MES Events
In September 2009, Middle East Studies program launched Joseph and Harvey Meyerhoff Family Charitable Funds sponsored Lecture Series.
Spring 2012
April 19, 2012 - Movie Screening
"Keys To My Home"
A documentary by Luna Shad about an Iranian journalist who fled in the aftermath of the disputed 2009 elections.
April 19, 2012 - Brownbag Lecture
"Solutions for Lebanon"
by Alain Bifani, Director General at Ministry of Finance in Lebanon. This event was off the record.
April 4, 2012 - Brownbag Lecture
"Doing Business in the Middle East: Before and After the Arab Spring”
by Mehdi Fichtali, visiting scholar at Georgetown University's Center for Contemporary Arab Studies (CCAS). For summary of the lecture, please click here.
March 28, 2012 - Brownbag Lecture
"The Arab World in Figures"
by Mehdi Fichtali, visiting scholar at Georgetown University's Center for Contemporary Arab Studies (CCAS). For summary of the lecture, please click here.
March 7, 2012 - Brownbag Lecture
"Obama (Sort Of) Leaves the Middle East"
by Leon Wieseltier, the Harvey Meyerhoff Lecturer for the academic 2011-2012, and literary editor of The New Republic. For summary of the lecture, please click here.
Fall 2011
December 5, 2011 - Brownbag Lecture
"After the BICI Report: What Next for Bahrain?"
Discussion by Senator Ron Wyden, (D-OR); Brian Dooley Director, Human Rights Defenders Program, Human Rights First; Andrew Exum, Senior Fellow, Center for a New American Security; Toby Jones, Assistant Professor of History, Rutgers University; Matt Duss, Director, Middle East Progress, Center for American Progress. Link to a video recording of this event is at http://pomed.org/after-the-bici-report-what-next-for-bahrain/#.Tt0tErL7aHP.
December 2, 2011 - The Meyerhoff Lecture
"The Future of Arab Revolutions"
by Leon Wieseltier, the Harvey Meyerhoff Lecturer for the academic 2011-2012, and literary editor of The New Republic. This lecture was off the record.
November 9, 2011 - Brownbag Lecture
"The Ideological Contest in the Age of Arab Revolutions"
by Thanassis Cambanis, an author, columnist for The Boston Globe, a correspondent for The Atlantic, and a regular contributor to The New York Times and other publications. For summary of the lecture, please click here.
October 26, 2011 - Brownbag Lecture
"Into the Syrian Revolution"
Pannel discussion with Dr. Radwan Ziadeh, Director of the Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies, and Ammar Abdulhamid, Human Rights activist and founder of the Tharwa Foundation. For summary of the lecture, please click here.
October 5, 2011 - Brownbag Lecture
"Economic Briefing on Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco"
by Jose Gijon, Senior Economist, International Monetary Fund. This event was off the record.
September 28, 2011 - Brownbag Lecture
"Wanted Dead or Alive"
by Benjamin Runkle, a former U.S. Defense Department and National Security Council official, is the author of Wanted Dead or Alive: Manhunts From Geronimo to Bin Laden. For summary of the lecture, please click here.
September 21, 2011 - Brownbag Lecture
"Update and Discussion on Kurdistan: Perspectives from Parliamentarians"
by Dr. Kemal Kerkuki, Speaker of the Parliament of Kurdistan, and a Member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). For summary of the lecture, please click here.
September 14, 2011 - The Meyerhoff Lecture
"Reflections on September 11"
by Leon Wieseltier, the Harvey Meyerhoff Lecturer for the academic 2011-2012, and literary editor of The New Republic. For summary of the lecture, please click here.
Spring 2011
March 30, 2011 - Brownbag Lecture
"Is It the Arab Spring?"
by Dr. Habib Malik, professor of history and chair of humanities and social sciences at Lebanese American University (Byblos campus). For summary of the lecture, please click here.
| March 2, 2011 - Brownbag Lecture
"The Fear Has Been Defeated: Reporter's Account of the Egyptian and Arab Revolutions of 2011" |
February 23, 2011 - Brownbag Lecture
by Dr. Jeffrey Herf, professor of modern European history at University of Maryland, College Park. His lecture was based on his later book titled Nazi Propaganda for the Arab World.
February 16, 2011 - Brownbag Lecture
"Reflections on the Arab Revolution of 2011"
by Leon Wieseltier, literary editor of The New Republic and Professor Fouad Ajami, director of Middle East Studies program.
February 9, 2011 - Brownbag Lecture
"Vatican and Islam"
by George Weigel, Catholic Theologian, distinguished fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, and author of The End and the Beginning: Pope John Paul II -- The Victory of Freedom, the Last Years, the Legacy. For summary of the lecture, please click here.
