The Middle Eastern and North African Graduate Student Association at the University of Arizona Presents:

17th Annual Southwest Graduate Conference in Middle Eastern and North African Studies

Policy, Development, Environment, and Technology

March 9-11, 2017

Thursday, March 7

10:00am Conference Registration opens in the Bonine Commons, Marshall Building, Room 440

Special Event by MENA organization10:30am-12:00pm Discussion of Dr. Fida Adely’s suggested readings CMES Library

Special Event by MENA organization 2:00pm-3:00pm, Marshall Building, Room 490 Round Table on Contemporary Turkey by Dr. Brian Silverstein

3:15pm-4:45pmPersian StudiesChair: Dr. Kamran Talatoff, University of ArizonaPlace: Marshall Building, Room 490

Tending the Fruit of the Revolution: Friday Prayer Leaders and the State in Post-Revolutionary IranZachary Thomas, MENAS, University of Arizona

The Audience Analysis of the Shahnama’s IllustrationsFatemah Mahvan and Dr. Mohammad Jafar Yahaghi, Persian Language and Literature and Literature, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran

Pottery of Nishapur: Hunches on LifestylesAlyeh Mehin, MENAS, University of Arizona

Friday, March 10

Conference Registration available in the Bonine Commons, Marshall Building Room 440

8:30am-10:00amPersian LinguisticsChair: Dr. Simin KarimiPlace: Marshall Building, Room 490

The Interpretation of Missing Noun Phrases in the Iranian LanguagesRyan Walter Smith, Department of Linguistics, University of Arizona

Morphological Causatives in PersianRana Nabors, Department of Linguistics, University of Arizona

On the Syntax of Event Conditionals in PersianRoya Kabiri, Department of Linguistics, University of Arizona

10:15am-11:45amLevantine StudiesChair: Dr. Leila Hudson, University of ArizonaPlace: Marshall Building, Room 479

Salafism, Assad, and SyriaRobert Nixon, MENAS, University of Arizona

Being a ‘Stranger’ in Familiar Lands: Bodies Out of Place, Discrepant Fantasies, & Ontological (Im)possibilities for Syrian Refugees in LebanonRachel Rosenbaum, School of Anthropology, University of Arizona

Falafel and Hummus as Symbols of National Identity for Palestinians and Israelis: How Are They Mobilized in the Nationalistic Discourses of Palestine and Israel, in a Context of ConflictBrittany Power, MENAS, University of Arizona

12:00pm-1:15pmPolitical IslamChair: Dr.Yaseen Noorani, University of ArizonaPlace: Marshall Building, Room 479

Egypt’s Ambivalent Reponses to the Iranian RevolutionIslam Allosh, MENAS, University of Arizona

Questioning ISIS Ideology through Textbooks: A Comparison between the Curriculum of ISIS Schools and the Iraqi Ministry of Education Textbooks

Faraj Hamdan, MENAS, University of Arizona

1:30pm-3:00pmFrancophone StudiesChair: Dr. Denis ProvencherPlace: Marshall Building, Room 479

The Dual Coding Theory and Vocabulary Acquisition: A Pilot Study of Beginner Level French StudentsMiriam Akoto, Department of Literature and Languages, Texas A&M University–Commerce

The Fading of a Culture: The Case of Francophone North AmericaErin Zipse, Department of French and Italian, University of Arizona

The International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF)’s Intervention in Inter-State Relations in Africa: A Case Study of Conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo and RwandaFrancis Mbawini Abugbilla, Department of French and Italian, University of Arizona

3:15pm-4:45pmSemitic LinguisticsChair: Dr. Samira FarwanehPlace: Marshall Building, Room 490

Passive Morphology in Arabic and Faifa DialectEssa Alfaifi, MENAS, University of Arizona

The Use of Mizrahi Hebrew Features in Popular Songs: A Qualitative Study Kyle Jones, MENAS, University of Arizona

The January 25th Revolution and Poetry of Revolt: A Case Study of the Egyptian Halamantishi PoetryElsayed Issa, MENAS, University of Arizona

6:00pm-7:15pm Keynote Address:“Education in the Arab World: Quality, Inequality and

Learning”

Keynote Speaker Dr. Fida Adely, Georgetown University

7:30pm

Reception in the Bonine Commons, Marshall Building, Room 440

Saturday, March 11

9:00am-10:30amTurkish and Ottoman StudiesChair: Dr. Linda DarlingPlace: Marshall Building, Room 490

Social Policing: Remaking Security and the Social in TurkeyHayal Akarsu, School of Anthropology, University of Arizona

Crisis of Hegemony in Turkey and the Authoritarian Turn of the AKPOnur Kapdan, University of California, Santa Barbara

Reorganizing the Family Through Law: Ottoman Family LawHakan Karpuzcu, Near East Studies, Princeton University

10:45am-12:15pmEducation in the MENA RegionChair: Lyndall Herman, PhD CandidatePlace: Marshall Building, Room 490

Intercultural Competence in Arabic as Foreign Language Textbooks: A Content AnalysisAhmad Ismail, Second Language Acquisition and Teaching, University of Arizona

The Diaries of Khalil al-Sakakini: A Constructivist View on LearningAreej Mawasi, School of Education, Arizona State University & Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Colonialism, Schooling and Religious Integration in Tunisia: A Case Study of Colonial Educational Activity in the École de Garçons de Thala Between 1922 to 1942Kamilia Rahmouni, MENAS, University of Arizona

The Middle East and North Africa Graduate Student Organization at the University of Arizona (MENA) began more than a decade ago with the help of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES) and the School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies (MENAS). We have a long history of activity both on

and off campus and are devoted to furthering scholarship of the Middle East and North Africa. The organization provides a platform for graduate students to participate in the planning of cultural events and academic exchanges related to the region. Furthermore, MENA aims to serve the University of Arizona and larger Tucson community in pursuit of a deeper sense of the culture, diversity, and history of this region. MENA began hosting the Annual Southwest Graduate Conference in Middle Eastern and North African Studies in April 2001. Dedicated to providing an opportunity for graduate students to receive valuable feedback on their academic papers in context and delivery, the conference has expanded to include graduate students from numerous universities within and outside the United States.

MENA would like to thank the following individuals for their supportProfessor Adel Gamal Faculty panel chairs MENA Board MembersProfessor Anne Betteridge Professor Yaseen Noorani Aaron J. GraybillProfessor Tyler Peterson Professor Simin Karimi Robert NixonJennifer Paine Professor Leila Hudson Lara TarantiniAllyson Lee McAdams Professor Kamran Talattof Brittany PowerMariam Hawatmah Professor Maha Nassar Zachary ThomasEhab Tamimi Professor Samira Farwaneh David KoopmanLyndall Herman Professor Brian Silverstein Kamilia Rahmouni

Professor Denis Provencher Atacan AtakanProfessor Linda Darling John Perugini

Charles JoukhadarAlyeh Mehin

MENA would also like to thank the following co-sponsors:Dr. Adel Gamal, and