Arabic-L:GEN:CFP for Minorities in the Middle East

[Dilworth Parkinson]

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arabic-L: Thu 02 Aug 2012
Moderator: Dilworth Parkinson <dilworth_parkinson at byu.edu>
[To post messages to the list, send them to arabic-l at byu.edu]
[To unsubscribe, send message from same address you subscribed from to
listserv at byu.edu with first line reading:
           unsubscribe arabic-l                                      ]

-------------------------Directory------------------------------------

1) Subject:CFP for Minorities in the Middle East

-------------------------Messages-----------------------------------
1)
Date: 02 Aug 2012
From:"Yasmeen S. Hanoosh" <yasmeensh at yahoo.com>
Subject:CFP for Minorities in the Middle East


      Dear Colleagues,
We're calling for proposals for:

      Minorities
          of the
          Modern Middle East
      Portland State
            University (April 26-27, 2013)

      The Middle East Studies Center (MESC) at
        Portland State
        University announces an intensive interdisciplinary two-day
        workshop on
        “Minorities of the Modern Middle East,” to be held April 26-27,
        2013, at
        Portland State University in Portland, Oregon.

      Political, ethnic, and religious divides
        intersect in the
        modern Middle East in ways
        that give form to
        various articulations of the term “minority.” While some of
        these minority
        groups are indigenous to the region with a collective presence
        that predates
        the creation of the modern nation-states, others are only now
        beginning to
        articulate their minority identities in response to shifting
        political and
        social contexts. Since 9/11, and now more intensively amidst the
        upheavals of
        the “Arab Spring,” the simplistic political and media discourse
        that had
        previously portrayed the Middle East as a homogenous region has
        given way to an
        equally problematic discourse that casts the region and its
        societies as deeply
        and essentially divided along ethnic, linguistic, and religious
        lines.
        Meanwhile, new articulations of minority and minoritized
        identities are forming
        within different Middle Eastern states, extending and contesting
        the conceptual
        boundaries of minority politics.

      We encourage
        submissions that
        address one or more of the following questions:



        Conceptual:

        How are minorities in the Middle
          East
        defined by themselves and others? How are they perceived
        vis-a-vis majorities?
        What tropes, social/political projects, and narratives are
        working to promote
        and channel minority identities and interests in the
 Middle East ?



          Historical:

        What political, colonial, social, economic, or
        demographic factors have
        given rise to various “minorities”? How did the minority status
        of these groups
        transform over the years? How were minorities defined
        politically and legally
        in different parts of the Middle East
        over the
        course of the twentieth century?



          Political:

        How and for what purposes do religious, ethnic, or
        linguistic minorities
        become politicized? How do they participate in the
        political/demographic
        processes in their countries of citizenship? How are they being
        affected by the
        rapid political transformations brought about by the recent
        uprisings across
        the Arab world?



        Transnational:

        In what ways does the “endangered minority” status
        privilege certain
        ethno-religious groups legally? What are the patterns that
        characterize the
        relationship between minority status and the attainment of
        refugee/asylum
        status in western countries? What patterns can we discern in the
        movements of
        minority populations within the Middle
          East ?
        To what extent does active networking of Middle Eastern
        minorities in the
        diaspora influence human rights definitions and migration
        policies in the host
        countries? How do minority transnational political projects
        emerge (mostly)
        locally in diaspora? Can we examine the traditional diasporic
        sites of the
        family, ethnic business, transnational marriage, church, etc. in
        their capacity
        as transnational (conceptual) social fields where minority
        identities are
        formed and maintained through the movement back and forth
        between home and host
        countries? Can we explore minority privileges in light of dual
        citizenship policies?

      Current:


        What are the conditions under which today's ethnic,
        religious, and
        linguistic minorities live in the Middle
          East ?
        How do they navigate the social and cultural structures of their
        countries and
        regions? How are they affected by the post-colonial legacy in
        some of these
        countries?

      We plan to publish selected essays arising
        out of the
        workshop as an edited volume or special journal issue. Funds for
        travel and
        accommodation may be available to participants.

      Please send 250-word abstracts to Laura
        Robson, lrobson at pdx.edu,
        and Yasmeen Hanoosh, yhanoosh at pdx.edu, by September 15, 2012.


Dr. Yasmeen Hanoosh
Assistant Professor of Arabic Studies
Department of World Languages and Literatures
Portland State University
724 SW Harrison St.
Portland, Or 97201
Office: Neuberger Hall 496

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
End of Arabic-L: 02 Aug 2012