Call for Applications:

INTERNATIONAL WINTER SCHOOL
FOR DOCTORAL AND POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS

Cairo, December 5-16, 2010
'Zukunftsphilologie: Revisiting the Canons of Textual Scholarship'

Within the framework of the Project 'Zukunftsphilologie:
Revisiting the Canons of Textual Scholarship' and in cooperation with the Department of Arab and Islamic Civilizations at the American University in Cairo, the Berlin-based Forum Transregionale Studien and the American University in Cairo invite applications for an international Winter School on the theme:

TEXTUAL PRACTICES BEYOND EUROPE 1500-1900

The Winter School is scheduled for December 5-16, 2010 at the downtown-campus of the American University in Cairo (AUC). Twenty-four scholars will be given the opportunity to present and discuss their current research on the function, development, meaning, and practice of philology across varied communities and geographies. The Winter School will be chaired by a group of scholars including Manan Ahmed (Institut fuer Islamwissenschaft, Freie Universitaet Berlin), Muzaffar Alam (Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations, University of Chicago), Islam Dayeh (Freie Universitaet Berlin), Nelly Hanna (Department of Arab and Islamic Civilizations, AUC), Martin Mulsow (Universitaet Erfurt), and Angelika Neuwirth (Institut fuer Arabistik und Semitistik, Freie Universitaet Berlin).

The project Zukunftsphilologie endeavours to promote and emphasize primary textual scholarship beyond the classical humanistic canon. In an age of advanced communication, intellectual specialization, and unprecedented migration of knowledge and people, the discipline of philology assumes new relevance. Zukunfts- philologie aspires to support research in marginalized, undocumented and displaced varieties of philology by revisiting pre-colonial texts and scholarly traditions in Asia, Africa, the Middle East as well as in Europe.

In order to promote historically-conscious philology, the project will foster research in the following
areas: the genealogy and transformations of philological practice, philology?s place in the system of knowledge (e.g. its relation to science, theology, and jurisprudence), philology and the university, and the relation of philology to nation and empire.

Zukunftsphilologie aims to examine the role mobility, networks of scholars, calamities, and expulsions play in the dissemination and globalization of knowledge.

What is the impact of migration, expulsions and calamities (such as the expulsion of Jews and Muslims from Al-Andalus, the plague, or the displacements and movements accompanied by the expansion of the Ottoman, Mongol or British Empires) on textual practice? How does the mobility of scholars, books, and manuscripts bring about scientific innovation (e.g. in tenth-century Baghdad, during the European Renaissance, during the Ming dynasty or during the 18th and 19th century)?

How can the world of readers and carriers which surrounded a text since its inception be imagined?

How can the literary imagination within texts, their transformative powers, and social function be investigated historically, historiographically, and now, in our own present time? How did texts have different meanings for different readers, or different layers of meanings, which could be utilized by readers or users? How have sacred texts been used in different societies to guide their readers or to control them?

How were texts used as a source of power? How did certain groups gain or consolidate their power through texts?

To situate a text philologically, historically, culturally is to trace also the networks of readers, and to delineate its movements across linguistic, geographical and temporal borderlines.

A text emerges from a particular context; it also emerges among a context of readers; how can one trace the way that readers absorb or alter it, or appropriate it in different geographical, linguistic and temporal contexts? What types of knowledge systems do processes of canonization and reorganization displace? What kinds of transformations, translations and re-translations (e.g. from Sanskrit to Persian, from Greek to Arabic, from Chinese to English or from ancient or medieval to modern) accompany such mobilizations across regions? How did translations and translations of translations change meanings as they were appropriated by different cultures?
With these questions in mind, the Zukunftsphilologie Winter School aims to support critical reviews of historical and philological practice beyond and within Europe. "Textual practices" refers to the wide range of production and engagement with texts, regardless of content (be it historiographical, legal, literary, religious, scientific, etc.). The Winter School will consider issues such as notions of authorship, genre, periodization, readership, interpretative methods, textual transmission, translation, textual integrity, the archive, editorial choices and policies, the philological curriculum, as well as important philological encounters and debates. By concentrating on textual practices beyond Europe in the period between the 16th and 19th century, the aim is also to contribute to the historicization and pluralization of philology and to reflect on the wider cultural and political context in which texts and the art of reading emerged and how this has shaped our knowledge.

CONDITIONS OF APPLICATION AND PROCEDURE

Participants receive a stipend covering travel and accommodation. The program targets doctoral and post- doctoral researchers of Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew, Persian, Sanskrit, Syriac, Turkish, and other linguistic and philological traditions from Africa, Asia and Europe, as well as scholars of intellectual and literary history, of comparative linguistics, philology, religion and the history of science, who wish to present their ongoing projects in a comparative perspective in relation to the questions raised above.

