Bringing Middle Eastern Scholarship to Northeast Ohio
The Northeast Ohio Consortium for Middle East Studies, comprising leading area schools and colleges, brings an engaging and relevant speaker series to Northeast Ohio. Entitled "Scholarship on the Contemporary Muslim World: Presenting New Perspectives to Middle America," the series revolves around three main themes:
- Muslim Voices and Publics
- Women in the Muslim World
- Muslim Societies in Transition
For more about NOCMES and what we do, click here.
NOCMES To Sponsor Showing at Cleveland International Film Festival
4:30pm April 9 Screening of "Uprising" To Include NOCMES Panel Discussion
NOCMES will sponsor a showing of the Egyptian film "Uprising", about the 2011 revolution that toppled President Hosni Mubarak and catalyzed the Arab Spring, on April 9 at 4:30pm at the 37th Cleveland International Film Festival. NOCMES faculty members Zeinab Abdul Majd (Oberlin College) and Neda Zawahri (Cleveland State University) will also participate in a Film Forum discussion following the screening.
For more information and preview videos on the film itself, see the film's CIFF Web site as well as the following descripton: "In 2011 Egypt made history when President Hosni Mubarak stepped down, following weeks of citizen protests. The people's loud but mostly peaceful actions directly led to the results they wanted. By standing together, despite fierce opposition, they successfully ended a corrupt regime and set the path for their own democracy. Their powerful message inspired others in the region as part of a revolution known as the Arab Spring. While many saw these events as outside observers, UPRISING chronicles the event from the inside, with insight from its organizers, journalists in the region, and past and present political figures. It also examines the important role that social media played in the movement, from its obvious use as a communication tool to Mubarak's internet blackout plan backfiring, which only caused more people to flood the streets. The documentary also examines the difficulties the country still faces in its quest for true democracy. UPRISING is an intimate look at a nation that fought fear with courage.".
NOCMES Announces Events with Author, Journalist Doug Saunders
Sponsored by and Funded Through British Council's "Our Shared Future" Initiative
Doug Saunders, author of two books on the immigration and integration of Muslim immigrants in the Western world and European Bureau Chief of Toronto's Globe and Mail, will visit Cleveland in April 2013. Saunders's first event with NOCMES will feature a panel discussion at Cleveland State University of his work and major themes throughout. The second NOCMES event with Saunders is a discussion of Saunders's latest book, "The Myth of the Muslim Tide," at the Cuyahoga County Public Library's Beachwood branch.
Saunders's visit is sponsored by the British Council--specifically, the Council's Our Shared Future program. For more information on Saunders's work, see the NOCMES speaker bio, our page at The Civic Commons, and Saunders's personal Web site. For more information on Our Shared Future and the British Council, follow them on Twitter (@OurSharedFuture) and find them on Facebook.
NOCMES Partner Baldwin Wallace University Announces International Film Festival Lineup
Variety of Middle East and Other Cultural Films Being Shown
Baldwin Wallace University, an academic member of the NOCMES consortium, is hosting an international film festival beginning February 1 and featuring nine films in six different languages--all subtitled in English. Among films on offer: Ehky Ya Scheherazade, an Egyptian film about two married journalists forced apart by the state-controlled media, and Monsieur Lazhar, the emotional story of an Algerian immigrant living in Montreal who, after their teacher passes away unexpectedly, substitutes in an elementary school classroom--all while confronting both the class's shared trauma and his own past struggles.
The series, held back-to-back on the first two weekends of February, is sponsored by BW's Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, the French Club, and the German Club. For more information about the series and to view a lineup of the films being shown, head here.
Noted Palestinian Non-Violent, Anti-Occupation Activist to Visit Cleveland
Iyad Burnat, Inspiration for Award-Winning Film "5 Broken Cameras", Coming to CSU
Burnat, leader of the Bil'in, West Bank Popular Committee, dedicated to peacefully protesting illegal Israeli land settlements and the Wall of Occupation, is to visit Cleveland State University on December 3 to tell the story of his village and his struggle. Israeli cinematographer Guy Davidi and Burnat's brother Emad capture the Committee's story in the award-winning documentary "5 Broken Cameras". This event is free and open to the public. For more information, see our Events page or the sidebar to the right.
YouTube Videos of Latest NOCMES Events Now Available
"Religion, Social Movements, Protest, and the Art and Culture of Revolt in the Middle East
NOCMES's latest events, comprising two panel discussions on religion, social, movements, and protest in the Middle East and the politics, art, and society of the Arab Uprisings, held on September 28 and moderated by NOCMES co-founder Dr. Pete Moore, is now available for full-length viewing on YouTube. See the full videos on our Local Events page.
