Summer 2009

CCA,S NnWSAnnual Symposium Examines "Palestine &the Palestinians To d^y"

A n audience of more than 300 from the academic,

A policy, journalism, and other professional communitiesJ- Igathered to hear experts discuss the current state ofPalestine at CCAS's annual symposium, held at the CarnegieEndowment for International Peace April 2 and 3. Specialistsdiscussed topics ranging from the one- and two-state solutionsto Palestine's economy, diaspora, and political institutionsand processes, as well as U.S. policy toward Israel and thePalestinians.

CCAS Director Dr. Michael Hudson, who chaired the eventwith CCAS Assistant Professor Dr. Rochelle Davis, deliveredopening rernarks, noting that it had been 20 years since theCenter's last symposium on Palestine. As such, the symposium'sorganizers felt it was time to revisit the topic and explore thecritical changes that have occurred since 1989, bringing topauthorities from the U.S. and the region to do so.

Dr. Loren Lybarger of Ohio University kicked off thefirst panel, titled "Changing Conceptions of PalestinianNationalism." Dr. Lybarger spoke about the irnportance oflooking at the complexity of Palestinian identity, rather thanconsidering it in terms of the dominant secular- and religio-nationalist formations, i.e. Fatah and Hamas. "We have to lookat diverse social circles that intersect and interact in ways thatcan potentially transform collective understandings of selfand other," he said. Dr. Rochelle Davis exarnined the roleof the destroyed village in the Palestinian diaspora, arguingthat despite its physical destruction, the village remains anelement of identity that continues to develop and changewith generations and technology. Dr. Nadim Rouhana of theMada al-Carmel Arab Center for Applied Social Research thenexplored the origin of the two-state solution and the dilernmassurrounding it. Finally, the University of California, Berkeley'sDr. Beshara Doumani challenged us to imagine futures for thePalestinians beyond the narrow, state-centric vocabulary ofPalestinian nationalism. "How can the Palestinians constititutethemselves as a nation and exist as a nation outside the statesystem?" he asked.

The second panel, "Politics and Leadership: The ChangingTrajectory of Governance and Resistance," first featured Dr.As'ad Ghanem of the University of Maryland. Dr. Ghanernargued that the Gaza war was a turning point in Palestinianhistory that takes the Palestinian national movement frorn a

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9 Teachers Celebrate Nowruz in Saturday Serninar

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l1 Workshop Looks At ContemporaryArab Literature

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total failure to almost a total collapse,necessitating a new political vision.Independent scholar Dr. Mouin Rabbanialso spoke of the Gaza war as a turningpoint in Palestinian politics, assertingthat a reconciliation between Hamasand Fatah-via the exit of MahmoudAbbas-is needed for real changeson the ground to occur. Dr. Islah Jadof Birzeit University discussed howboth nationalists and Islamists areconcerned with the ideal woman in a

perfect society as a keeper of tradition.She thus questioned the boundariesbetween Islamism and secularism vis dvis women's roles, arguing "there maybe more continuities than differencesbetween the two." Dr. Tamim al-Barghouti, a CCAS visiting professor,rounded out the panel by exploringwhat he sees as a pattern in the historyof Palestinian national movements: war,peace, and civil war. "Each movement,"he said, "reduces its demands as itexists longer; it then clashes with newmovements because the new is moreinsistent."

Dr. Glenn Robinson of the NavalPostgraduate School was the first speakeron the third panel, "Economics andDevelopment in Palestine." Dr. Robinsondetailed a RAND Corporation projectcarried out in 2003 and 2004 called "TheArc," which looked at how to create aPalestinian state that will be successfullong after its creation through theestablishment of, for example, nationaltransportation systems and nationalpower systems. Dr. Leila Farsakh ofthe University of Massachusetts Bostonthen examined the pauperrzation of thePalestinian economy and its negativeimpact on the possibility of a one- or

2

two-state solution. Finally, Dr. ManalJamal, Assistant Professor at JamesMadison University and a visiting scholarat CCAS, outlined how internationalfunding for democracy promotion andcivil society building after the MadridPeace Conference and the Oslo Accordsresulted in a weakening rather than astrengthening of Palestinian civil society.

