Middle East Initiative Events
The Middle East Initiative hosts events on the Harvard campus with the dual objective of familiarizing the community with topics concerning the Middle East and creating the space for conversations about those topics. All events are free and open to the public.
Middle East Lecture Series | Fall 2009
Thursday, July 16, 4:30 - 6:00 PM
Assessing the Iranian Elections: Challenges to Revolutionary Governance?
Roy P. Mottahedeh, Gurney Professor of History, Faculty of Arts & Sciences, Harvard University
Baber Johansen, Professor of Islamic Religious Studies, Harvard Divinity School & Harvard Law School
Asghar Schirazi, Islamic Legal Studies Fellow, Harvard Law School
Location: Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Room 102, 38 Kirkland Street, Cambridge MA
Co-Sponsored by the Middle East Initiative and the Outreach Center at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies
Monday, October 5, 2009, 12:00 PM
One Hundred Days After the Iranian Elections: A Conversation with Iason Athanasiadis
Iason Athanasiadis, Photojournalist and former Neiman Fellow (2007-2008)
Location: L382, Littauer Building, Harvard Kennedy School
Mr. Athanasiadis was detained in Tehran while reporting on the recent presidential elections.
Co-Sponsored by the Middle East Initiative and the Nieman Foundation for Journalism and the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy
Thursday, October 8, 2009, 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
Fixing Broken Windows: US and EU Approaches to Security Sector Reform in Palestine, Lebanon, and Yemen
Yezid Sayegh, Professor of Middle East Studies, Department of War Studies, School of Social Science and Public Policy, King's College London
Location: Perkins Room, 4th Floor Rubenstein, Harvard Kennedy School
Co-Sponsored by the Middle East Initiative and the Outreach Center at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies
Tuesday, October 13, 2009, 5:00 - 6:30 PM
Negotiating with Iran: John Limbert with an Introduction by Ambassador Nicholas Burns
John Limbert, Distinguished Professor of International Affairs, The U.S. Naval Academy
Location: Bell Hall, Belfer Building, Harvard Kennedy School
A discussion of John Limbert's new book, Negotiating with Iran, out this fall. Followed by a book signing at the Harvard Coop Bookstore, 1400 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge
Sponsored by the Middle East Initiative
Friday, October 23, 2009, 1:30 - 3:30 PM
Goldstone Report: Should Hamas and Israel be investigated for war crimes?
Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, The Dubai Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School; Director, Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy, American University of Beirut; Syndicated Columnist and Editor at Large, The Daily Star
Location:
Carr Center Conference Room, Rubenstein Building, 2nd Floor, Harvard Kennedy School
The Goldstone Report on Gaza, commissioned by the UN Human Rights Council, has immense political and legal implications for both the Palestinians and Israelis, and everyone else in the Middle East.
Will this report provide an important potential step towards reviving a serious Arab-Israeli peace process? And what are the challenges it raises for the US, Europe and the region? Join us for analysis and discussion.
Co-sponsored by the Middle East Initiative and the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy
Wednesday, October 28, 2009, 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM
The Palestinian Refugee Dilemma: Problems and Prospects for a Negotiated Solution
Susan Akram, Clinical Professor, Boston University School of Law
Terry Rempel, PhD Candidate, University of Exeter; former Founding Member and Coordinator of Research & Information at BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency & Refugee Rights
Location: T275, Taubman Building, Harvard Kennedy School
Co-Sponsored by the Middle East Initiative and the Outreach Center at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies
Tuesday, November 10, 2009, 5:00 - 6:30 PM
Invisible Citizens: The Bedouin in the Negev
Yeela Raanan, Regional Council for the Unrecognized Villages; college professor in the Negev
Khalil Alumur, Representative of the local committee in Alsirri Village, an unrecognized village in the Negev
Moderated by Ahmad Amara, Global Advocacy Fellow and Clinical Instructor, Human Rights Program, Harvard Law School
Location: Pound Hall 108, Harvard Law School, 1563 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Co-Sponsored by the Middle East Initiative, the Outreach Center at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies and the Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School
Wednesday, November 18, 2009, 7:00 PM
My Prison, My Home: Reading and Book Signing with Haleh Esfandiari
Haleh Esfandiari, Founding Director, Middle East Program, Woodrow Wilson Center
Location: The Harvard Coop Bookstore, 1400 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge
A reading and signing of Haleh Esfandiari’s new book, My Prison, My Home: One Woman’s Story of Captivity in Iran, out this fall.