NOCMES Announces Upcoming Events on Politics, Art, and Society in the Context of the Arab Uprisings
Panels Free and Open to the Public; Registration Recommended (see below)
Register here (click blue "Registration recommended" link) for the second (3:00pm) event
NOCMES Welcomes Upcoming CCWA Events
May and June Ambassadorial Visits to Cleveland
The Cleveland Council on World Affairs, a NOCMES Community Partner, is hosting several US Ambassadors in Cleveland in the coming months, including at the following events:
- May 17: Former US Ambassador to Russia John Beryle
- May 24: Ambassador Kenneth Brill
- June 13: CCWA Annual Meeting
- June 14: US Ambassador to Slovakia Theodore Sedgwick and Bratislava Mayor Mila Ftacnik
NOCMES Co-Founder Stacher to Speak at Special John Carroll Event
Egypt's Political Transition and Presidential Elections
Dr. Josh Stacher, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Kent State University and a NOCMES co-founder, will address an audience at John Carroll University's Dolan Center for Science and Technology on April 26 at 7:00pm. The topic is Egyptian presidential elections and the larger political transitions occuring in the Arab world. The event is presented by the Nursi Chair in Islamic Studies at JCU; refreshments will be served and the event is free and open to the public.
For more information, check out the event page at John Carroll.
Filmmaker Bender to Visit Oberlin April 26
Free and Open to the Public
Prize-winning filmmaker Jacob Bender will be visiting Oberlin College on April 26-28 to give a lecture on "Representations of Averroes (Ibn Rushd) in Western Christian Art" (Thursday, April 26, 2 pm in Craig Lecture Hall) and to screen and discuss his film Out of Cordoba: Averroes and Maimonides in Their Time and Ours (Thursday, April 26, 7:30 pm, in King 306).
As explained on the film's website, "Out of Cordoba . . . explores some of the most vexing questions of our time: Is there a 'clash of civilizations' between the West and the Islamic world? Are Jews and Muslims eternal enemies, incapable of peaceful coexistence? Does religious faith lead inevitably to xenophobia and violence? Out of Cordoba confronts these issues through an exploration of the lives and writings of the two most important thinkers to emerge from medieval Muslim Spain: Averroes the Muslim, and his Jewish counterpart, Rabbi Moses Maimonides."
NOCMES Co-Founder Out With New Book
"Adaptable Autocrats: Regime Power in Egypt and Syria" by Josh Stacher
NOCMES affiliated faculty member and Kent State University Prof. Josh Stacher sat down with The Civic Commons's Dan Moulthrop a few days ago to talk about his forthcoming book, "Adaptable Autocrats," an examination of two prototypical Middle Eastern regimes and how they have managed to stay in power. Or, as Dan subtitles it, "Why the Arab Spring doesn't matter as much as you want it to." Check out the interview below:
And here's the full post on our New Perspectives page at Civic Commons.
NOCMES Director Moore to Give Talk at CSU
"The (very) Political Economy of Palestine: Weak Growth, Weak Peace?"
Case Western Reserve University Prof. Pete Moore, director and affiliated faculty member of NOCMES, will discuss how the dismal performance and prospects of Palestine's current economy will affect the territory's bids for peace and eventual statehood. The talk will be held at Cleveland State University's Main Classroom Building on April 4, 2012. Light snacks will be served at 4:30pm, with the talk beginning at 5pm. The lecture is free and open to the public.
For more information, download the info flyer.
Baldwin-Wallace to Live Stream Special Short Course on Arab Spring
NOCMES partner Baldwin-Wallace College has teamed up with the University of Pittsburgh's Department of Global Studies to live stream a special short course entitled "Muslims in a Global Context: The Arab Spring" March 30-April 1. The course features several prominent Middle East scholars and offers various panels on the finer nuances of the Arab Spring. More information is available at the University of Pittburgh's course website.
Prof. Amaney Jamal and the Arab-American Experience
Amaney Jamal is Associate Professor of Politics at Princeton University, and she currently directs the Workshop on Arab Political Development. Jamal's current research focuses on democratization and the politics of civic engagement in the Arab World. She extends her research to the study of Muslim and Arab Americans, examining the pathways that structure their patterns of civic engagement in the US.
For a deeper look at Professor Jamal's background and scholarly work, check out our NOCMES bio page.
For more information on Prof. Jamal's visit to Cleveland, head to our Events page.
History, New Perspectives, and the Post-9/11 World
Princeton University professor Amaney Jamal has directed a number of major studies focused on understanding the Arab and Muslim American experience. She comes to Northeast Ohio February 9th and 10th for a panel conversation and City Club forum. We are designing a community conversation bridging Jamal’s broad perspective with the local community’s experience. A goal for this series has always been to explore the diversity in the Middle East and broader Muslim world, and now, we turn the lens on our own community and examine the diversity of the Muslim and Arab experience in the US and Northeast Ohio.