In the last panel of the symposium'sfirst day, "Human Rights and the Rule ofLaw," Dr. Lisa Hajjar of the Universityof California, Santa Barbara, spokeabout Palestinian human rights, notingthat the "Palestinians' right to rights asa legal reality...illuminates the evolvingutility and the contemporary nature ofhuman rights more generally." Dr. SusanAkram of Boston University's School ofLaw then examined the legal trajectory

The first panel considers the state ofPalestinian nationalism.

of the Palestinian refugee issue, tracinghow the Palestinians have not receivedbasic refugee rights codified in majortreaties and included in peace settlements.Last, Ms. Noura Erakat of GeorgetownUniversity discussed the relevanceof international law in Congressionaladvocacy for the Palestinians. Sheargued for a new paradigm focusing onindividual rights and precedents in U.S.law that reflect principles of internationallaw, thus appealing to U.S. imperialinterests and the nation's sense of selfand identity.

Dr. Rita Giacaman of BirzeilUniversity was the first speaker on theevent's second day. In the panel titled

"Local Institutions and Issues: Health,Water and Culture." she examined thepoor state of public health in Palestineand raised questions about how toreconceptualize it in terms of socialsufferins and the violation of basic riehts

rather than a body count. Dr. Seif Da'naof the University of Wisconsin-Parksidediscussed the role that water has playedin the Israelis'success in controlling landin the region, noting, however, that this

"colonial scheme" is not ecologicallysustainable. George Mason University'sMs. Adila Laidi-Hanieh then spoke aboutthe robust state of culture in Palestineand its diaspora, arguing that artists aremoving away from the role of heroicspokespersons of the oppressed towardmore ironic and critical introspection.

The first speaker on the next panel,titled "Palestinians and Israeli Policies,"was Gabriel Piterberg of the Universityof California, Los Angeles. Dr. Piterbergargued that the most appropriate way toview the Zionist colonization ofPalestineand after is through the framework ofcomparative settler colonialism; hepointed to the "permanence of formativesettler colonial structures even aftersettler statehood [was] achieved." Dr.Oren Yiftachel of Ben Gurion Universityof the Negev then spoke about a systemof "creeping apartheid" that is developingin Israel. He noted that many Palestinian

communities, such as the Bedouins rnthe Negev (Naqab in Arabic), do nothave equal citizenship or land rights.Last, Dr. Sara Roy of Harvard Universitydiscussed recent shifts in the way thePalestinian/Israeli conflict is understood,such as the new belief among Israelis andthe international community that peaceand occupation are now compatible.

Dr. Michael Hudson opened thethird panel of the duy, "IJ.S. andInternational Policy Toward Palestineand the Palestinians." He spoke aboutconstraints and opportunities for theObama administration vis d vis Palestine,stressing that in his view Obama,

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,PAlestineDr. Jean-Frangois Seznec moderates apanel on economics and development.

An audience member asks a

CCAS News * Summer 20O9

despite his stated desire to solve the problem, may endup following the present inconclusive course. However,he concluded, long-term factors, such as the recentemergence of alternative organizations to the AmericanIsrael Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), may contributeto a more balanced policy debate. Mr. Amjad Atallah ofthe NewAmerica Foundation then discussed the trajectoryof Palestinian leadership, exploring the relationshipbetween the PLO and the PA with the United States overthe years. Mr. Ali Abunimah finished the panel with anexamination of what can be learned from the example ofNorthern Ireland for resolving the Palestinian situation.He concluded that the abandonment of a state based onreligious or ethnic supremacy must occur for peace toprevail.

The final panel of the conference was titled "PoliticalSolutions for Palestine/Israel." Ms. Helena Cobban, anindependent scholar, sketched out the state of politics inPalestine, looking particularly at Hamas and Fatah. Shealso pointed to an increased importance of the Palestiniandiaspora as the center of gravity moves away from theWest Bank andGaza. Mr. Daniel Levy of the New AmericaFoundation addressed the idea of the two-state solutionand what would be needed to achieve it. He also describedwhat other options, such as the one-state solution orcontinued conflict, might look like. The last speaker ofthe conference, Dr. Saree Makdisi of the University ofCalifornia, Los Angeles, argued for a one-state solution,with the following three premises: 1) Both populationsare there to stay; 2) Those Palestinians expelled from theirhomes in 1948 and their descendents have the moral andlegal right to return and be compensated for their loss;and 3) The land must be shared by all citizens of the stateand be reconstituted along lines that do not discriminateagainst people based on religion or ethnic affiliation.

