar Mandour’s novel 32 in World Literature Today; another excerpt will be included in a forthcoming issue of Art Amiss Publishing. Her paper ‘Maternity as a Social Construct in Huxley’s Brave New World’ appeared in Keith Booker’s (Ed.) Brave New World (Critical Insights).
Christopher Fletcher (MA/ANTH) accompanied Professor Jesse Casana on a field research trip to Northern Iraq in Summer 2014.
Kaelin Groom (MA/GEOG) defended her thesis and graduated in May 2014. She will begin a PhD program Jaime Holland at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France. in Environmental Dynamics beginning Fall 2014. In Photo courtesy of Jaime Holland. March 2014 she was invited to speak before the Wadi Sonia Kapur (PhD/PUBP) defended her dissertation Rum UNESCO Conclave, presenting ‘Assessment and ‘Immigration Policy and Domestic Violence: The Case preservation of rock art: a proposal for the Thamudic of Asian Indian Marriage Migrants’ this summer and petroglyphs of Wadi Rum’ at Man and the Deserts, 2nd graduated in August 2014. She has accepted a tenure- International Conference in Wadi Rum. She also presented track position in International Studies at the University of ‘Assessing Environmental Influences on Dressed Stone North Carolina-Ashville. Decay via Tafoni Development on Hewn Djinn Block X in Petra, Jordan’ at the 2014 Association of American Ethan Morton-Jerome (PhD/ANTH) has been awarded a Geographers Annual meeting in Tampa, FL. Mediterranean Regional Research Fellowship from the Council of American Overseas Research Centers. The award Jaime Holland (MA/ANTH) defended her thesis ‘Beirut will support research for his dissertation, ‘Palestinian Speaks: Street Art in the City’ and graduated in May Labor on West Bank Settlements and Palestinian Authority 2014. She was awarded funding and one of 12 open Efforts to Create Employment Alternatives.’ positions in the new Parsons Paris MFA program in Design & Technology in Paris, France and began her Shereen Nadoum (MA/GEOG) defended her thesis on program this Fall. immigrant labor segregation in Kuwait. She will be working with the Kuwait Ministry of Environment and began the PhD program in Environmental Dynamics this Fall.
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Mitra Panahipour (PhD/ANTH) accompanied Professor Jesse Casana on a field research trip to Northern Iraq in UNDERGRADUATE NEWS Summer 2014, supported by a grant from the King Fahd Center. Congratulations to Khalid Ahmadzai (IR/MEST), Bailey Cox (IR/MEST), Chelsea Del Grande (IREL/MEST/GEOG), Simon Reid (MA GEOG) defended his thesis ‘Perceptions Mary Goodwin (IREL/MEST), Elizabeth Heckmann (IR/ of Equality and National Identity amongst Young British MEST), Macyn Hunn (COMM/MEST), Robert Peiser (IREL/ South Asian Muslims in Bradford, England’ in December MEST), David Sommi (IREL/MEST), Kacee Sparks (IREL/ 2013 and graduated in May 2014. He is a spatial analyst, MEST) and Madeline Upson (IREL/MEST) who have been focusing on the Middle East, with GEOEye (Digital Globe) awarded undergraduate scholarships from the King Fahd the world’s largest satellite imaging company. Simon Center for academic year 2014-2015. assists various countries from Morocco, to the Gulf, the US and various international agencies (UNESCO, UN, Khalid Ahmadzai (IREL/MEST; HIST minor) published two WHO, FAO) in using satellite imagery for various purposes op-ed pieces in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, entitled including agricultural, conflict, resource management ‘A new day, destiny: Afghan election starts new chapter’ issues. (April 14, 2014) and ‘Why should we care? – The Taliban’s legacy lives on in ISIS’ (August 24, 2014). Ashley Shidner (PhD/ANTH) is accompanied Professor Jerry Rose as part of his team to Amarna, Egypt this Sean Bryant (IREL/MEST, HIST; ARAB minor) travelled to summer 2014 to continue analysis of skeletal remains. Jordan in Summer 2014 for an intensive study abroad language and culture program sponsored by California Teresa Wilson (PhD ANTH) defended her dissertation State San Bernardino University. ‘Health, Nutrition, and Disease in Rural Northern Jordan: A Study of Enamel Defects Related to Childhood Stress in Skeletal Samples from the Bronze Age to the Byzantine Period’ and graduated in May 2014. She has accepted a position as an Assistant Professor of Research in the Department of Geography and Anthropology at Louisiana State University. She was also accepted into the Summer Internship for Native Americans in Genomics workshop (SING) with the Institute for Genomic Biology with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Keith Whitmire (PhD ANTH) was awarded funding from the King Fahd Center during Summer 2014 to to support language study and preliminary PhD research on café culture in Morocco.
