2025 Hybrid Bilingual Interdisciplinary Conference: “Druze in the Levant and the Diaspora - Discourses of Tradition and Modernity”
مؤتمر ثنائي اللغة ومتعدد التخصصات 2025: الدروز في المشرق والمهجر –خطابات التقليد والحداثة
The University of Kansas
جامعة كانساس
16-17 October 2025
16-17
تشرين الأول 2025
Introduction
The Druze Studies Journal and the Druze Studies Project at the University of Kansas are pleased to present our 2025 international event: Hybrid, Bilingual, and Interdisciplinary Conference—“Druze in the Levant and the Diaspora - Discourses of Tradition and Modernity.”
The conference features online and in-person sessions showcasing original research on the Druze in the Levant, a dedicated session on Druze diaspora communities, a roundtable of experts addressing the challenges faced by the Druze in Syria, a keynote speaker, a book forum, and a workshop for graduate students.
Arabic and English interpretations will be provided in most sessions.
To attend the event in person, please join us in Room 455, Watson Library, 1425 Jayhawk Blvd, Lawrence, KS. Please see the program for details.
Register here to attend the event online: https://kusurvey.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eKItGcHNnAyksIu (you will receive an email in early October with a Zoom webinar link)
For questions, contact Dr. Rami Zeedan, Associate Professor at the University of Kansas, at rzeedan@ku.edu.
If you encounter technical issues accessing online resources, please email druzestudies@ku.edu.
The conference program in PDF format is attached here. Any updates in the program will be made below:
Conference Program- Day 1, October 16, 2025 [All times are Central Daylight Time (CDT) in the USA]
8:00-8:15 Conference opening- Prof. Rami Zeedan
Hybrid: online and in person at Watson Library 455
8:00-8:15 افتتاح الندوة- بروفيسور رامي زيدان
Session chair: TBD
Sponsor: TBA
Participants:
Ms. Anna Filipi, Charles University: “Minority Behavior during Popular Uprisings and Civil War: Syrian Druze” [Presentation in English]
Ms. Rima Barakat, Lebanese American University: “Druze Public Sculptures in Lebanon: An Analysis and a Comparison with Muslim and Christian Lebanese Monuments” [Presentation in English]
Dr. Yusuf Dinçel, Turkish National Police Academy: “Druze Political Dynamics: A Comparative Study of Political Engagement in Lebanon and Israel” [Presentation in English]
Dr. Rami Zeedan, University of Kansas: “Generational Shifts in Language and Identity: Exploring Arabic, Hebrew, and Self-Identification Among Druze Youth and Adults in Israel” [Presentation in English]
Hybrid: online and in person at Watson Library 455
8:15-9:45 الجلسة الأولى: الدروز في بلاد الشام - تشكيل الهوية، والتعبير الثقافي، والتحديات السياسية
Coffee break
Session chair: TBD
Sponsor: TBA
Participants:
Dr. Dina Siegel, Utrecht University: “Organized crime and normalization of violence in the Druze villages in the Galilee” [Presentation in English]
Dr. Salim Brake, Open University of Israel: “The Elections Among the Druze for the 20-25th Knesset in Israel” (الانتخابات لدى الدروز للكنيست العشرين وحتى الخامسة والعشرين في إسرائيل) [Presentation in Arabic]
Dr. William F.S. Miles, Northeastern University, Boston: “‘Modernization’ Discourse in the Israeli Druze Context, 1975-2021: From Egon Mayer to Abbas & Court” [Presentation in English]
Dr. Eve Afifa Kheir, The University of Adelaide: “New Druze Recruits in the Golan Heights: Shifting Identities and Military Integration” [Presentation in English]
Hybrid: online and in person at Watson Library 455
10:15-11:45الجلسة الثانية: الدروز في إسرائيل – التعبئة السياسية والتغيير الاجتماعي
Lunch break
Session chair: TBD
Sponsor: TBA
In place of introduction: Charlie Johnson, Michel Peper, and Rami Zeedan, University of Kansas: “Bibliography of Periodical Literature on the Druze in 2024” [Presentation in English]
Keynote: TBA
Hybrid: online and in person at Watson Library, West 3
12:30-14:00 الكلمة الرئيسية: سيتم الإعلان عنها لاحقًا
Session chair: TBD
Sponsor: TBA
Participants:
Dr. Eric Lob, Florida International University: “The Role of the Syrian Druze Diaspora Community in Strengthening Relations between Venezuela and its Middle East Allies” [Presentation in English]