The symposium, a resounding success, raised manythought-provoking issues relevant to contemporaryPalestine. Others at CCAS who planned and executedthe event include Ms. Margaret Daher, Public AffairsCoordinator; Ms. Zeina Seikaly, Director of EducationalOutreach; and Ms. Noura Erakat, Adjunct Professor. Thesymposium papers will be published in an edited volumein the near future. {.

the everyday geography of dispossessionin the diaspora with meaningful avenues tounderstand the Palestinians' present sense oftheir history and identity."

perceiving howidentity. . . shapeand in so doingof belonging."

Loren Lybarger

"Despite thedisplacement ofpopulations and thedestruction of villagesin 1948, the villagecontinues to be asource of identifi cationpractices. It providessocial strucfure andorigins, and connects

2OO9 CCASSy-posiurnPanelists

"The categoricaloppositions withwhich we havebecome accustomed toanalyzing Palestinianpolitics, principally theopposition betweensecularists andIslamists, have perhapsprevented us from

other modes of relationship andthe daily lives of Palestiniansgive rise to diverse conceptions

um on Palestine.

CCAS News '." Summer 2OO9

Rochelle Davis

"We should go beyond theone-state and two-statedebates. . .The question ishow to work on a vision ofliberation of both societiesfrom being oppressed andbeing oppressors. It shouldinclude all Palestiniancommunities-under

certainly those in Israel.occupation, under exile, and

Nadim Rouhana

"For the Palestinians, to enterinto a state-centric discourseof one or two states is toenter atace they can neverwin...What's needed is toaccord as much attentionto the Palestinians as toPalestine [by making] use ofthe historical ethnography ofthe quotidian-to play close

attention to what is going on below the radar screen ofcontentional politics."

"The Gaza war...takesthe Palestinian nationalmovement from a total failureto almost a total collapse...It is very important for thePalestinians to come up witha new vision for Palestinethat includes the Jews,because otherwise otherswill continue to conduct a

most apparent when itthe body politic."

IslahJ"d

"Gender relations were theblind spot of commentatorson Islam and secularism whofailed to see that in mattersof gender and the family,there was more continuitythan discontinuity betweenthe two ideologies. Thisconfirms the view that theambiguities of modernity are

comes to the role of women in

"The only reconciliationthat is possible in terms of...changes on the ground wouldhave to be an agreementbetween Hamas and Fatah,which can only be achievedon the basis of Abbas's exitfrom the political system,and it would have to be anagreement that would focus

on a rejuvenation of the PLO rather than cutting upthe pieces of the pie of the PA."

Mouin Rabbani

else, which is the onlysurvive in the region."

"There seems to be apattern in the history ofthe Palestinian nationalmovement: war, peace,something like civil war orcivil war proper...The onlyprocess [other than this cycle]that has not been tried is theredefinition of Israel from aZionist state into something

thing that might allow Israel to

Beshara Doumani

policy that will bring another catastrophe for thePalestinians."

Thmim Al-BarghoutiAshd Ghanem

CCAS News * Summer 2O09

"If there is going to bea fPalestinian] state thatwill succeed 15 years afterits creation and beyond,something like fthe RANDCorporation's Arc proj ect]will be necessary in termsof a development strategy.We're not predicting this willhappen."

Glenn Robinson

"The West Bank and Gazahave failed to develop inany sustainable way, andcannot ever agarn...It is theend of the two-state solutionbecause there is no possibilityon the ground, territorially oreconomically, for the creationof a Palestinian state...Wehave to put pressure on the

international community to enforce sanctions [to getout of this conundrum]."

Leila Farsakh

"Substantial allocationsfor democracy promotionand civil society buildingprovided to the Palestinianterritories following theMadrid Peace Conferenceand the Oslo Accords did nottranslate into a stronger civilsociety; on the contrary therewas an overall weakening in

the fabric of civil society."

ManalJamal

Lisa Hajjar

Center'News

"The redress of violationsof Palestinian rights is apolitical project that relatesthe conditions specificallyaffecting Palestinians to otherongoing efforts around theglobe to enforce internationallaw."