Matthew Clothier at the Jewish Studies Research Symposium. Photo courtesy of Nani Verzon.
Page 18 http://mest.uark.edu • 479-575-2175 • [email protected] King Fahd Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Arkansas
Matthew Clothier’s(ANTH/MEST) paper ‘Pashtunwali and the Last Jew of Kabul’ was accepted for presentation at the 12th Annual Research in Religious Studies Conference at the University of Calgary. He also presented this paper at the Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Jewish Diversity Symposium on October 1.
Chelsea Del Grande (IREL/MEST, GEOG; ARAB and SUST minors) is currently spending the Fall semester abroad in Morocco, partially supported by a King Fahd Center undergraduate scholarship.
Steven Escalante’s (IREL; GEOG minor) paper ‘Inter-faith Cannibalism? The Volatile Relations between the Salafis Jessica Jayakaran poses with a monkey in Azrou, Morocco. and the Sufis’ was accepted for presentation at the 12th Photo courtesy of Jessica Jayakaran. Annual Research in Religious Studies Conference at the Joseph Largent (GEOL) presented ‘The Light of the University of Calgary and the 2014 Annual Meeting of the Prophet, The Light of the Soul: The Musical Traditions of Society for the Scientific Study of Religion to be held in Sufism’ at the 2014 Annual Conference of the Southwest Indianapolis in October 2014. Commission on Religious Studies in Irving, TX. Elizabeth Heckmann (IREL/MEST) spent AY 2013-2014 Deborah Lee (NURS) presented ‘Me, My Nafs, and I: The in Amman, Jordan for two semester-long programs Journey of Spirituality in Islam’ at the King Fahd Center with CIEE in Arabic Language and Culture, supported by Undergraduate Paper Forum in April 2014. This paper scholarships from the Honors College, the Sturgis Grant, was also accepted for presentation at the 12th Annual the CIEE Gain Scholarship, and the King Fahd Center. Research in Religious Studies Conference at the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada and the forthcoming 2014 Brian Hughes (IREL/MEST; ARAB and PLSC minors) was Annual Meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of awarded Center funding to take part in an Intensive Religion to be held in Indianapolis in October 2014. Arabic Program in Amman, Jordan this summer. He also participated in the King Fahd Center Undergraduate Paper Jessica Jayakaran (IREL/MEST; ARAB minor) was awarded Symposium in April, presenting ‘Apostasy in Contemporary a U.S. State Department Critical Languages Scholarship Islam: Use of Hadith Narratives in Contradiction with for Arabic study in Meknes, Morocco in Summer 2014. Qur’anic Revelation within Islamic Jurisprudence’. This paper was also presented at the 2014 American Academy Sara Kouchehbagh (IREL/MEST; ARAB and PLSC minors) of Religion Eastern International Regional Meeting. interned with the US State Department at the US Embassy in Manama, Bahrain under the Near Eastern Affairs Daniel Ince (IREL/HIST; MEST minor) was accepted to Bureau for ten weeks during the summer. She is planning participate in the highly competitive Marquette Project to graduate in December and has just accepted a full Global Officer program in Amman, Jordan in Summer time teaching position at the UK’s English Time schools in 2014, run in conjunction with AMIDEAST and the Qasid Istanbul, Turkey beginning Spring 2015. Institute. Ince was one of only 16 ROTC students from across the country to be accepted.
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David Mills’ (HIST) paper ‘Death Comes Dressed in Black’ was accepted for presentation at the 2014 North American Undergraduate Conference in Religion & Philosophy at Lebanon Valley College in Annville, PA.
