2023 Interdisciplinary Symposium: “Druze Studies- Past, Present, and Future”- call for papers

Please note: Call for papers for the 2023 event is now closed. Please visit the event's page at https://druze.ku.edu/2023symposium

If you are interested in our future event, please check out the 2025 conference page at https://druze.ku.edu/2025druzeconference 

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.

For this purpose, the Druze Studies Journal and the Druze Studies Project at the University of Kansas, will be holding a virtual interdisciplinary symposium, “Druze Studies- Past, Present, and Future,” on November 15-16, 2023. The symposium will include online panels of original research on the Druze. It will also feature two roundtables of experts on the status of the Druze Studies and on the challenges of publishing in academic peer-reviewed journals in English by non-native speakers.

We seek submissions to the symposium of original, unpublished research projects (or recently published) that focus on the Druze as a whole, a specific Druze community or communities, or a comparison between the Druze and others. Presentations can be from a discipline-specific approach or those who employ an interdisciplinary approach.

Panels and papers can be in English or Arabic. Live interpretation will be provided: English to Arabic / Arabic to English.

We encourage submissions from established scholars in the field, with institutional affiliation or independent scholars, and emerging scholars (including doctoral students).

Note on the online format: The event is fully online, with the ability for scholars and audience to participate over our Zoom webinar. However, if you would like to visit our campus in Lawrence, Kansas, we are more than happy to welcome you. Most of the components of this event will have a small in person audience, including students and faculty, with whom you can engage. If you are planning to visit us, please contact us as soon as possible. We are happy to explore options to assist a few presenters, although in a limited capacity.

Please submit your individual paper proposal or a panel proposal of three or four presenters using the links below:

The due date for submissions is October 3, 2023. Accepted panels or papers will be notified by October 15, 2023. Participation in the symposium is free of charge.

For any questions, please contact Dr. Rami Zeedan (rzeedan@ku.edu), Associate Professor at the University of Kansas.

This symposium is co-sponsored by the University of Kansas Libraries, the Hall Center for the Humanities, the Kansas African Studies Center, the Center for Global and International Studies, the Department of Religious Studies, and the Jewish Studies Program.

To check the preliminary program of the event, please check the event's page: https://druze.ku.edu/2023symposium 

This event is made possible thanks to the support of our co-sponsors at the University of Kansas: