2023 Bilingual Interdisciplinary Virtual Symposium: “Druze Studies- Past, Present, and Future”
ندوة الكترونية ثنائية اللغة ومتعددة التخصصات
"الأبحاث الدرزية- الماضي والحاضر والمستقبل"
The University of Kansas
جامعة كانزاس
November 15-16, 2023
16-15
تشرين الثاني 2023
This event has ended.
The event included 32 active participants (presenters and panel chairs) affiliated with institutions in 11 countries. We also had online and in-person audiences that reached more than 100 global viewers.
We look forward to seeing you at the next event: "2025 Bilingual Interdisciplinary Conference: Druze in the Levant and the Diaspora- Tradition and Modernity" (working title). The date is TBD in Fall 2025. More information will be posted here: https://druze.ku.edu/2025druzeconference
Introduction
The Druze Studies Journal and the Druze Studies Project at the University of Kansas are pleased to present an international, bilingual, interdisciplinary, and virtual symposium on Druze Studies.
The symposium will host online panels of original research on the Druze, and a round table discussion of scholars will speak to the status of Druze Studies. The keynote speaker will provide insight on publishing in English medium journals by multilingual scholars, and a film screening with discussion will complete the event.
Arabic and English interpretations will be provided.
To attend the event in person on November 15th, please join us in room 455, Watson Library, 1425 Jayhawk Blvd, Lawrence, KS, and on November 16th, at the Sabatini Multicultural Resource Center, 1299 Oread Ave, Lawrence, KS. Please see the program for details.
Register here to attend the event online: https://kansas.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_keyL6AyQTX619msIPau0lQ
For questions, contact Dr. Rami Zeedan, The University of Kansas, at: rzeedan@ku.edu.
Should you encounter technical issues accessing the virtual event, please email: druzestudies@ku.edu.
The symposium program in PDF format is attached here. Any updates in the program will be made below:
Symposium Program- Day 1, November 15, 2023 [All times are Central Standard Time (CST) in the US]
8:00-8:15 Symposium opening- Prof. Rami Zeedan
Hybrid: online and in person at Watson Library 455
8:00-8:15 افتتاح الندوة- بروفيسور رامي زيدان
Panel chair: Dr. Lindsey Pullum, Georgetown University.
Participants:
Dr. Ebtesam Barakat, Zefat Academic College and Bar-Ilan University, and Dr. Shahar Marnin-Distelfeld, Zefat Academic College and Oranim College: “Druze Women Artists in Israel: Shaping a Gendered and a Socio-Political Identity.” (Presentation in Arabic and English)
Ms. Markéta Odlová, Trinity College Dublin: “The Effects of Gendered and Ethnicized Conscription on Political and Civic Life: The Case of Israeli Circassian and Druze Citizens.” (Presentation in English)
Dr. Afifa (Eve) Kheir, The University of Adelaide: “Religious Unification, Regional Divergence: Exploring Multifaceted Linguistic Practices and Identities among the Israeli Druze and the Druze Community in the Golan Heights.” (Presentation in English)
Dr. Fadia Nasser-Abu Alhija and Reema Sgaier, Tel-Aviv University: “Factors Influencing Mathematics Achievement in High School Students: A Study of the Druze Population in Israel” (Presentation in English)
Hybrid: online and in person at Watson Library 455
8:15-9:45 الجلسة الأولى: الهوية الدرزية والاندماج الاجتماعي في إسرائيل وهضبة الجولان: الجنس والفن واللغة والتعليم والسياسة
Coffee break
Panel chair: Dr. Mike Wuthrich, The University of Kansas.
Participants:
Dr. Omri Eilat, The Druze Heritage Center and the University of Haifa: “Was there a "Druze Problem" in Late Ottoman Syria? War and Containment in the 1896 Hauran Rebellion.” (Presentation in English)
Ms. Aurore Kamichetty, University of Montreal (Université de Montréal) - University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne): "Appearing out of Thin Air: Rumors of Poison Gas Use Under French mandate in Syria During the Druze Revolt". (Presentation in English)
Dr. Tuba Yildiz, Istanbul University: “The Druze Sub-Governor Who Left the Ottoman Empire in a Dilemma: The Political Identity of Nasib Beik Jumblatt and the State’s Approach.” (Presentation in English)
Hybrid: online and in person at Watson Library 455
10:15-11:45 الجلسة الثانية: الصمود والمقاومة: المجتمعات الدرزية في ظل العثمانيين والانتداب الفرنسي
Lunch break
Keynote: Dr. MJ Curry, Associate Professor, Warner Graduate School of Education, University of Rochester, New York. (Virtual presentation)
Response: Mr. Geoffrey Husic, Librarian of Slavic and Near East Studies, The University of Kansas Libraries.
Moderator: Dr. Rami Zeedan, Associate Professor, The University of Kansas.