Meghan Perry (IREL/EUST; MRST minor) presented ‘The Hijab and Women’s Sexuality in Islamic Culture’ at the King Fahd Center Undergraduate Paper Forum in April 2014. This paper was also accepted for presentation at the 12th Annual Research in Religious Studies Conference at the University of Calgary.
Jacob Rowlett (IREL/MEST) presented ‘From The Qur’an to the Can: An Exploration of the Roots of Modern Islamic Graffiti’ at the King Fahd Center Undergraduate Paper Forum in April 2014. This paper was also accepted for presentation at the 12th Annual Research in Religious Walt Wright and Joseph Largent at the 2014 Annual Conference Studies Conference at the University of Calgary. of the Southwest Commission on Religious Studies in Irving, TX. Photo courtesy of Sarwar Alam. Marion Schulz’s (IREL; PLSC and PSYC minors) paper Madeline Upson (IREL/MEST) is currently spending the ‘Converging Paths in the Pursuit of Everlasting Bliss’ was Fall semester abroad in Morocco, partially supported by a accepted for presentation at the 2014 North American KFC undergraduate scholarship. Undergraduate Conference in Religion & Philosophy at Lebanon Valley College in Annville, PA. Derek Walker’s (COMM) paper, ‘The Logical Standpoint of Islam and Atheism’, was accepted for presentation at the Zach Schwermann (IREL/MEST) completed a study 2014 Annual Conference of the Southwest Commission abroad program this summer at the American University on Religious Studies in Irving, TX. of Sharjah, supported by the Sturgis Study Abroad Grant. Walt Wright (IREL; HIST and MEST minor) presented Kacee Sparks (IREL/MEST, ARAB minor) presented ‘The ‘Martyrdom and Jihad in the Arab Spring’ at the 2014 Last Frontier on Basic Human Rights: Western Influence Annual Conference of the Southwest Commission on and its Effects on the LGBTQ Community in Oman’ at the Religious Studies in Irving, TX. 2014 Annual Conference of the Southeastern Commission for the Study of Religion in Atlanta, GA. His paper, ‘On Hilary Zedlitz (PLSC/MEST) completed an internship the Edge of the Binary and Society: Sufism’s Role in with the Department of State’s Foreign Service Institute Social Tolerance of Hijra and transgender Communities in Washington, D.C. this summer, and wrote a posting in Pakistan’ was presented at the King Fahd Center entitled ‘Staying in the States for State’ for the Fulbright Undergraduate Paper Forum in April, and has been Honors College Blog. accepted for presentation at the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion Annual Convention in Indianapolis, IN. He will also take part the 2nd MESA Undergrad Research Workshop in Washington DC, November 22nd.
Page 20 http://mest.uark.edu • 479-575-2175 • [email protected] King Fahd Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Arkansas
Clea Hupp (PhD/HIST 2004) published The United States ALUMNI NEWS and Jordan: Middle East Diplomacy during the Cold War (I. B. Tauris, 2014), and is currently running for Arkansas Ahmet Akturk (PhD/HIST 2012) has just completed his Congress from the 31st District. first year as Assistant Professor of History at Georgia Southern University. Tuna Kalayci (PhD/ANTH 2013) holds a postdoc at the Institute for Mediterranean Studies in Crete. He has co- Charles Argo (PhD/HIST 2004) will publish Stolen Boys of authored articles forthcoming inInternet Archaeology and the Ottoman Empire: The Child Levy as Public Spectacle ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. and Political Instrument (IB Taurus). Amy Karoll (MA/ANTH 2012) is in her second year of Gretchen Dabbs (PhD/ANTH 2009) was recently awarded study in the PhD program in Near Eastern Languages and a large, multi-year grant from the National Endowment Civilizations at UCLA. for the Humanities to fund three years of excavation of the northern cemeteries at Amarna, a project that has Gary Noel (BA/GEOG/MEST 2011) was recently promoted its foundations in the South Tombs Cemetery project the to Research Analyst at the UAE Embassy in Washington King Fahd Center has funded for several years. DC.