The researchers' work should be clearly relevant to the themes of the Winter Academy. The working language is English. The application should likewise be in English and consist of

• a curriculum vitae
• a three- to five-page outline of the project the applicant is currently working on, with a brief summary thereof,
• the names of two university faculty members who can serve as referees (no letters of recommendation required)

SENT BY EMAIL as ONE PDF FILE or in ONE WORD DOCUMENT.
The application should be submitted in English and should be received by 5 September 2010, addressed to:

office@trafo-berlin.de

Forum Transregionale Studien
c/o Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin
Attn: Georges Khalil
Wallotstrasse 19, D-14193 Berlin

Zukunftsphilologie is an initiative of the Seminar for Semitistik and Arabistik at the Freie Universitaet Berlin.
The project is coordinated by Angelika Neuwirth and Islam Dayeh (both Freie Universitaet Berlin), hosted and supported by the Forum Transregionale Studien.

The Forum Transregionale Studien is a new research platform of the Land of Berlin designed to promote research that connects systematic and region-specific questions in a perspective that addresses entanglements and interactions beyond national, cultural or regional frames. The Forum works in tandem with already existing institutions and networks engaged in transregional studies and is supported by an association of directors of research institutes and networks mainly based in Berlin. It started its activities in 2010 by supporting three research projects in the fields of Law, Philology, and Urban Sociology. The Forum Trans- regionale Studien is funded by the Senate of Berlin.

For more information please see
www.forum-transregionale-studien.de

Call for Papers: Workshop on Language, Literacy, and the Social Construction of Authority in Islamic Societies

Stanford University, March 3-4, 2011

(Abstract Submission Deadline: 09/01/2010)

The Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies at Stanford University invites submission of paper abstracts for a workshop on Language, Literacy, and the Social Construction of Authority in Islamic Societies. The workshop will take place on March 3-4 2011 in Stanford (California, USA) and is a joint project of the Abbasi Program and the Middle East –Mediterranean Studies Program at Sciences Po in Paris. Travel and lodging arrangements for the workshop participants will be provided.

The workshop will focus on the processes underlying the social construction of authority in Islamic societies and the way those processes have been affected by issues of language and the development of literacy from 17th century and onwards in the context of peripheries as well as the core regions (specifically, West Africa, the Caucasus, South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, Middle East). Particular topics of interest include but are not limited to:

•  issues concerning print, manuscript and oral tradition  
• rise of new media (such as internet) and language  
• the ulama's retention of authority through reassertion or, in some cases, reinvention of their relationships to classical discourses   
• the emergence of new spheres of religious authority beyond the ulama, and how this is related to evolutions in language and literacy 
• the production of Modern Standard Arabic out of classical literary Arabic and its relationship to rise in literacy and consequent devolution of religious authority   
• the politics of languages of education in West Africa, between Arabic and vernaculars  
• the fate of Arabic as a the universal Islamic language more generally across various regions   
• the rise of English, French, and Russian as authoritative languages of Muslim discourse in colonial and post-colonial settings  
• the development of Urdu as the lingua franca of Muslim communication in India and its relationship to reformist madrasas in north India  
• relationships between nationalisms, languages, and universal versus local religious communities 

Please submit a brief abstract (not to exceed 300 words) by September 1st 2010 via the online secure form available at http://www.stanford.edu/dept/islamic_studies/socconst.fb . The abstract should specify the proposed paper topic, major argument(s) of the paper and the methodology used. Participants will be notified by September 30th 2010. Complete papers are to be submitted by January 14th 2011.

A copy of this CfP is available online at http://islamicstudies.stanford.edu/CfP0311.pdf . For questions, please contact Dr. Burcak Keskin-Kozat at burcak@stanford.edu

The Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (OCIS) is now advertising its Visiting Fellowships and Visiting Research Fellowships for 2011-2012.

The Centre has developed an international network of personal and institutional contacts to enable liaison, dialogue and exchange between t he Islamic and Western worlds of learning. Protocols of academic cooperation exist between the Centre and many institutions worldwide, facilitating the exchange of scholars and researchers. The Centre's programme of visiting fellowships and scholarships plays a key role in these international activities. Since its inception in 1987 the programme has brought to Oxford scholars and students from more than forty countries in Asia, Africa, the Americas and Europe.

An expanding programme of visiting fellowships and scholarships enables the Centre to bring to Oxford scholars from around the world with academic interests in the Islamic world.