Dr. Nina Maadad and Dr. Minerva Nasser-eddine, The University of Adelaide: “In their own voices: Druze Migration to Australia” [Presentation in English]
Mr. Mohamad AlAshmar, University of St Andrews: “The Syrian Druze Diaspora: Advocacy, Humanitarian Support, and Historical Continuity in Times of Conflict” [Presentation in English]
Hybrid: online and in person at Watson Library 455
الجلسة الرابعة: الشتات الدرزي - الهوية والهجرة والروابط العابرة للحدود الوطنية
Conference Program- Day 2, Friday, October 17, 2025 [All times are Central Daylight Time (CDT) in the USA]
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. 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
Session chair: TBA
Sponsor: TBA
Participants:
Mr. Said Abou Zaki, Lebanese American University (LAU): “Intellectual Living: A Study of the Foundations and Goals of the Religious Conduct of Druze ‘Uqqal in Light of the Homiletic Heritage” (“العيش العقلي: بحث في أسس مسلك عُقّال الدّروز الديني وغاياته في ضوء الموروث الوعظي”) [Presentation in Arabic]
Ms. Maren Hoeppner, Freie University Berlin: “Druze Family Law in the Context of Lebanon's Legal Pluralism” [Presentation in English]
Dr. Gebhard Fartacek, Austrian Academy of Sciences: “Druze Identity: On the function of reincarnation cases” [Presentation in English]
Hybrid: online and in person at Watson Library 455
الجلسة الخامسة: الفكر الديني والتقاليد الشرعية الدرزية [ستتضمن هذه الجلسة ترجمة باللغتين العربية والإنجليزية]
Coffee break
Session chair: TBA
Sponsor: TBA
Participants:
Dr. Michael Provence, University of California, San Diego: “Title- TBD”
Dr. Rami Abou Diab, Université La Sagesse: “The resurgence of the Druze particularism in as-Suwayda” [Presentation in Arabic]
Dr. Raed Ghanem, Independent scholar: “Traditional Druze Leadership and Customary Law in as-Suwayda: Governance in the Absence of the State (1925–2025)” [Presentation in Arabic]
Mr. Mazen Ezzi, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS): “Governance and Resilience in the Absence of the State: The Druze of as-Suwayda from the 2011 Uprising to the Fall of the Regime in 2024” [Presentation in Arabic]
Hybrid: online and in person at Watson Library 455
الجلسة السادسة: طاولة مستديرة بعنوان "الدروز السوريون: من ثورة 1925 إلى تحديات 2025" [ستتضمن هذه الجلسة ترجمة باللغتين العربية والإنجليزية]
Lunch break
Session chair: TBA
Sponsor: TBA
Participants:
Dr. Najat Abdel Samad, independent scholar
Dr. Ghada al-Atrash, Alberta University of the Arts
Dr. Layal Abu Al-Ezz, Independent scholar
Dr. Khaled Hussein, Independent scholar
Hybrid: online and in person at Watson Library 455
[الجلسة السابعة: منتدى الكتاب – “لا ماء يرويها” للدكتورة نجاة عبد الصمد [ستحتوي هذه الجلسة على ترجمة عربية<>إنجليزية
Coffee break
Session chair: TBA
Sponsor: TBA
Participants: TBA
Hybrid: online and in person at Watson Library 455
الجلسة 8: ورشة عمل طلاب الدراسات العليا (سيتم الإعلان عن الموضوع لاحقًا)
Hybrid: online and in person at Watson Library 455
16:00-16:05 اختتام المؤتمر
Background
Over the past two decades, scholarly interest in the Druze communities of the Middle East has grown steadily, with an increasing number of English-language publications focusing primarily on the Druze in Israel and, to a lesser extent, in Lebanon. These studies have appeared across a range of discipline-specific journals, including History, Religious Studies, Sociology, Political Science, and Medicine. However, significant gaps remain, particularly with respect to the Druze in Syria, Jordan, and diaspora communities. Furthermore, comparative studies that engage multiple national contexts or examine transnational dimensions of Druze identity and experience are still relatively rare.
Building upon the success of the 2023 Druze Symposium at the University of Kansas and the newly launched Druze Studies Journal, published by the KU Libraries, the 2025 Druze Conference seeks to address these gaps by fostering interdisciplinary and comparative discussions that bring together scholars from diverse backgrounds and institutions. This gathering builds on the momentum of initiatives at the University of Kansas and others, expanding the scope to include a broader geographic and thematic focus.
The conference is generously cosponsored by our partners at the University of Kansas (List to be added soon).