"The Palestinian case ischaracte rized by exclusionclauses specifically directedat the Palestinians. . . Theright of return, housing andproperty rights, and theprinciple that refugees shouldbe permitted to choose theirown solutions, have all beensystematically excluded from

the framework of discussion of a solution for thePalestinians."

Susan Akram

help promoteto continuing

"Despite the United States'aversion to international lawU.S. law embodies severalstatutes that reflect principlesof international law that maybe useful for the purposesof advocacy. . .[We need to]appeal to the U.S. sense ofnational self and identity.Perhaps then...the U.S. can

the rule of law in the region as opposedto obstruct it."

CCAS News 'lu Summer 2009

Noura Erakat

"We need to recogntze thatstructural and politicalconditions that Palestiniansendure are the keydeterminants of preventingfgood] health conditions.We have to enforce humanrights law. And having triedeverything else, boycotts,divestment. and sanctions are

the way forward."

Rita Giacaman

'Zionism, in its quest forhegemony and domination, leda scheme that was economicallyinferior and dependent onsubsidies and support fromthe outside. But in its quest toprovide'artificial' western lifestandards for its immigrants. . .it led a scheme in which therewas environmental destruction.

Zionism, like capitalism, is desftoying the very conditionsthat gave rise to its hegemony in the first place."

Seif Daha

"In [Palestinian] culture, wehave an escape from therole of heroic spokespersonsof the oppressed. Artistsnow furn to irony, criticalintrospection, and theaffirmation of an ordinaryhumanity centered onthe individual's privatemythology, body, memory

and experience."

ways of thinking."

Gabriel Piterberg

or destroyed. They are

Oren Yiftachel

actors atwar."

Sara Roy

"The settler colonial essenceof the Zionist Israeliproject is an underlyingstructure that was not just amoment of origination thatdisappeared with statehood;on the contrary it is astrucfure that continues toexplain many aspects ofIsraeli state behavior and

"The ideology of [Israeli]supremacy continues whereasspace has to be reconfigured.In this new phase fof Israelicolonial thinkingl, theideology has become akin toghettoizing. It creates greyspaces-spaces which arenot incorporated or equal, butwhich are also not excluded

the making of apartheid."

"The occupation has beentransformed from a political andlegal issue with intemationallegitimacy into a simple disputeover borders, where the rulesof war apply rather than thoseof occupation. In this rcgard,Israel has successfully recastits relationship with Gazafromone of occupation to one of two

Adila Laidi-Hanieh

CCAS News t Summer 2OO9

"The U.S.-Palestinianrelationship will continue tobe dominated by the Israelirelationship and Israeliconcerns unless Palestiniansociety worldwide maturesto a level where it can offeror ganrzational support toconstituencies that provide acompe lling c ount er -narr ative. "

"Obama will [likely] continueto proclaim Washington's goodintentions and commitmentto justice for both sides whilemaintaining massive militaryeconomic, and diplomaticsupport for Israel...[but] Icontinue to hope that thereare long term factors...thatmay ultimately act as a kind of

corrective to what historically has been...an unbalancedAmerican policy."

Michael Hudson

, commitment to equality

"The thing that broke it openin Northern Ireland was theabandonment of commitmentto Unionist Protestantsupremacy. . . Whether it'sone state or two states orten, the only just solutioncan come when we abandonthe commitment to Jewishsupremacy and adopt afor all."

AliAbunimah

"Hamas [members] are stilllooking to participate in thePA in spite of everythingthat has happened. . .Thisloyalty is the only thing thatpolitically is keeping thePA project and the hopes, ifthere are any, of a two-statesolution alive. . . Therefore,paradoxically, only Hamas is

keeping alive the hopes of a Jewish state in Palestineemerging over the long haul."

Helena Cobban

"The Palestinian statehoodproject is now seen as anIsraeli/American proj ect andnot a project that enoughPalestinians have ownershipof. I don't think you can getthat ownership againunlessyou create it...You have todo de-occupation first if youwant Palestinians to take

seriously the building of a Palestinian state."

DanielLevy

"Israel needs. . .an endlessdiscourse about Palestinianstatehood, not because itis suddenly interested inPalestinian rights, but rather inorder to secure the legitimacyof an exclusively Jewish state...There is only one altemative,as I see it-a democratic andsecular state that would. . .

enable a just and lasting peace."