Visiting Fellowships
Visiting Fellowships are awarded annually to enable scholars or writers to spend an extended period of   independent study and research at Oxford. The following Fellowships are established at the Centre:

• Abdul Aziz Al-Mutawa Visiting Fellowship
• Muhammad Bin-Ladin Visiting Fellowship

Visiting Research Fellowships

The Imam Bukhari and Imam Tirmizi Research Fellowships are offered each year to scholars from Asia and Africa. 

Research Fellowships

From time to time, the Centre advertises other Research Fellowships. They are awarded in support of those who wish to pursue independent full-time study and  research at Oxford or those who have been accepted to read for a research degree at Oxford University. 

Oxford OCIS Scholarships

Launched in 2009, the OCIS - Oxford Scholarships support British Muslim students as well as those from developing countries in Asia and Africa to read for degrees at the University of Oxford. Click here for further information.

Khazanah - OCIS Merdeka Scholarships
The Khazanah-Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies Merdeka Scholarships, established to mark the 50th anniversary of Malaysia's independence, are intended to enable outstanding Malaysian students to undertake postgraduate study at the University of Oxford. Click here for further information.

Prof. Michael Sells: God of War Lecture

Update! The Near Eastern Languages & Cultures Department has began podcasting, and as such you can now find this lecture at the IU Podcast Website! Watch for more podcasts in the near future... 

Until August 6th, 2010 download for free Prof. Michael Sells lecture on his forthcoming book "God of War," which was originally presented on April 20, 2010 at Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. This event was cosponsored by the Department of Near Eastern Languages & Cultures and the School for Public and Environmental Affairs. 

Prof. Sells studies and teaches at the University of Chicago's Divinity School in the areas of qur'anic studies; Sufism; Arabic and Islamic love poetry; mysticism (Greek, Islamic, Christian, and Jewish); and religion and violence. The new and expanded edition of his book Approaching the Qur'an: The Early Revelations appeared in 2007. He has published three volumes on Arabic poetry: Desert Tracings: Six Classic Arabian Odes, which focuses upon the pre-Islamic period; Stations of Desire, which focuses upon the love poetry of Ibn al-'Arabi; and The Cambridge History of Arabic Literature, Al-Andalus, which he coedited and to which he contributed. His books on mysticism include Early Islamic Mysticism, translations and commentaries on influential mystical passages from the Qur'an, hadith, Arabic poetry, and early Sufi writings; and Mystical Languages of Unsaying, an examination of apophatic language, with special attention to Plotinus, John the Scot, Ibn al-'Arabi, Meister Eckhart, and Marguerite Porete. His work on religion and violence includes: The Bridge Betrayed: Religion and Genocide in Bosnia; and The New Crusades: Constructing the Muslim Enemy, which he coedited and to which he contributed. His most recent book, The God of War: America in a World of Religion, is forthcoming from Knopf. He teaches courses on the Qur'an, Islamic love poetry, comparative mystical literature, Arabic Sufi poetry, Arabic religious texts, and Ibn al-'Arabi.

About the book (Release Date: 02/07/2012):

From one of our most perceptive writers on religion, a groundbreaking look at the religious militancy threatening our world today. Michael A. Sells elucidates a vicious cycle that threatens to become a self-fulfilling prophecy: war fueling militant ideology, militancy turning war into an end in itself. He examines interpretations of the Qurrs"an and the Bible that drive global conflict: radical versions of Saudi Salafism, Holocaust revisionism, Christian Zionism, fundamentalist biblically mandated conquest. And he explains what he calls "clashism," the ideology that defines the world as two forces, Islam and the "Judeo-Christian" West, destined by God or history to unending conflict. He describes battlegrounds-the Balkans, Afghanistan-Pakistan, Iran-Iraq, Jerusalem-where militancy has thrived on behalf of or in resistance to American dominance. Throughout, he makes clear how important it is that we take seriously the depth and power of religious and clashist militancy. Through an unsparing determination to understand the historical tragedies that have fueled global conflict, Sells argues, we will be better prepared to resist the influence of the "God of War." Deeply informed and impassioned-a fundamentally important book for our time.

Call for Papers: Islamic Journal of Women’s Studies*

Academics from all around the world are invited to submit articles for the first issue of the Islamic Journal of Women’s Studies, to be published by ICAS Press (http://www.islamic-college.ac.uk/Research/Research.html) twice a year.

The Islamic Journal of Women’s Studies will provide an international platform to share pertinent articles covering both theoretical and practical aspects of gender studies in Islam. Articles which engage with the Islamic discourse will be encouraged. Contributions are welcome from men and women of any academic, ideological, religious, political, national, or philosophical perspective as long as the articles meet the standards of academic rigour and are relevant to Islamic female thought, perceptions, history, or experience.