February 2, 2011 - Brownbag Lecture
"Tunisia, Egypt, and the Mechanics of Revolution"
by Professor Camille Pecastaing of Middle East Studies at SAIS, Dina Guirguis of The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and Samuel Tadros, Georgetown University graduate student. For summary of the lecture, please click here.
Fall 2010
November 17, 2010 - Brownbag Lecture
"Tolerance and Freedom of Expression in a Globalised World"
by Flemming Rose, Danish journalist, author and cultural editor at the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.He is best known for commissioning and publishing the Prophet Muhammad’s cartoons in 2005. For a summary of the lecture, please click here.
November 10, 2010 - Brownbag Lecture
"Covering the War in Iraq: American Journalism and Coverage in the Middle East"
by Cal Perry, former CNN Bureau Chief in Baghdad and Beirut. For a summary of the lecture, please click here.
October 27, 2010 - Brownbag Lecture
"Torn Country: Turkey Between Secularism and Islamism"
by Zeyno Baran, Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute. For a summary of this lecture, please click here.
October 20, 2010 - Brownbag Lecture
"Bahrain: Realities, Reforms, and Visions"
by Ms. Houda Ezra Ebrahim Nonoo, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the United States
September 29, 2010 - Brownbag Lecture
"Obama's War - Inside the War on al Qaeda"
by Bruce Riedel, Former CIA Officer and Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director on Near East Affairs on the National Security Council; Currently Senior Fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings Institution. For a summary of this lecture, please click here.
September 22, 2010 - Brownbag Lecture, co-sponsored with Strategic Studies program
"Grand Strategy and Its Enemies"
by Mr. Charles Hill, the author of the newly released Grand Strategies: Literature, Statecraft and World Order, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution and a lecturer in Internatinal Studies at Yale University. For a summary of this lecture, please click here.
September 15, 2010 - Brownbag Lecture
"Obama, the U.S., and a Changing Middle East"
by Dr. Robert Malley of International Crisis Group. For a summary of this lecture, please click here.
Spring 2010
February 17, 2010 - Brownbag Lecture
"Israel-Palestine: The Inevitable Bi-National State"
by Meron Benvenisti, Ph.D.; author, activist and former deputy Mayor of Jerusalem. For a summary of this lecture please click here.
February 24, 2010 - Brownbag Lecture
"Why the Peace Process Will Never Bring Peace"
by Elliott Abrams, former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director on the National Security Council for Near East and North African Affairs; currently Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. For a summary of this lecture please click here.
March 3, 2010 - Brownbag Lecture
“Kurdistan and Iraq: The National Elections and Beyond”
by Qubad Talabani, the representative of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in the United States. For a summary of this lecture please click here.
March 10, 2010 - Brownbag Lecture
"Obama's War: Afghanistan, Pakistan and Al Qaeda"
by Bruce Riedel, former CIA Officer and Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director on Near East Affairs on the National Security Council; currently Senior Fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings Institution. For a summary of this lecture please click here.
March 24, 2010 - Brownbag Lecture
"Perplexed Clerics: Clerical Politics in Post-Election Iran"
by Mr. Mehdi Khalaji, Visiting Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. This event was cosponsored by Strategic Studies and Middle East Studies programs and was the second installment in a three part speaker series on Iran. For a summary of this lecture please click here.
March 31, 2010 - Brownbag Lecture
"What About Yemen?"
by Dr. Christopher Boucek, an Associate in the Carnegie Endowment Middle East Program. For a summary of this lecture please click here.
April 21 - Brownbag Lecture
Book Launch of "Crossing Mandelbaum Gate"
by Kai Bird, the Pulitzer Prize winning author and columnist.
Fall 2009
September 9, 2009 - Brownbag Lecture
"Last Chance: The Middle East in Balance"
by David Gardner, the Chief Leader Writer for The Financial Times and an author of the book after which the lecture is named.
| September 16, 2009 - The Meyerhoff Lecture
"Why a One State Solution is a Bad Idea" Dr. Ibish based this lecture on his recently released book "What’s Wrong with the One-State Solution?" In it he examines the arguments generally put forward by Palestinian and other Arab American proponents of abandoning the goal of ending the occupation and establishing a Palestinian state and instead seeking to promote a single, democratic state in all of Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. David Makovsky, SAIS Adjunct Professor moderated this event. For a summary of this lecture please click here. |
| October 7, 2009 - The Year of Religion at SAIS event
"The Challenge of Moderation in Islam: Egypt's Religious Institution Versus Extremism" |
October 21, 2009 - Brownbag Lecture
"Beyond Arabian Sands: Oman in the 21st Century"
by Dr. Alexandra Parrs, who spent almost two years in Muscat, Oman. She was a guest lecturer at Modern College of Business and Sciences where she taught Public Speaking and International Relations. She initiated and directed a project for business students on international companies’ business experiences in Oman. Professor Parrs was also a guest lecturer at Al-Bayan Media College where, in addition to teaching Cultural Anthropology and Cross Cultural Communication, she directed a cross-cultural communication project between American University and Al-Bayan.