Hybrid: online and in person at Watson Library 455
12:30-14:00كلمة رئيسية: النشر في المجلات الإنجليزية من قبل باحثين متعددي اللغات
Symposium Program- Day 2, November 16, 2023 [All times are Central Standard Time (CST) in the US]
Participants:
Dr. Eduardo Wassim Aboultaif, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK)
Dr. Gebhard Fartacek, Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW)
Dr. Rabah Halabi, Oranim - Academic College of Education
Dr. Yusri Hazran, Shalem College
Dr. William F.S. Miles, Northeastern University
Dr. Makram Rabah, American University of Beirut
Dr. Birgit Schäbler, University of Erfurt
Dr. Hussam Timani, Christopher Newport University
Dr. Samer Traboulsi, University of North Carolina, Asheville
Dr. Rami Zeedan, University of Kansas
Online and for board members only. Board members- please access the meeting through a separate invitation sent to your email address.
7:00-8:00 اجتماع هيئة تحرير مجلة الدراسات الدرزية
Coffee break
Panel chair: Dr. Eduardo Wassim Aboultaif, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK)
Participants:
Dr. Maria Kastrinou, Brunel University London: “Still there: Reverberations of war in Jaramana and the Golan Heights” (Presentation in English)
Mr. Malek Rasamny, Universite Paris Nanterre: “Memories of the Flesh, Kinships of the Soul: Reincarnation, Sectarian Identity and the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990).” (Presentation in English)
Mr. Said Abou Zaki, Lebanese American University: “The Behavior of Druze ʿUqqal and their Political Role: A Historical Study.” (Presentation in Arabic)
Ms. Natalie El-Eid, Syracuse University: “Reincarnation and (Re)Connection: Testimonies from Transnational Druze Women” (Presentation in English)
Hybrid: online and in person at Watson Library 455
8:15-9:45 الجلسة الثالثة: الهوية الدرزية والسياسة في الشرق الأوسط والمهجر: وجهات نظر تاريخية ومعاصرة
Coffee break
Panel chair: Dr. Rami Zeedan, The University of Kansas
Participants:
Ms. Marianne Reed, The University of Kansas Libraries: “Launching the Druze Studies Journal (DSJ) in the age of digital publishing and open-access.”
Dr. Birgit Schäbler, the University of Erfurt.
Dr. Hussam Timani, Christopher Newport University.
Dr. Yusri Hazran, Shalem College.
Hybrid: online and in person at Sabatini Multicultural Resource Center.
10:15-11:45 طاولة مستديرة: واقع الدراسات الدرزية وإطلاق مجلة الدراسات الدرزية
Lunch break
12:15-13:35 Film Screening: Apples of the Golan, 2012 (Film in Arabic, subtitles provided in English).
13:35-14:15 Conversation:
Film directors: Jill Beardsworth and Keith Walsh (online)
Response and moderator: Dr. Lindsey Pullum, Georgetown University
Hybrid: online and in person at Sabatini Multicultural Resource Center.
12:15-14:15 عرض فيلم ونقاش: الطائفة الدرزية في هضبة الجولان
Coffee break
Panel chair: Dr. Samer Traboulsi, University of North Carolina, Asheville
Participants:
Dr. Randy Ramal, Mt San Antonio College: “Surmounting Philosophical Obstacles to Studying and Understanding the Druze Faith.” (Presentation in English)
Dr. Lorenz Nigst, Aga Khan University (AKU): “Some Thoughts on Askariyyat Poems” (Presentation in English)
Hybrid: online and in person at Sabatini Multicultural Resource Center.
Background
Studying the Druze communities in the Middle East has captivated scholars and researchers from various fields and backgrounds. In the last two decades, there has been an increased interest and English publications on the Druze, but mainly regarding the Druze in Israel and, to a lesser extent, the Druze in Lebanon. Such publications have been spread within more discipline-specific journals, such as History, Religious Studies, Sociology, Medicine, and Political Science. There has been, so far, a lack of focus on the Druze in Syria, Jordan, and diaspora communities. Moreover, there have not been many comparative projects between communities in various countries.
The Druze Studies Journal (https://journals.ku.edu/druze) and the Druze Studies Project at the University of Kansas (https://druze.ku.edu/) invite you to attend the international, bilingual, interdisciplinary, and virtual symposium, “Druze Studies- Past, Present, and Future,” on November 15-16, 2023. The symposium includes online panels of original research on the Druze, a roundtable of experts on the status of the Druze Studies, a keynote speaker on publishing in English-medium journals by multilingual scholars, and a film screening with discussion.
The symposium is cosponsored by the University of Kansas Libraries, the Hall Center for the Humanities, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Kansas African Studies Center, the Center for Global and International Studies, the Department of Religious Studies, the Jewish Studies Program, and the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging at the University of Kansas, and KU International Affairs.