Event Title
The Middle East in Transition
Location
Moakley Auditorium
Start Time
16-5-2007 10:30 AM
End Time
16-5-2007 11:15 AM
Description
The Middle East is undergoing the most dramatic transformation since the region emerged out of the Ottoman Empire after WWI. Radical Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism, the fixations of the Western media, are symptoms of this transformation. Over the past thirty years, however, significant social and economic developments have led to changing perceptions of the role of women, the growth of a vibrant middle class, civil society and free media, and rising demands for the political liberalization of increasingly unpopular authoritarian regimes across the region. The participants in the proposed interdisciplinary roundtable will draw on theory and research to examine three topics in order to clarify the nature, process and implications of these changes: (1) Women, Education and Work (Leuenberger); (2) Media (Al-Obaidi); and (3) Democratization (Mozaffar). Professor Lewinstein will comment on the presentations from the perspective of contemporary Islamic discourse. Each presentation will be about 15-minute long followed by Q&A.
The Middle East in Transition
Moakley Auditorium
The Middle East is undergoing the most dramatic transformation since the region emerged out of the Ottoman Empire after WWI. Radical Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism, the fixations of the Western media, are symptoms of this transformation. Over the past thirty years, however, significant social and economic developments have led to changing perceptions of the role of women, the growth of a vibrant middle class, civil society and free media, and rising demands for the political liberalization of increasingly unpopular authoritarian regimes across the region. The participants in the proposed interdisciplinary roundtable will draw on theory and research to examine three topics in order to clarify the nature, process and implications of these changes: (1) Women, Education and Work (Leuenberger); (2) Media (Al-Obaidi); and (3) Democratization (Mozaffar). Professor Lewinstein will comment on the presentations from the perspective of contemporary Islamic discourse. Each presentation will be about 15-minute long followed by Q&A.
Comments
Moderator: Shaheen Mozaffar