CCAS News * Summer 20O9

Saree Makdisi

Publications Assistant and InternsJoin CCAS forthe SummerMimi Kirk

CAS is pleased to welcome its Publications Assistantfor the summer, Traviss Cassidy, as well as twosummer interns, Lauren Weinberger and Anup Kelkar.

Traviss, a work-study student at CCAS for the 2008-2009 academic year, graduated in May from GeorgetownUniversity's School of Foreign Service, where he majoredin international political economy and earned a certificatein Islam and Muslim-Christian Understanding. The courseson Islam and the Middle East that he took as part of thecertificate, as well as the journalism experience he gained onthe staff of the Georgetown Voice, drew him to the summerpublications assistant position at CCAS. Traviss is currentlyinterning part-time in Congress and hopes to eventuallypursue a Ph.D. in economics.

Lauren is a rising junior at Duke University, where sheis majoring in public policy and minoring in both Arabicand Hebrew. Raised in Cleveland, Ohio, she has always beeninterested in politics and international affairs, participatingin Model UN and serving as captain of her debate team inhigh school. Lauren has traveled in Israel and plans to studyabroad in the Middle East next spring.

Anup comes to us from the University of St. Andrews,Scotland, where he is one year away from completing hisM.A. in German and international relations. He was born inBahrain but grew up in London, and has a keen interest inthe Middle East and international affairs. Anup has studiedin Yemen and has also traveled to Syria and Lebanon. He hasworked at the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office andin the Scottish Government, and has served as a languageassistant at a hotel management school in Berlin. *

Outreach News

multiregional perspective on the energycrisis and how both global and localpolitics impact developments in energy.

From CCAS, Visiting AssociateProfessor Dr. Jean-Frangois Seznecspoke on oil and natural gas productionin the Middle East. Dr. Seznec explainedthe logistics of production, the internalpolitics of oil-rich nations that impactthe availability of oil and natural gasboth regionally and globally, and thefuture of energy in the region.

Dr. Thane Gustafson. Professor in

the Department of Government, andMr. Eleodoro Mayorga Alba, LeadPetroleum Economist at the WorldBank, addressed similar topics in regardto Russia/Eastern Europe and LatinAmerica, respectively.

Collaboration between the threeregional centers to produce the "GlobalViewpoints" series has proven asuccessful endeavor that aids in bridgingsome of the gaps among regionalscholarship and provides a more holisticperspective on issues. *

Traviss Cassidy, Publications Assistant

Lauren Weinberger and Anup Kelkar, CCAS Interns

Second Annual "Global Viewpoints" Con ferenceE*plores Energy inThree R"gionsCatherine Parker

ff his conference, the second in the

I annual "Global Viewpoints" series,I addressed the developmentsand challenges in energy productionin three key regions: Eurasia/Russia/Eastern Europe, Latin America, andthe Middle East. Co-sponsored bythe National Resource Center on theMiddle East (NRC-ME), the Center forEurasian, Russian and East EuropeanStudies (CERES), the Center for LatinAmerican Studies (CLAS), and CCAS,the conference sought to provide a

8 CCAS News * Summer 2OO9

Teachers Celebrate Nowrazin Saturday SeminarZeina Azzarn Seikaly

n March 28 a group of 3lteachers attended a seminarat Georgetown entitled o'A

Celebration of NowruzA.{evruz: TheSpring Equinox in the Persian andTurkic Worlds." CCAS co-sponsoredthis program with Georgetown's Centerfor Eurasian, Russian and East EuropeanStudies (CERES), a collaboration that

highlights the intersecting cultural andsocial themes across these two vastregions.

Nowruz, or Nevruz ("New Day"), aholiday that marks the beginning ofspring and is celebrated by millionsof people from the Middle East toCentral Asia, embodies many traditionsand rituals that have developedover thousands of years. Across thecountries that speak Persian andTurkic languages, this celebrationof life and renewal is a society-wideevent; some communities in Arabic-speaking countries celebrate Nowruzas well. Through lectures, artifacts, andfood, the Saturday Seminar speakersprovided the audience of teachers witha historical, cultural, and social contextfor this celebration.