Articles should be submitted no later than 31 August 2010 and may be sent via e-mail to a.inloes@islamic-college.ac.uk. Alternatively, they may be posted to:

Amina Inloes
Islamic Journal of Women’s Studies
The Islamic College
133 High Road
Willesden
London, UK
NW10 2SW

Articles may be on any topic pertaining to women and Islam. Suggested topics include:

• Women in Islamic theology, spirituality, philosophy, or history
• Islamic law and women
• Women in Islamic literature and Muslim women in world literature
• Political and economic issues as pertaining to women
• Female Islamic thinkers, artists, activists, scientists, or scholars (historical or contemporary)
• Women’s movements in the Islamic world
• Current issues pertaining to Muslim women
• Interfaith dialogue regarding women’s issues
• Islamic and secularist dialogue as pertaining to women’s issues (such as shari‘ah versus secular law)
• Women’s rights
• Islam and modernism

For more information, e-mail a.inloes@islamic-college.ac.uk or telephone Amina Inloes at +44(0) 20 8451 9993 ex. 216.

* Title to be finalized

Graduate Expo Fair

September 29th, 2010
IUPUI Campus Center, 4th floor
11:30am-5:30pm

The Expo is a one stop shop for information about graduate programs at IUPUI and other colleges and universities throughout the United States. Attendees will have the opportunity to talk to faculty, graduate students, and staff from some of the nation’s premier institutions. Additionally, attendees can take advantage of opportunities to attend workshops and receive advice from experts on applying to graduate programs and funding graduate education.

Many schools at IUPUI are planning to host after events and invite their alumni including Journalism , Public Relations, and the Purdue STEM disciplines. The event is free to students who will receive a gift for pre-registering. Please email gradexpo@iupui.edu for more information on registration.

Visit with a Boren Fellowship Representative!

On July 21st, 2010 from 3:00-5:00 p.m. in Ballantine 304 a representative from the Institute of International Education will be speaking with interested students about the David L. Boren Scholarships and Fellowships.

Boren Awards provide a unique funding opportunity for U.S. students to study world regions critical to U.S. interests (including Africa, Asia, Central & Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East). The countries of Western Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are excluded. The Boren Fellowship allows graduate students to add an important international and language component to their graduate studies. Boren Fellows can be awarded up to $30,000.

Additional information on preferred geographic regions, languages, fields of study and application procedures can be found at http://www.borenawards.org/.

For more information please contact Paul Fogleman, IU Boren Graduate Fellowship Representative (pfoglema@indiana.edu), or contact Boren Awards at 1 800 618 NSEP or boren@iie.org.

New Fulbright Fellowship Opportunity

The Fulbright Scholar Program announces the Israel Post-Doctoral Research Fellowships, available to those interested in conducting postdoctoral research in all areas of the sciences, arts, humanities, or social sciences. There are ten fellowships available. The main criteria in the selection of USIEF Fellows are academic excellence, leadership capabilities, and the potential of the proposed visit program to achieve professional objectives while enhancing mutual understanding between the people of the United States and Israel. The application deadline is August 2, 2010. Fulbright Scholar Post-Doctoral Fellowships are also available for Fulbright programs in Egypt and Hong Kong. For more information, please visit http://catalog.cies.org/.

Thank you,
Melanie

Melanie Thomas
Creative Services Officer
Institute of International Education
Department of Scholar and Professional Programs
3007 Tilden St. NW, Suite #5L
Washington, DC 20008
202-686-7868 | 202-362-3442
MThomas@iie.org | www.iie.org/cies

The Fulbright Scholar Program and Humphrey Fellowship Program are administered by the Institute of International Education’s Department of Scholar and Professional Programs, which includes the Council for International Exchange of Scholars and Humphrey divisions.

For more information, contact us at scholars@iie.org or 202-686-4000 or visit www.iie.org/cies.

ARCE Fellowships & Grants

The American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE) is remarkably active in supporting scholarship, training, and conservation efforts in Egypt. Among ARCE’s many great achievements is our relationship with the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) within the Egyptian Ministry of Culture, without whom our work would not be possible. ARCE is viewed as making important contributions that serve to help Egypt directly in its pursuit of cultural heritage preservation.