October 28, 2009 - The Meyerhoff Lecture
"Iran and the Bomb: How Likely? How Dangerous?"
by Dr. Patrick Clawson of Washington Institute for Near East Policy and Dr. Ray Takeyh of Council on Foreign Relations. They discussed the Obama Administration's engaging Iran as part of its effort to ensure that Teheran does not gain a nuclear weapon. Iranian President Ahmadinejad has vowed never to yield its nuclear capability. How dangerous is the Iranian effort? What are the regional implications for the Middle East? For a summary of this lecture please click here.
November 4, 2009 - Brownbag Lecture
"Israelis, Palestinians, and the Superstition of the Status Quo"
by Leon Wieseltier, a writer, critic, and literary editor of The New Republic. For a summary of this lecture please click here.
November 18, 2009 - Brownbag Lecture
"A New Ottoman Empire? Is Turkey's re-emergence as a regional power a return to 19th century politics?"
by Asli Aydintasbas, a columnist for Daily Milliyet. As a secular democracy, modern Turkey had always turned its face to the West. But nowadays Turkey's interests are shifting. Shunned by the European Union and influenced by ideas from a new class of conservative politicians, Turks are re-discovering the Middle East and the Muslim world. What they see in the East is a leadership role and major trade potential. Asli Aydintasbas discussed whether Turkey can become a leader in the Muslim world and keep its democracy at Western standards. For a summary of this lecture please click here.
November 30, 2009 - The Meyerhoff Lecture
"The Road from Damascus: Can Syria's Bashar Asad Make Peace with Israel?"
by Mr. Andrew Tabler. Soref fellow in the Program on Arab Politics at The Washington Institute and the cofounder and former editor-in-chief of Syria Today, Syria's first private-sector English-language magazine, and has been a media consultant for Syrian nongovernmental organizations (2003-2004) under the patronage of Syrian first lady Asma al-Asad. For a summary of this lecture please click here.
Spring 2009
February 25, 2009 - Brownbag Lecture
"Fractured Politics and Getting to Two States"
by Amjad Atallah and Danile Levy, the co-directors of the Middle East Task Force at The New America Foundation.
March 30, 2009 - Brownbag Lecture
"Syria and Lebanon relations in the shadow of Iran"
by Dr. Habib Malik, Professor of History and Cultural Studies at Lebanese American University (Byblos campus) and Mr. Ammar Abdulhamid, Syrian dissident, author and founder of The Tharwa Foundation discussed this topic.
April 4, 2009 - Brownbag Event
"The Future of Lebanon"
by Dr. Habib Malik, an Associate Professor of History & Cultural Studies at the Lebanese American University (Byblos campus).
April 8, 2009 - Brownbag Lecture
"Cool" Sheikhs and Salafi Hip-Hop: The New Landscape of Islamic Authority and Social Movements "
by Dr. Peter Mandaville, an Associate Professor in the Department of Public and International Affairs and Co-Director of Mason’s Center for Global Studies.
Fall 2008
"The Syrian-Saudi Conflict in Lebanon"
by Nibras Kazimi, a visiting scholar at the Hudson Institute and columnist for the New York Sun discussed this topic.
"Islamism and the Threats to Free Speech in a Globalized World"
Mr. Fleming Rose, the cultural editor of the Jyllands-Posten newspaper in Denmark discussed this topic.
"Iran's New Middle East: Pax Americana vs. the Persian Worldview"
by Karim Sadjadpour , an associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace discussed this topic after returning from a two-year long visit to Iran.
"Among the Kurds"
by Dr. Camille Pecastaing, Assistant Professor in Middle East Studies at SAIS. Dr. Pecastaing discussed this topic based on research completed in the Iraqi Kurdish region during Summer 2006.
"Five Years Later: Reflections of the 9/11 Commission"
by Dr. Warren Bass, served on the 9/11 Commission, is currently the non-fiction book editor for The Washington Post, and is author of Support Any Friend: Kennedy's Middle East and the Making of the US-Israeli Alliance.
"The Future of Iraq"
by Qubad Talabani, the Washington, DC representative from the Kurdish regional government in Iraq. He is also the son of the former President of Iraq, Jalal Talabani.