Rasha el-Endari (MA/ANTH 2012) is in her second year of James Redman (MA/ANTH 2003) will defend his study in the PhD program in Near Eastern Languages and anthropology dissertation on diwaniyyat in Kuwait at the Civilizations at the University of Toronto. She presented University of Utah. (with Joanna Kader) ‘Assad and Isis: Syrians on the horns of a dilemma’ at the University of Toronto’s 18th Annual Sanaa Riaz (PhD/ANTH 2011) published New Islamic Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations Graduate Students Schools: Tradition, Modernity, and Class in Urban Pakistan Symposium in February 2014. She is also an active member (Palgrave 2014). She presented collaborative research on of the Computational Research on the Ancient Near East ‘Student Engagement and the Role of E-textbooks’ at the (CRANE) project, in which she has helped facilitate the 2014 US Distance Learning Association Annual Meeting in integration of the Tell Tayinat Archaeological Project’s GIS St Louis in May 2014. data into the OCHRE database. Farid al-Salim (PhD/HIST 2008), will publish ‘Muslim Kevin Fisher (Postdoctoral supervisee, 2011/12) who Mothering and Migration’ in Dana Olwan (ed), Muslim worked under Jesse Casana was hired in a tenure-track Mothering: Local and Global Histories, Theories, and position in Near Eastern Studies at University of British Practice(Demeter, forthcoming 2014). His book, Palestine Columbia. and the Decline of the Ottoman Empire is forthcoming (I. B. Tauris, 2014). Jason Hermann (PhD/ENDY 2012) was hired in a two-year research position at University of Tubingen, Germany. Keep up with the King Fahd Center: Robert Hintz (BA/HIST/MEST 2011) completed his MA in podcasts, video clips and articles are regularly International Studies at the University of Denver. posted on the King Fahd Center website under News & Media.
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Nadine Sinno (PhD/CLCS 2009) authored the chapter ‘Empowered Muslim Mothering: Navigating War, Border- UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS Crossing, and Activism in El-Haddad’s Gaza Mom’ in Muslim Mothering: Local and Global Histories, Theories, ARABIC TRANSLATION and Practice (Demeter, forthcoming). Her translation, with Paula Haydar of Who’s Afraid of Meryl Streep by AWARD 2015 Rachid al-Daif is forthcoming with the University of Texas Press. The King Fahd Center awards an annual prize up to $10,000 for the best book-length translation of Arabic Yulia Uryadova (PhD/HIST 2012) began a tenure-track literature from any of the following genres: poetry, position in History at Longwood University in August. novel, short story collection, drama, or literary non- fiction such as autobiography or memoir. Submitted Anna Weiser (MA/ANTH 2012) completed her second year translations must be previously unpublished in in the Anthropology PhD program at Kansas University. book form. All translation rights must be cleared for She won this year’s departmental Mark Kapelman Award, publication. which helped support summer fieldwork at the Crenshaw site in Southwest Arkansas. For this award the original author (if still holding rights to the work) will receive, in lieu of royalties, James Wesolowski (MA/ANTH 2012) is in his second year $5,000 and the translator (or translators) will receive in the PhD program in ENDY at UA. a total of $5,000. Independent judges select the award winning translation, which will be published Melissa Zabecki (PhD/ANTH 2009) will publish ‘Suffering by Syracuse University Press as part of its prestigious in the City: Skeletal evidence for possible ritualized Middle East Literature in Translation series. punishment at Tell el-Amarna’ in International Journal of Paleopathology, as well as the chapter ‘Abandoned Submitted translations must be previously unpub- memories: a cemetery of forgotten souls?’ inRemembering lished in book form. All translation rights must be and Commemorating the Dead: Recent Contributions in cleared for publication. Submissions from current fac- Bioarchaeology and Mortuary Analysis from the Ancient ulty, students or anyone affiliated with the University Near East (forthcoming; University of Colorado Press), of Arkansas will not be considered. both co-authored with fellow alumna Gretchen Dabbs (PhD ANTH 2009). Submissions for the 2015 University of Arkansas Arabic Translation Award will be accepted through Ghadir Zannoun (PhD/CLCS 2011) presented ‘The April 30, 2015. Award winners will be announced the Downfall of Granada and the Reconfiguration of following fall, in conjunction with the annual meeting Modern Arab Identity in Radwa Ashour’s Granada,’ at of the Middle East Studies Association. the 2014 American Comparative Literature Association Annual Meeting in New York in April 2014. Her article For more submission details and a list of previous ‘Resisting Appropriation: Gendered Nationalisms in Zeina winners, visit the King Fahd Center website. Ghandour’s The Honey,’ accepted for publication in Arab Studies Journal. This fall she began a tenure-track position in Arabic at the University of Kentucky, where she has been a lecturer since graduating.