In addition to providing administrative support and a reliable base for a wide array of expeditions and scholarly research taking place in Egypt, ARCE also provides funding, in the form of grants, for a significant number of research and conservation projects each year.
Grants come in two forms:

FELLOWSHIPS

ARCE fellowships focus primarily on individual scholarly research. Learn more>>

ANTIQUITIES ENDOWMENT FUND GRANTS

AEF grants support professional projects that serve the conservation, preservation and documentation needs of Egyptian antiquities as defined by Egyptian law to be more than 100 years old. Learn more>>

Masters Programmes at the Institute of Germanic & Romance Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London

A number of bursaries are available for Masters Programmes at the Institute of Germanic & Romance Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London


MRes in Modern Languages: French, German, Hispanic, Italian
This newly offered programme is designed to maximize flexibility of choice and outcome, offering opportunities to those who are looking for specific training for postgraduate research in modern languages, aiming ultimately at a PhD, those who want to take a challenging end-stopped Masters and those who have one, two or three modern foreign languages for whom IGRS is particularly well-equipped to provide supervision, since many of our activities are cross-language, interdisciplinary or comparative. The course is research based, incorporating an important element of research training. There are no taught courses and each student effectively has a bespoke degree: the MRes consists of a combination of group-based training and one-to-one supervision for two long essays and a dissertation.
For further details, see http://www.sas.ac.uk/modernlanguages.html

MA in Cultural Memory
This interdisciplinary programme explores the many different ways in which culture is based on the construction, manipulation and transmission of memories, and the role played by memory in collective and individual identity formation. Cultural Memory is especially productive in relation to the study of local, minority and ethnic communities. It has also been central to examination of the recent resurgence of old, and rise of new, nationalisms, with important work on this subject being carried out throughout the various countries of Europe. The material studied ranges across film, literature, photography, art history, the performing arts, material culture, oral history, anthropology, psychoanalysis, sociology, etc. The degree centres on the cultures of 19th- and 20th- century France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain, and other parts of the world where a Romance or Germanic language is spoken, but other cultures are also regularly covered. All courses are taught in translation by an unparalleled team of specialists from language and other departments, across the University of London and other UK universities.

For further details, see http://www.sas.ac.uk/culturalmemory.html

We are still recruiting for these two degrees, but applications should now be sent in as soon as possible. Application packs and further information can be obtained from:

School of Advanced Study Registry
University of London
Senate House, Malet St
London WC1E 7HU, UK
Email: sas.registry@sas.ac.uk

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about the programme or the Institute.
Dr Katia Pizzi and Dr Gill Rye
Programme Directors
igrs@sas.ac.uk

Council Chronicle Vol. 4, No. 1 (Winter - Spring 2010) Now Available

The National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations is pleased to provide the ninth edition of the Council Chronicle, the Council's newsletter. The Chronicle seeks to keep the Council's supporters informed and updated by presenting news and special reports on the Council's year-round educational programs, events, and activities. For new readers interested in learning more about the Council's vision and mission, together with the ways and means it utilizes to pursue both, please visit the Council's Web site at ncusar.org.


ACCESS Council Chronicle Vol. 4, No. 1 (Winter - Spring 2010) AT:
http://www.ncusar.org/cc/Council_Chronicle_9.pdf (2.0 MB)

Headscarves as Politics: Gender, Islam and Shifting Discourses of Social Justice in the Balkans

Download the podcast today!

In Bulgaria, the so-called emancipation of Muslim women was a particularly urgent goal and a litmus test for the triumph of scientific socialism over what was considered the feudal backwardness of Islam. For over four decades, all of the coercive powers of the centralized state were funneled into suppressing local Islamic traditions and radically reimagining gender norms among the country’s sizeable Muslim minority. After the collapse of communism in 1989, Bulgaria’s Muslims were free to embrace their
religious and ethnic identities, but found their communities bitterly divided with regard to any potentialIslamic revival. There were those who maintained allegiance to the secular communist project, those who wished to revive local Muslim traditions from before the communist era, and those who chose to embrace a new form of universalist ‘orthodox’ Islam being imported into the Balkans through the work of international Islamic charities. Many of these debates revolve around the re-inscription of more
conservative gender roles for women, and an ongoing debate over the Islamic headscarf has become a potent symbol of this conflict. This talk examines the local meanings of the headscarf as a political and religious symbol and the complicated array of factors informing the selective embrace of ‘orthodox’Islam in Bulgaria today.

Kristen Ghodsee is an Associate Professor in Gender and Women’s Studies at Bowdoin College. She is the author of The Red Riviera: Gender, Tourism and Postsocialism on the Black Sea (Duke University Press, 2005)and Muslim Lives in Eastern Europe: Gender, Ethnicity and the Transformation of Islam in Postsocialist Bulgaria (Princeton University Press 2009).

19th Annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN:

Arab-U.S. Relations: Going Where?

October 21 - 22, 2010

Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C.

A government-issued, photo identification is necessary to enter the Ronald Reagan Building.

