2025 Hybrid Bilingual Interdisciplinary Conference: “Druze in the Levant and the Diaspora - Discourses of Tradition and Modernity”, The University of Kansas, 16-17 October 2025
Link to register to the Zoom webinar
مؤتمر ثنائي اللغة ومتعدد التخصصات 2025: الدروز في المشرق والمهجر –خطابات التقليد والحداثة، جامعة كانساس، 16-17تشرين الأول 2025
In this page:
Introduction
Conference program- day 1 (16 October 2025)
Conference program- day 2 (17 October 2025)
Background
Co-sponsors
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.
We are committed to open access scholarship. We publish the Druze Studies Journal in a diamond open access format, providing free and unrestricted access for both authors and readers. This core principle also guides our conference, demonstrating our commitment to accessibility and inclusivity. Thanks to our sponsors at the University of Kansas (listed at the end of this page), we offer free admission to the conference and language interpretation for most sessions. After the event, we will share session recordings and collaborate with presenters to ensure their work is publicly available on the conference website.
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://kansas.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_2PKh4XPeQMeNL-WFuctN5g.
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 (updated 23 August 2025). 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, The University of Kansas
Hybrid: online and in person at Watson Library 455
8:00-8:15
افتتاح المؤتمر- بروفيسور رامي زيدان, جامعة كانساس
Session 1
Sponsor: KU Center for Global and International Studies (CGIS)
Session chair: 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 2
Sponsor: KU Political Science Department and KU Jewish Studies Program
Session chair: Dr. Yusri Hazran, Shalem College
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
10:15-11:45
الجلسة الثانية: الدروز في إسرائيل – التعبئة السياسية والتغيير الاجتماعي
[سوف تشمل هذه الجلسة ترجمة فورية عربية<>إنجليزية]
Coffee break
Session 3
Sponsor: The Hall Center for the Humanities, KU History Department, KU Center for Global and International Studies
Session chair and discussant: Dr. Marie Brown, University of Kansas
In place of introduction: Charlie Johnson, Michael Peper, and Rami Zeedan, University of Kansas: “Bibliography of Periodical Literature on the Druze in 2024- A Scoping Review” [Presentation in English]
Keynote: Prof. Michael Provence, UC San Diego: "Rebellions, Mandates, and Margins: Placing Druze Studies in the Historiography of the Modern Middle East." [Presentation in English]
Hybrid: online and in person at Watson Library, West 3
12:15-13:45
الكلمة الرئيسية
بدلاً من المقدمة: السيد تشارلي جونسون، السيد مايكل بيبر، وبروفيسور رامي زيدان، جامعة كانساس: "قائمة المراجع للأدبيات الدورية حول الدروز في عام ٢٠٢٤" [عرض تقديمي باللغة الإنجليزية]
المحاضرة الرئيسية: البروفيسور مايكل بروفانس، جامعة كاليفورنيا، سان دييغو: الثورات، الانتدابات، والهوامش: وضع الدراسات الدرزية في تأريخ الشرق الأوسط الحديث
[سوف تشمل هذه الجلسة ترجمة فورية عربية<>إنجليزية]
Lunch break
Session 4
Sponsor: University of Kansas International Affairs (KUIA)
Session chair: TBِA
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
14:30-16:00
الجلسة الرابعة: الشتات الدرزي - الهوية والهجرة والروابط العابرة للحدود الوطنية
End of the first day of the conference
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 5
Sponsor: KU Department of Religious Studies
Session chair: Dr. Jacquelene Brinton, University of Kansas
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
8:15-9:45
الجلسة الخامسة: الفكر الديني والتقاليد الشرعية الدرزية
[سوف تشمل هذه الجلسة ترجمة فورية عربية<>إنجليزية]
Coffee break
Session 6
Sponsor: KU History Department
Session chair: Dr. Alaa Aldin Al Chomari, University of Tübingen, and Dr. Rami Zeedan, University of Kansas
Participants:
Dr. Michael Provence, University of California, San Diego: “Sultan al-Atrash and Syrian Unity in 1925” [Presentation in English]
Dr. Rami Abou Diab, Université La Sagesse: “The resurgence of the Druze particularism in as-Suwayda” [Presentation in Arabic]
Dr. Joshua M. Landis, University of Oklahoma: "Quwatli's and Shishakli's policy toward as-Suwayda in Comparison to Sharaa's policy” [Presentation in English]
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]
Mr. Nawras Aziz, Nantes University, and Mr. Mael Baummar, University of Pécs: “The Role of Customary Law in a Context of Legal Vacuum: A Case Study of the Suwayda Governorate, Syria (1925-2025)” [Presentation in Arabic]
Hybrid: online and in person at Watson Library 455
10:15-11:45
الجلسة السادسة: طاولة مستديرة بعنوان "الدروز السوريون: من ثورة 1925 إلى تحديات 2025"
[سوف تشمل هذه الجلسة ترجمة فورية عربية<>إنجليزية]
Coffee break
Session 7
Sponsor: TBA
Session chair: Dr. Asaad Alsaleh, Indiana University, Bloomington
Participants:
Dr. Najat Abdel Samad, Independent scholar [Presentation in Arabic]
Dr. Ghada al-Atrash, Alberta University of the Arts: "A Thirst Unquenched: Feminist Resistance and Narrative Silence in Najat Abdul Samad’s No Water Quenches Her" [Presentation in English]
Dr. Layal Abu Al-Ezz, Damascus University: "A critical and interpretive reading of the novel "No Water to Quench Her Thirst" by the Syrian novelist Najat Abdul Samad" [قراءة نقدية تأويلية لرواية "لا ماء يرويها للروائية السورية نجاة عٌبد اٌلصمد"][Presentation in Arabic]
Dr. Khaled Hussein, Independent scholar: Narrative Politics in Najat Abdel Samad's Novel "No Water to Quench Her"[ سَيَاسَاتُ السَّرد في رواية "لا ماء يرويها" لنجاة عبد الصمد] [Presentation in Arabic]
Hybrid: online and in person at Watson Library 455
12:15-13:45
الجلسة السابعة: منتدى الكتاب – “لا ماء يرويها” للدكتورة نجاة عبد الصمد
[سوف تشمل هذه الجلسة ترجمة فورية عربية<>إنجليزية]
Lunch break
Session 8
Sponsor: TBA
Dr. Brian Lagotte, University of Kansas: Graduate Students and Early Career Scholars’ Workshop in Global Studies and Druze Studies. (working title)
Druze Studies Award Committee: Dr. Hussam S. Timani, Christopher Newport University, Dr. Samer Traboulsi, Christopher Newport University, and Dr. Rabah Halabi: "2025 Best Graduate Student and Early Career Scholars Paper Award in Druze Studies"
Hybrid: online and in person at Watson Library 455
الجلسة 8: ورشة عمل لطلاب الدراسات العليا والباحثين في بداية مسيرتهم المهنية في الدراسات العالمية والدراسات الدرزية، وإعلان "جائزة أفضل بحث لطلاب الدراسات العليا والباحثين في بداية مسيرتهم المهنية في الدراسات الدرزية لعام 2025"
Conference closing
16:00-16:05 Conference opening- Prof. Rami Zeedan
Hybrid: online and in person at Watson Library 455
16:00-16:05 اختتام المؤتمر- بروفيسور رامي زيدان
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.
Link to the 2025 Call for Papers (submissions are no longer accepted)
This event is made possible thanks to the support of our co-sponsors at the University of Kansas:
All content on this webpage: "Druze in the Levant and the Diaspora - Discourses of Tradition and Modernity" © 2025 by Rami Zeedan is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/