Q Vlvia Onder, Visiting AssistantLJ Professor of Turkish Language

and Culture at Georgetown, describedthe Nevruz festival in the Turkicworld. She first offered an overviewof the Turks in world history fromthe nomadic era and the early horseriders to imperial times and European

CCAS News t Summer 2OO9

colonial encroachments. She thendiscussed the Silk Road and Islam asimportant aspects of Turkic cultures.Dr. Onder's many photographs offereda colorful glimpse into the traditionsof the Nevruz celebration, such ascostumes, dances, rituals, special foods,and poetry competitions.

"The holidav is said to have started15,000 years&go, beyondthe last ice age,"said FarimaM o s t o w f i ,Senior Lecturerand Directorof the PersianProgram atGe orgetown.

"Since ancienttimes, Iranhas celebratedthe new yearon the vernal

equinox, what we know as the 20thor 2lst of March," she continued. Shedescribed the Nowruz celebrationin Iran and other Persian-speakingcountries, which includes gifts andnew clothes, spring cleaning, outdoorand indoor activities, and the comingof "Haji Firvz," a person who alertscommunity members of the coming ofNowruz and who entertains them withsongs and dances.

The audience welcomed NajmiehBatmanglij, a chef, author, and educator,who describedthe Nowruzceremony. Thehaft sinn table, inparticular, is oneof the principalelements of theNowruz tradition.Each familyprepares sucha table at homefor the durationof the holiday. Itincludes sevenbasic items

that symbolize aspects of fertilityand renewal: sabzeh (green sprouts),apples, wine vinegar, garlic, wildolives, and sumac. Ms. Batmanglij alsointroduced the audience to her book,Hoppy Nowruz: Cooking with Childrento Celebrate the Persian New Year Inaddition to a plethora of information,the book contains activities and recipesthat can be done in the classroom.Each of the teachers received a copyof this publication, courtesy of CCASand CERES. A noted chef, NajmiehBatmanglij also catered the lunch, anauthentic Persian celebratory meal,much to the delight of everyone inattendance.

The last speaker was BarbaraPetzen,Education Director at the Middle EastPolicy Council, whose presentation wastitled, "Savoring Geography: Lifestyles,Culinary Cultures, and Celebrationsin the Middle East." She explored thebasics of food in the Middle East andall the influences it has experiencedthroughout history, including particularagricultural contexts, imperial cuisine(for example, of the Ottoman court),multicultural influences, and nomadicvs. sedentary lifestyles. Ms. Petzenexamined the intersections of food,geography and environment, ways oflife, religion, and celebrations across theregion, and mentioned spring festivitiesother than Nowruz, such as Shamm al-Naseem in Egypt, which occurs the dayafter Coptic Easter Sunday. *

CCAS's Zeina Seikaly (righ0 enjoys lunch with the chef, Najmieh Batmanglij.

Learning About Egypt-fn D.C. and First HandZein;t Azz:rm Seikaly

he Center offered a study-tour of Egypt this summer.Fifteen educators traveled with CCAS Assistant Professorof Arab Politics, Dr. Samer Shehata, and Director of

Educational Outreach, Zeina Azzam Seikaly, for a tour of thecountry July 6-18. They visited Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor, andAswan, with attention to both ancient Egypt and contemporarylife in the country. During this trip Dr. Shehata gave academiclecfures and offered continuing explanations and commentarywhile traveling with the group. The outreach program waspleased to partner in organizing this study-tour with HandsAlong the Nile Development Services, Inc., a nonprofit thatsponsors exchange and dialogue programs between the UnitedStates and Egypt.

On Safurday, June 6, the outreach program organrzedan orientation program on Egypt that included scholarlypresentations by four experts on the country. The seminar wasopen to the larger teaching community in the D.C. metropolitanarea, and 52 educators attended.

The first speaker was Amy Riolo, an independent author andfood historian, whose presentation was titled "Ancient Egypt forEducators." She focused on the early dynastic period, startingfrom about 3150 BCE to 4l CE, with the advent of Christianityand Roman civilization. Ms. Riolo explored the foods of ancientEgypt, such as fish, spices, grain, beans, and dates, and manycultural traditions of that era, including literature, music, sports,and Nile festivals. She suggested and described many activitiesfor teaching these fields in the classroom.