REGISTRATION FORM:
http://www.ncusar.org/programs/19AUSPC-registration-form.pdf

SPONSORSHIP INFORMATION:
http://www.ncusar.org/programs/19AUSPC-sponsor-info.pdf

Confirmed Featured Speakers Include

HRH Prince Turki Al Faisal Al Sa'ud His Royal Highness Prince Turki Al Faisal Al Sa'ud served as the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United States from September 13, 2005 until February 12, 2007. From 1977 to 2001, he served as the Director General of the General Intelligence Directorate, the Kingdom's main foreign intelligence service. Prince Turki is one of the founders of the King Faisal Foundation and is the Chairman of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies in Riyadh. Prince Turki serves as a member of the Boards of Trustees of the International Crisis Group and the Oxford Center for Islamic Studies.

Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker is Dean and Executive Professor at the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, where he also holds the Edward and Howard Kruse Endowed Chair. Mr. Crocker joined the Foreign Service in 1971 and served in Iran, Qatar, Iraq, and Egypt as well as Washington, D.C. He was named Career Ambassador in 2004 and retired from the Foreign Service in 2009, receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush for his valor, professionalism, and "masterful diplomacy."

Ambassador James B. Smith Ambassador James B. Smith was sworn in on September 16, 2009, as the U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Prior to his appointment, Ambassador Smith had served in a variety of executive positions with Raytheon Company involving corporate strategic planning, aircraft manufacturing, and international business development. Ambassador Smith spent a 28 year career in the United States Air Force. He was promoted to Brigadier General in October, 1998, and retired from the Air Force on October 1, 2002.

Dr. Mody Alkhalaf Dr. Mody Alkhalaf is currently Director of Cultural and Social Affairs at the Saudi Cultural Mission of The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington DC. She has written for Arab News on women's rights in Saudi Arabia and is currently Editor in Chief of Almubta'ath, a monthly magazine launched in 1978 by the Saudi Cultural Mission covering a range of topics of interest to Saudi students in the U.S.

Ambassador Chas. W. Freeman, Jr. Ambassador Chas. W. Freeman, Jr. is President Emeritus of the Middle East Policy Council. He served as United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs (1993-94), earning the Department of Defense's highest public service awards for his roles in designing a NATO-centered post-Cold War European security system and in reestablishing defense and military relations with China. Ambassador Freeman is Chairman of the Board of Projects International, Inc., a Washington, DC-based business development firm.

Conference Moderator And Facilitator

Dr. John Duke Anthony President & CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations Dr. John Duke Anthony is founding President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations and an Adjunct Professor at the Georgetown University Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service Center for Contemporary Arab Studies. He serves on the U.S. Department of State's Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy. PUBLICATIONS FROM DR. JOHN DUKE ANTHONY

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All conference registrants will be eligible to enter a special drawing for two round-trip business class tickets on Qatar Airways good anywhere in the airline's network. Must be present to win. Some restrictions apply.

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Special Hotel Rates

Doubletree Hotel Washington DC 1515 Rhode Island Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20005-5595 Phone # for Reservations: 1-800-492-5195

Hotel room block is set up for Thursday 10-21-10 - Friday 10-22-10, however the hotel will extend the rate based on availability for earlier arrivals for the  Policymakers Conference attendees at the Doubletree Hotel, 1515 Rhode Island Avenue, NW. The special room rate for single or double occupancy is $259/night plus tax (currently 14.5%). Complimentary internet access and full breakfast for one or two persons are included in the room rate. The Special room rate is available from Tuesday, October 19 - Friday, October 22, 2010. Weekend rates would apply on Saturday, October 23 and Sunday, October 24, 2010. To book one of these special room rates, call the Doubletree Hotel at 1-800-492-5195 and ask for group booking code # NCU or 'National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations Room Block.' Please make room reservations as soon as possible. After September 21, 2010 this rate cannot be guaranteed and becomes subject to space and availability.

Georgetown Suites Washington, DC 1111 30th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20007 Phone # for Reservation: 202-298-7800 / 1800-348-7203 reservations@georgetownsuites.com

Hotel rooms are available at a special room rate for NCUSAR Conference attendees at the Georgetown Suites, 1111 30th Street, NW. Special room rate for single occupancy is $195 / double or triple is $225 / per night plus tax 14.5%. Complimentary upscale continental breakfast, free local calls, and free wireless Internet access. Special room rate is available for Thursday October 21and 22, 2010. To make a booking for special group rates, please call Georgetown Suites Hotel at 1-800-348-7203 or our local phone number is 202-298-7800 and asks for the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations Room Block. ROOM BLOCK CUT-OFF DATE: September 22, 2010. All rooms not guaranteed by 3:00 PM hotel time on this date will be released for general sale. Additional after this time will be subject to availability and subject to rate variance.