Thursday, November 19, 2009, 5:30 – 7:00 PM
Knowledge Beyond Books: The Case of the New Library of Alexandria
Ismail Serageldin, Director, Library of Alexandria
Location: Wiener Auditorium, Taubman Building, Ground Floor, Harvard Kennedy School
Co-Sponsored by the Middle East Initiative and the Middle East Forum at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies
Middle East Diplomacy Series | Fall 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009, 4:30 - 5:45 PM
Middle East Diplomacy Series: H.E. Abdallah Baali, Algerian Ambassador to the United States with an Introduction by Ambassador Nicholas Burns
H.E. Abdallah Baali, Ambassador of Algeria to the United States
Location: Belfer Center Library, 3rd Floor Littauer Building, Harvard Kennedy School
Co-Sponsored by the Middle East Initiative, the Dubai Initiative and the Arab Caucus at the Harvard Kennedy School
Monday, November 23, 2009, 4:30 - 6:00 PM
Middle East Diplomacy Series: H.E. Michael Oren, Israeli Ambassador to the United States with an Introduction by Ambassador Nicholas Burns
H.E. Michael Oren, Ambassador of Israel to the United States
Location: Starr Auditorium, 2nd Floor Belfer Building, Harvard Kennedy School
PLEASE NOTE: This event is only open to Harvard and other university ID holders. No large bags or backpacks will be allowed.
Co-Sponsored by the Middle East Initiative and the Israel Caucus at the Harvard Kennedy School
Special Events | Fall 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009, 6:00 - 7:30 PM
Forum Event: Iran: War... or Peace?
Mohsen Milani, Professor of Politics and Chair of the Department of Government and International Affairs, University of South Florida
Elliott Abrams, Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, the Council on Foreign Relations
Moderated by Ambassador R. Nicholas Burns, Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Politics, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, U.S. Department of State (2005-2008)
Location: John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum, Littauer Building, Harvard Kennedy School
Co-sponsored by the Middle East Initiative and the Institute of Politics at the Harvard Kennedy School
The Middle East Initiative, in conjunction with the MENA Conference, present:
Friday, November 13, 2009, 5:00 - 6:00 PM
From Tradition to Innovation: Leading Change in the Middle East & North Africa
Rima Khalaf, Former Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the Regional Bureau for Arab States, UN Development Programme and Former Deputy Prime Minister of Jordan
Location: Nye ABC, 5th Floor, Taubman Building, Harvard Kennedy School
3rd Annual Harvard Arab Weekend Conference Keynote Address
Co-sponsored by the Middle East Initiative, the Institute of Politics, the Dubai Initiative and the Arab Caucus at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Harvard Arab Alumni Association
Conferences | Fall 2009
Tuesday, November 17 – Friday, November 20, 2009
MENA Gender and Economics Symposium: From Research to Action
In conjunction with the Center for Arab Women Training and Research and the World Bank
Middle East Film Series | Fall 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009, 7:10 PM
Tickets to the Boston Premiere of Amreeka (USA/Canada/Kuwait, 2009)
Location: Kendall Square Cinema, One Kendall Square, Cambridge
Thank you to everyone who has expressed interest in seeing Amreeka. Unfortunately we have reached capacity and are no longer accepting requests for tickets. However it is a great film and we encourage you to see it. If you would like to purchase tickets for showings at Kendall, you may do so here.
Film Description: "Amreeka" chronicles the adventures of a single mother who leaves the West Bank with her teenage son with dreams of an exciting future in the promised land of small town Illinois. It is a universal journey into the lives of a family of immigrants and first generation teenagers caught between their heritage and the new world in which they now live, and the bittersweet search for a place to call home.
Co-Sponsored by the Middle East Initiative and the Outreach Center at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies
Wednesday, October 21, 2009, 6:00 - 8:00 PM
Under the Bombs (Lebanon, 2007)
Location: Wiener Auditorium, Taubman Building, Ground Floor, Harvard Kennedy School
The film will be shown on Wednesday, October 21st from 6:15 to 8:00 pm. Complimentary pizza and soft drinks will be available starting at 6:00 pm.
Film Description: Zeina lives in Dubai. In the midst of a divorce, she sends her son Karim to stay with her sister in Kherbet Selem, a small village in the South of Lebanon, to spare him from his parents' fighting. A few days later war breaks out in Lebanon, and Zeina begins a desperate trip to reunite with her son.
Co-Sponsored by the Middle East Initiative and the Outreach Center at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies
Wednesday, December 2, 2009, 6:00 - 8:00 PM
The Edge of Heaven(Turkey/Germany, 2007)
Location: Wiener Auditorium, Taubman Building, Ground Floor, Harvard Kennedy School
The film will be shown on Wednesday, December 2nd from 6:15 to 8:00 pm. Complimentary pizza and soft drinks will be available starting at 6:00 pm.
Film Description: “The Edge of Heaven” follows six characters whose lives become interwoven as they travel between Germany and Turkey. The film explores questions of identity, generational differences, immigration, death and sexuality. It won “Best Screenplay” at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.
Co-Sponsored by the Middle East Initiative and the Outreach Center at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies and the Kokkalis Program on Southeastern and East-Central Europe
This is a preliminary list. Please visit our website often as more events will be posted throughout the fall.
Spring 2009 MEI Events list
Fall 2008 MEI Events list
Spring 2008 MEI Events list
Fall 2007 MEI Events list
Spring 2007 MEI Events list
For directions to the Harvard Kennedy School campus, please visit: http://www.hks.harvard.edu/about/contact