Sumaiya Hamdani, Associate Professor in the History andArt History Departments of George Mason University, spokeabout "The Past in the Present: Exploring Islamic Cairo'sLiving Heritage." She said that there are many connectionsand a tremendous amount of continuity between ancient andIslamic Egypt. Dr. Hamdani gave a historical sweep of Islamichistory from the Umayyad period in the seventh and eighthcenturies to Napoleon's invasion of Egypt in 1798. She focusedon the Islamic influence in the city of Cairo itself, especially$;

Teachers from the D.C. area pay close attention to the day's talks.

during the Mamluk era.Samer Shehata addressed "Politics in Contemporary Egypt"

from the 1952 Free Officer coup that overthrew the monarchyto the present day. He discussed land reform initiatives, thenationalization of the Suez Canal, the presidencies of GamalAbdel-Nasser, Anwar Sadat, and Hosni Mubarak, the variouswars in which Egypt has been involved, and the emergency lawsthat have been in place in the country since 1981. Dr. Shehatadescribed the major political institutions in Egypt, includingthe presidency and bicameral parliament. He also explainedthe history and current politics of the Muslim Brotherhood andother major opposition parties, such as the Wafd, Tagammu',and Arab Socialist Nasserist party.He talked about the Kifayamovement, the "Egyptian Movement for Change," the first toopenly challenge President Mubarak, and the vibrant press andcivil society in Egypt.

"There is also a vibrant feminist movement in Egypt," saidthe next speaker, Farha Ghannam, Associate Professor in theDepartment of Sociology and Anthropology at SwarthmoreCollege, who addressed "Gender and Social Life inContemporary Egypt." She described the movement as startingin the nineteenth century with a secular discourse; it advocatedwomen's rights in employment, education, and the politicalsphere. At present, Islamist feminists are drawing on thereligion of Islam to apply Islamic nonns, and Muslim feminists,whose aims are human rights and equality, encourage femalescholars to reinterpret Islamic texts. Dr. Ghannam also talkedabout women's work inside and outside the home,mariage andthe family, the hijab, and the challenges faced by the Egyptianworking class.

The program also held a screening of Cairo as Seen byChahine, a documentary directed by the famous Egyptianfilmmaker Youssef Chahine (1991). Everyone received aresource packet with background information about Egypt andenjoyed a Middle Eastern lunch with colleagues, speakers, andCCAS staff. *

Dr. Samer Shehata lectures on Eglptian politics to an audience of educators.

10 CCAS News * Summer 20O9

Workshop Looks At Contemp orary Arab LiteratarcCatherine Parker

6 6\ T.* Reflections on Contemporary Arab Literature,"

I \ a workshop convened in March by Dr. YvonneI \ Haddad, addressed a wide range of issues and

ideas surrounding Arab and Arab-American literature written inboth Arabic and English. Approximately 50 students, academics,and community members attended this panel-style workshopsponsored by the National Resource Center on the Middle East(NRC-ME) in partnership with CCAS, the Prince AlwaleedBin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, and theDepartment ofArabic and Islamic Studies.

The NRC-ME was fortunate to have Dr. Amal Amireh,Associate Professor of Women and Gender Studies at GeorgeMason University, discuss Ahlam Mosteghanemi's Memory inthe Flesh, contrasting it with another Algerian novel by Fadilahal-Faruq titled Th'Al Khajal. Dr. Amireh examined the differentapproaches both authors took to addressing (or not addressing)the violence against women that took place before and duringthe Algerian civil war.

Dr. Reem Bassiouney, Assistant Professor ofArabic Linguisticsat Georgetown, delivered a detailed analysis on code choice andidentity in modern Egyptian novels. She discussed how authorschoose to use Modern Standard Arabic and dialects to redefinereality and project different identities.

Joining the workshop from CCAS wereAssistant Professor Dr.

Dr. Amar Amireh discusses women in *"^,,r,' Trr,.1,,:J.'l,,1l****,*,,,*ii

Rochelle Davis and Adjunct Instructor Mr. Gregory Orfalea. Dr.Davis discussed the use ofpoetry in Palestinian autobiographicalwritings in order to address subjects such as longing, love, andgnef that are more difficult to express in prose. Mr. Orfaleafocused his analysis on Arab-American literature in the post-9/l Iworld, expounding upon themes and styles prevalent in novelswith Arab-American protagonists.

