University of Pittsburgh

This talk will focus on the transformation of the Syrian uprisings over the last two years and provide an analysis of both the geopolitical and grassroots forces. How can we begin to understand the conflict in Syria? Who are the different actors on the ground? What positions might we consider taking in this country?

Juan R.I. Cole is the Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History at the University of Michigan. He has written extensively on modern Islamic movements in Egypt, the Persian Gulf and South Asia and has given numerous media interviews on the war on terrorism and the Iraq War. He lived in various parts of the Muslim world for nearly 10 years and continues to travel widely there.

Thursday, November 7
Humanities Center, 602 CL
4:00-6:00 p.m. - Lecture:
Joseph N. Cleary, Professor of English, Yale University, “The History of the Novel and Empire in the Works of Edward Said and Georg Lukács”

Friday, November 8, English Department, 501 CL
2:00-3:30 p.m. - Lecture:Aamir Mufti, Professor of Comparative Literature, UCLA, “The Late Style of Bandung Humanism”
4:00-6:00 p.m. – Reading:Nuruddin Farah, Distinguished Professor of Literature, Bard College, Reading from his recent fiction and taking questions

Asef Baat is Professor of Global and Transnational studies at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. He previously taught at Leiden University in the Netherlands and the American University in Cairo. Among his books are: Street Politics; Poor People’s Movement in Iran; Making Islam Democratic; Social Movements and Past-Islamist Turn; and Life as Politics: How Ordinary People Change the Middle East.

This talk will work through a number of issues that have been tackled by the revolutionaries in the Arab world. Primarily, the analysis of the geopolitical and grassroots forces at work in advancing and countering the revolutions, mainly in Syria but also in Egypt. The politics of international intervention will figure in prominently as it is a question that remains on the table in both policy and academic circles.

ASIRPA in collaboration with the Indonesian Student Association in Pittsburgh currently organize an annual interdisciplinary conference called Indonesia Focus 2013, November 1-2, 2013, at the William Pitt Union, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA. The theme for this year is "Beyond Physical Capital: The Role of Human and Social Capital in Indonesia Economic Growth." We cordially invite you to join this conference. It's a FREE registration.

Come join Pitt MSA for our 1st annual Alumni Networking Conference!

Since re-establishment in 1997, the MSA and the University have accumulated a vast network of alumni who have gained various experiences in their respected professions. With such a rich resource available to us, why not take advantage of it?

With this event, we hope to provide current members a chance to network and learn from past members, and for alumni, we hope to create an environment reconnect with old classmates and network as well.

The Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa is holding their sixth annual conference entitled Tides of Change: Looking Back and Forging Ahead in the Middle East and Africa on November 21-23, 2013 at the Key Bridge Marriott Hotel in Washington, DC. The keynote address will be given by Michael Young from the Daily Star, Beirut and opening remarks will be given by the Qatari ambassador, H.E. Mohamed bin Abdulla Al-Rumaihi. There will be roundtable discussions and paper presentations as well.

Witness Palestine: A Film Series will be held on Saturday, November 9 from 5:00pm-9:00pm and Sunday, November 10 from 2:00pm-6:00pm. The First Unitarian Church of Cleveland will show "Welcome to Hebron" and "Salt of This Sea" on November 9. They will show "Since You Left" and "Private" on November 10. The West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church will show "Since You Left" and "Private" on November 9 and "Welcome to Hebron" and "Salt of This Sea" on November 10. Panel discussions will follow each set of films.