Page 22 http://mest.uark.edu • 479-575-2175 • [email protected] King Fahd Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Arkansas
CHRONICLES OF MAJNUN LAYLA AND SELECTED POEMS Chronicles of Majnun Layla and Selected Poems brings together in one volume Haddad’s seminal work and a considerable selection of poems from his oeuvre, stretching over forty years. The central poem, Chronicles of Majnun Layla, recasts the seventh-century myth into a contemporary, postmodern narrative that revels in the foibles of oral transmission, weaving a small side cast of characters into the fabric of the poem. Haddad portrays Layla as a daring woman aware of her own needs and desires and not afraid to articulate them. The author succeeds in reviving this classical work of Arabian love while liberating it from its puritanical dimension and tribal overtones. Written by Qassim Haddad; The selected poems reveal Haddad’s playful yet profound meditations. A powerful lyric Translated from the Arabic by Ferial Ghazoul and poet, Haddad juxtaposes classical and modern symbols, and mixes the old with the John Verlenden new, the sensual with the sacred, and the common with the extraordinary. Ghazoul and ISBN: 9780815610373 Verlenden’s masterful translation remains faithful to the cultural and historical context in which the original poetry was produced while also reflecting the uniqueness of the poet’s style and his poetics. Winner of the King Fahd Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies Translation of Arabic Literature Award 2013 HAKI BIL-LIBNANI Haki bil-Libnani provides students of Arabic with an opportunity to acquire substantial and systematic proficiency in Lebanese dialect and culture, and is designed to work either on its own or alongside the bestselling Arabic-language textbook Al-Kitaab Part One, Third Edition. This fully online textbook and interactive website features two video story components, designed to foster proficiency as students work through each lesson while practicing vocabulary, cultural expressions, and short dialogues. The first story recreates the stories of Maha and Khaled Abul’ila from Al-Kitaab, recast in a Lebanese context starring Yara and Jamil Haddad, who speak the Lebanese dialect and reference Lebanese institutions, places, and customs. A second storyline consists of an original series of short Adnan Haydar, Paula Haydar, dialogue scenes involving three main characters: Jamal, Raghida, and John Douglas. Jamal and Nadine Sinno and Raghida serve as cultural liaisons who help the Lebanese-American John navigate ISBN: 9781626161542 daily life in Lebanon—buying groceries, taking cabs, and doing Arabic homework—while John’s linguistic and cultural struggles will resonate with many students. The integration of speaking, listening, grammar, and cultural competency skills in Haki bil-Libnani: Lebanese Arabic Textbook and Companion Website to Al-Kitaab Part One, Third Edition, will facilitate the teaching and learning of Lebanese Arabic, while introducing students to Lebanon’s vibrant and charming culture. All Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) drills and exercises from the Al-Kitaab Part One, Third Edition,website are included here, so that students using Haki bil-Libnani alongside the Al-Kitaab Part One, Third Edition, textbook will only need to purchase access to the Haki bil-Libnani companion website. Haki bil-Libnani will also be useful to individual learners with some proficiency in Arabic, who desire to learn Lebanese.
http://mest.uark.edu • 479-575-2175 • [email protected] Page 23 King Fahd Center for Middle East Studies
202 Old Main University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR 72701 http://mest.uark.edu Phone: 479-575-2175 Fax: 479-575-3629 [email protected]
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Joel Gordon, Center Director • Tom Paradise, Faculty Editor • Nani Verzon, Program Coordinator & Editor-in-Chief