The interest that the workshop generated indicates a desireby the Georgetown community to further explore culturaldevelopments in the Arab world and how they relate to or reflectthe politics and history of the region. *

Public EventsThe Iraqi Refugees: The New Crisis inthe Middle EastMarch 24, 2009

Dr. Joseph Sassoon, one of CCAS'svisiting scholars dwing the 2008-2009academic year, discussed issues that haverecently developed in the Middle East dueto the drastic increase in Iraqi refugees.

Gender and Economic Isolation in anEra of GlobalizationApril6, 2009

Dr. Jennifer Olmsted ofDrew Universityexamined the roles that local economiesand the relationship between local andglobal economies play in explaining low

female labor force participation rates in theMiddle East.

Film Screening: Chronicles of a Refugee,Part VIr "The Return of Thlk"April 15,2009

MAAS alum Adam Shapiro screenedan episode of his most recent documentaryproject, Chronicles of a Refugee.Chronicles is a six-part series that looks atthe Palestinian refugee experience over thelast 60 years in its global context.

Civil Society Development and theLimits of Western Donor Assistance:Palestine and El Salvador ComparedApril 15,2009

Dr. Manal Jamal, one of CCAS'visitingscholars for the 2008-2009 academic

year and an assistant professor at JamesMadison University, examined the impactof donor assistance to civil society in thePalestinian territories and El Salvador.

Development in the Arab World:Successes and Challenges

April 16,2009Ms. Amat Al Alim Alsosw4 United

Nations Development Programme (LINDP)Assistant Secretary-General, AssistantAdminisftator, and Director of its RegionalBureau forArab States, gave an overview ofthe 2009 Arab Human Development Report.

Angeleno Days:A ReadingApril 22,2009

CCAS Adjunct Insfructor Mr. GregoryOrfalea read excerpts from his recentlypublished memolr, Angeleno Days.Though Mr. ffalea has spent half ofhis life elsewhere, he has remainedpreoccupied with Los Angeles. That brutal,beautiful city along the Pacific sea, he says,shaped him and led to a series of essaysoriginally published in the Los AngelesTimes Magazine. *CCAS Director Dr. Michael Hudson (left) queries CCAS Visiting Scholar Dr. Joseph Sassoon after his talk

11CCAS News * Summer 2OO9

CCAS Graduates theMAAS Class of 2009Mimi Kirk

CAS is pleased to announce that it awarded 31 Master ofAfts in Arab Studies degrees this spring. The graduateswill go on to a variety of fields, including academia, law,

policy, andjournalism. This class showedparticular facility for theArabic language, eaming 11 FLAS @oreign Language and AreaStudies) fellowships from the U.S. Deparbnent of Education andsix full-year fellowships to the prestigious Center forArabic StudyAbroad (CASA) in Cairo and Damascus. The total number of full-year CASA fellowships offered each year has been around 35.

The Center held a ceremony on Friday, May 15, to honor thegraduates. During the hour-long prograrn, Dr. Judith Tuckeq Directorof the MAAS Program, called each graduate up to the podium,where she spoke about their interests, experiences dwing MAAS,and future plans.An audience of 200 family members, friends, stafland faculty watched and cheered. An open bar and buffet dinnerfollowed" and some stayedto dance and celebrate into the night.

Theses:Alex Thurston: "Interactions between Northern Nigeria and the

Arab World in the TWentieth Century"Committee: Drs. Yvonne Haddad andAhmad Dallal

Victoria Zyp: "Islamic Finance in the United States: ProductDevelopment and Regulatory Adoption'Committee: Drs. Jean-Francois Seznec and David Walker

Graduates:

Ali AlkandariChristianAssadKala Camrthers Azar*Sean BraniffMike CorradiniDavid Mansfi eld DeBartoloKatherine DunnEmma ElbuzediHassan Elhaj*Kate EyermanHarald Fuller-BennettJean-Baptiste GallopinElizabeth Grasmeder*Hunter GrundenYassmine HamayelAndrew Helms

Marcia Hook*Alex IannacconeAmanda JohnsonJavier LesacaWynne ManciniJeffMorencyOlivia MoseleyNassima Neggez*Joseph PearceJaime Bennett StansburvLucy ThiboutotLauren TorbettAlex Thurston**Noor ZahidVictoria Zyp**

*Earned distinction on oral exams**Eamed distinction on thesis