Registration and Sponsorship Information

REGISTRATION FORM:
http://www.ncusar.org/programs/19AUSPC-registration-form.pdf

SPONSORSHIP INFORMATION:
http://www.ncusar.org/programs/19AUSPC-sponsor-info.pdf

2009 Policymakers Conference Highlights

∙   CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS - VIDEO, AUDIO, & TRANSCRIPTS

∙   COUNCIL CHRONICLE CONFERENCE RECAP (.pdf)

∙   2009 CONFERENCE HOMEPAGE

Internships and Jobs with INTERPOL

Please click on the above title to visit the INTERPOL recruitment page. There are a number of jobs available, as well as internships. Note that most jobs/internships are in Lyon, France at the INTERPOL Headquarters.

Approximately 550 staff members from more than 80 different countries are employed at the INTERPOL General Secretariat, regional bureaus and the liaison office at the United Nations, working in any of the organization’s four official languages: Arabic, English, French and Spanish. A third of these are either seconded or detached by their national law enforcement administrations in INTERPOL’s 188 member countries; the remaining are international civil servants hired under contract directly by the organization. INTERPOL accepts applications from nationals of all member countries to ensure that the organization remains truly representative.

Values
With such a diverse group of men and women, the organization's values play a particularly important role in maintaining a harmonious and effective working environment. The INTERPOL General Secretariat defines its values through the following qualities:

• Respect for human rights
• Integrity
• Commitment to quality
• Availability
• Team spirit
• Value for money
• Accountability

 
Fundamental Competencies
Competencies are the set of capabilities (incl. knowledge, skills, experience, values, behaviour and attitudes) required to perform effectively in a post. 6 Fundamental Competencies have been defined by INTERPOL and are applicable to 'all' staff regardless of their function/grade within INTERPOL. This aims at indicating to the applicants the type of basic competencies which are expected from them, in addition to the requirements specified in the vacancies.

THREE POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS AVAILABLE IN BERLIN

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
FOR THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2010/2011
(Location: Berlin / Deadline: 9 August 2010)

The Berlin-based Forum Transregionale Studien invites scholars to apply for three postdoctoral fellowships for the research project

ZUKUNFTSPHILOLOGIE:
REVISITING THE CANONS OF TEXTUAL SCHOLARSHIP

The project Zukunftsphilologie endeavors to promote and emphasise primary textual scholarship beyond the classical humanistic canon. In an age of advanced communication, intellectual specialisation, and unprecedented migration of knowledge and people, the discipline of philology assumes new relevance. Zukunftsphilologie aspires to support research in marginalised, undocumented and displaced varieties of philology by revisiting pre- colonial texts and scholarly traditions in Asia, Africa, the Middle East as well as in Europe.

The title "Zukunftsphilologie" is inspired by the 1872 polemic between the classicist Ulrich von Wilamowitz- Moellendorff and Friedrich Nietzsche on the method and meaning of classical studies. The project draws on recent calls for a return to philology as particularly emphasised by Sheldon Pollock in his essay ?Future Philology?? and the late Edward Said?s essay ?The Return to Philology?.

In order to promote historically-conscious philology, the project will foster research in the following areas: the genealogy and transformations of philological practice, philology?s place in the system of knowledge (e.g. its relation to science, theology, and jurisprudence), philology and the university, and philology and empire.
Zukunftsphilologie aims to examine the role mobility, calamities, expulsions, and natural catastrophes play in the dissemination and globalisation of knowledge. How does the mobility of scholars, books, and manuscripts bring about scientific innovation (e.g. in tenth-century Baghdad, during the European Renaissance, or during the Ming dynasty)? What kind of knowledge systems are also displaced by these processes of reorganisation? What transformations and translations accompany such mobili- sations?

In addition, Zukunftsphilologie aims to support critical reviews of historical and philological practice. In revisiting important philological debates, the goal is not to merely evaluate the argumentative worth of these debates, but to reflect on the wider cultural and political context in which these debates emerged and how they have shaped our knowledge of the past.

Zukunftsphilologie is an initiative of the Seminar for Semitistik and Arabistik at the Freie Universitaet Berlin and envisages the establishment of a Berlin-based research group of philologists. The project is coordinated by Angelika Neuwirth and Islam Dayeh (both Freie Universi- t?t Berlin), funded and hosted by the Forum Transregionale Studien.

CANDIDATES
The fellowships are intended primarily for scholars of Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew, Persian, Sanskrit, Syriac, Turkish, and other linguistic and philological traditions from Africa, Asia and Europe, as well as for scholars of intellectual and literary history, of comparative linguistics, philology, religion and the history of science from outside Berlin, who wish to carry out their research projects in the framework of the initiative Zukunftsphilologie in Berlin. Applicants should be at the postdoctoral level and should have obtained their doctorate within the last five years. Fellows are given the opportunity to pursue research projects of their own choice, provided the topic falls within the research agenda of the project. During the fellowship in Berlin they will be integrated into a university or extra- university research institute. In the overall context of the project Zukunftsphilologie, they will participate in regular working meetings of the project group as well as in lectures, conferences and summer and winter academies, organised by the project and by the Forum Transregionale Studien.

