Special Sessions        

Conference Program

Opening Session: America and the Middle East: Where Are We Now?

Monday, 7 January, 2008
Gefinor Rotana Hotel, 17:30-19:30

Moderator: Patrick McGreevy, CASAR- AUB

Panelists:
Djelal Kadir, Pennsylvania State University
Stanley Katz, Princeton University
Rami Khouri, American University of Beirut
Scott Lucas, Birmingham University
Melani McAlister, George Washington University

This session, part of the Opening Ceremony, will introduce some of the issues the conference will examine.  Panelists from CASAR's International Advisory Board will discuss the opportunities and burdens of the present moment with regard to the multidimensional connections between America and the Middle East.  Where are we now in terms of politics, the media, American studies, economics, religion and justice? 

Session 10: Plenary Session: The Engine of Empire

Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Bathish Auditorium, West Hall, 16:00-18:00

Chair: Melani McAlister, George Washington University
Amy Bartholomew, Carlton University, Canada: "Rightlessness and Legality in the Age of Empire's Law: Toward a Neo-Conservative Globalization?"
Norman Finkelstein, Independent Scholar, "The Real Roots of American Foreign Policy in the Middle East"
Anne Norton, The University of Pennsylvania, USA: "The Imperial Individual: Individualism as the Engine of Empire"
Comments: Melani McAlister

Session 11: Performance followed by Discussion: "Brooklyn Beats to Beirut Streets: Hip Hop and the Language of Liberation,"  The Human Rights Project: Mark Gonzales, Nizar Wattad and Omar Chakaki

Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Bathish Auditorium, West Hall, 18:15-19:15

An "energetic, informative and often startling presentation" in spoken-word and rhyme by three artists (one Mexican- American and two Arab-American) that traces the artists' development alongside the birth and growth of hip-hop.  It is a reading of the world through their words.  This poetic performance is an intersection of cultures sharing space on a stage that gives voice to marginalized histories, challenges the audience to re-examine worldviews, and indicts individuals for historical atrocities committed in the name of democracy.  Following the performance the artists will invite the audience to participate in a discussion of how an art form once considered to exist on the margins of society can grow to become the most popular musical genre amongst youth around the world, what this means to hip-hoppers whose cultures remain on the margins, and what problems and concerns face the rest of society in realizing, accepting and ultimately utilizing this shift.

Session 20: American Studies in the Middle East: An Open Discussion

Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Bathish Auditorium, West Hall, 14:30-16:30

This session is a follow-up to a workshop on American Studies in the Middle East held at CASAR's first conference in December of 2005.  Panelists are scholars and teachers of American studies working in the Middle East.  Some represent specific American studies programs and centers in the region.  The panelists will briefly discuss the challenges and prospects they face in their work leaving most of the allotted time for open discussion with the audience.

Chair: Liam Kennedy, The Clinton Institute for American Studies, University College Dublin, Ireland

Panelists:

John Hillis, American Studies Program, University of Bahrain
Seyed Mohammad Marandi, North American studies Program, University of Tehran, Iran
Mohammad Dajani Daoudi, American Studies Institute, Al-Quds University, Palestine
Patrick McGreevy, Center for American Studies and Research, American University of Beirut
Hani Elayyan, Department of English, University of Jordan
Osama Abd El-Fattah Madany, Department of English, Menoufiya University, Egypt
Mounira Soliman, Department of English, Cairo University, Egypt
Paul Jahshan, Department of English, Notre Dame University, Lebanon
Sirene Harb, English Department, American University of Beirut

Closing Address:

Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Bathish Auditorium, West Hall, 17:00-18:30

Introduction: Patrick McGreevy
Amy Kaplan, The University of Pennsylvania, "In the Name of Homeland Security"

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