[Discussion] CONF.- 2nd World Congress for Middle Eastern Studies, June 2006, Amman, Jordan

[sule tarakcioglu]

CONF.- 2nd World Congress for Middle Eastern Studies, June 2006, Amman,
Jordan

Second World Congress for Middle Eastern Studies

Amman, Jordan, 11-16 June 2006

The Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies (RIIFS) is pleased to
announce that it has been chosen to organize and host the Second World
Congress for Middle Eastern Studies (WOCMES-2), which will take place in
Amman, Jordan on 11-16 June 2006. This will be the first time that
experts on the Middle East drawn from all over the world and all
branches of the humanities and social sciences (including economics,
political science, media studies and others) will assemble together in
the region to share and exchange their research, experience and ideas,
and to discuss the challenges of methodology vs. theory and praxis vs.
politics and their possible resolutions. It promises to be an
unprecedented event that will finally bring Middle Eastern studies
to the Middle East.

Initiated by the Middle East Studies Association of North America
(MESA), the First World Congress was organized and hosted by the
University of Mainz in 2002 and attracted over 2000 scholars, experts
and students from around the globe. It involved the participation of the
European Association for Middle Eastern Studies (EURAMES), the British,
French, Italian and German Middle East studies associations (BRISMES,
AFEMAM, SeSaMO and DAVO) and other similar organizations in North
America, the Middle East and the 14 other member countries of EURAMES.

RIIFS now extends its own invitation to all of the institutions and
organizations that took part in the First World Congress and requests
that they inform their members about WOCMES-2 and consider how they may
contribute to its success. In particular, RIIFS asks that they begin
coordinating their 2006 activities with the WOCMES-2 Secretariat in the
autumn of 2004, organizing panels, workshops, symposia and major
conferences under the WOCMES-2 umbrella.

This invitation also applies to other associations, research centres,
university departments, international organizations and institutions
which did not take part in the First World Congress, but which are
involved in the study of the Middle East, North Africa and the Muslim
states of Central Asia in addition to those areas of the world directly
or indirectly affected by developments in these regions. Calls for
papers from individual scholars will be sent out in 2005.

Local and international media and high-ranking decision-makers involved
in political, economic and cultural spheres are also expected to attend
the Second World Congress and to disseminate, in the months that follow,
the new ideas and interpretations that they encounter there. The working
language of the congress will be English, with some French and Arabic.

Because the Second World Congress will actually take place in the Middle
East, the cultural program is expected to be particularly rich.
Organizers are presently considering two book fairs
(Arabic/International) involving book-sellers, publishers and authors;
exhibitions of modern Arab art by Jordan's national and local galleries;
other exhibitions related to various aspects of Middle Eastern studies;
a film festival with panel discussions; and concerts featuring musicians
from across the Arab world. The timing will also be advantageous since
the weather will be pleasant and many academics will be on their summer
break, leaving them with ample time to explore Jordan's well-known
tourist attractions (such as Petra, Jerash, Madaba and Mount Nebo), as
well as those in neighbouring countries, during their visit to the region.

RIIFS is presently redesigning its website (www.riifs.org) and the new
version is expected to be up and running in Autumn 2004. Once it is
online, users will be able to click on the WOCMES-2 icon appearing on
the home page in order to obtain more information and to register for
the Second World Congress. Until that time, any further announcements
will be sent out by list-serv and will also be posted on the RIIFS home
page. Communications from the representatives of institutions and
organizations interested in participating, as well as other urgent
requests for further information, may be addressed to the e-mail address
given below.

We look forward to hearing from friends and colleagues, old and new, in
the coming months.

HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal, President of WOCMES-2
HE Ambassador Hasan Abu Nimeh, Director of RIIFS
Baker al-Hiyari, General-Secretary of WOCMES-2

WOCMES-2 Secretariat
Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies (RIIFS)
P.O. Box 830 562, Amman 11183, Jordan
Tel.: 962 6 4618051; Fax: 962 6 4618053
E-mail: wocmes2@riifs.org
www.riifs.org

Distrib. by: Central-Eurasia-L - Announcement List for Central Eurasian
Studies