PROJECTS
Individual research projects should fall within one of the themes of the project Zukunftsphilologie. Projects should have a comparative perspective, whereby the plurality of textual practices, polyphonic textuality, and the trajectories and genealogies of philological traditions in early modernity are examined.

For the year 2010/2011, research projects focusing on intellectual debates, polemics, correspondences, and transregional encounters are especially welcome. A revisiting of major philological debates will enable us to explore the significance of philology in the cultural and political transformations beyond the modern/pre-modern divide. Moreover, an examination of philological debates will shed light on marginal philological traditions and undocumented intellectual positions as well as the way in which the canonical positions were consolidated and normalised.

FELLOWSHIPS

may start anytime in the period between October 1, 2010 and January 1, 2011 and will end on July 31, 2011.
Shorter fellowship terms can be considered. Postdoctoral fellows will receive a monthly stipend of ? 2.025 plus supplements depending on their personal situation.
Organisational support regarding visa, insurances, housing, etc. will be provided. Successful applicants will be fellows of the project Zukunftsphilologie at the Forum Transregionale Studien.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

To apply, please send the following documents in English exclusively by e-mail as single word or PDF file. The letter of recommendation can be sent directly by e-mail.

- a curriculum vitae
- a project description (no longer than five pages) stating what the scholar will work on in Berlin if granted a fellowship
- a sample of scholarly work (maximum 20 pages, article, book chapter, conference contribution)
- a letter of recommendation from one academic faculty member

The application should be submitted in English and should be received by 9 August 2010, addressed to:

office@trafo-berlin.de

INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK
The Forum Transregionale Studien is a new research platform of the Land of Berlin designed to promote research that connects systematic and region-specific questions in a perspective that addresses entanglements and interactions beyond national, cultural or regional frames. The Forum works in tandem with established institutions and networks engaged in transregional studies and is supported by an association of the directors of research institutes and networks mainly based in Berlin.
It started its activities in 2010 by supporting three research projects in the fields of law, philology, and urban sociology. The Forum Transregionale Studien is funded by the Senate of Berlin.

For more information please see
http://www.forum-transregionale-studien.de

Forum Transregionale Studien
c/o Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin
Attn: Georges Khalil
Wallotstrasse 19, D-14193 Berlin / Germany

Middle East Broadcasting is HIRING!

Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc. (MBN) is a non-profit grantee of the Broadcasting Board of Governors that operates Alhurra Television and Radio Sawa. MBN is a multimedia organization that enables the U.S. to communicate to the Middle East via television, radio and the Internet. Our mission is to provide objective, accurate, and relevant news and information to the people of the Middle East about the region, the world, and the United States. MBN supports democratic values by expanding the spectrum of ideas, opinions, and perspectives available in the region’s media and serves as a model of free press.

Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc. offers a challenging work environment, competitive pay and excellent benefits. The selected candidate must be able to pass background and credit check. MBN is a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation. Please visit our website at www.alhurra.com

Qualified candidates should forward their cover letter, resume, and salary expectations to mbnjobs@alhurra.com and include the job title of the position for which they are applying in the email subject line.

Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc (MBN) is an equal opportunity employer committed to work force diversity.

Hiring Positions

POSITION: News Writer
PRIMARY FUNCTION: News writers are responsible for writing scripts for news broadcasts. Ability to translate material from English into Arabic, monitor English and Arabic news feed. Develop and write new stories in classical Arabic with clarity, accuracy and balance.

POSITION: Sports Anchor
PRIMARY FUNCTION: Sports Anchor responsible for providing clear and concise reports after gathering and verifying factual information through interviews, observations, and research. Must be able to report on all aspects of sporting events. Ability to write clear and concise business news stories and communicate, translate from English to classic Arabic.

POSITION: Associate Producer
PRIMARY FUNCTION: Associate Producer assists in all areas of production, from pre-production through post-production of news programs, package elements, live events, and features. Undertake routine production tasks such as budgeting, scheduling, and asset sourcing to support production projects. Must have excellent Arabic, English written and verbal communication skills.

POSITION: News Anchor
PRIMARY FUNCTION: Presenting the news in a fair, balanced and concise manner. Must demonstrate strong news judgment. Must have 3-5 years news anchoring experience. Excellent Arabic writing skills. Clear pronunciation in Modern Standard Arabic, strong understanding of English desired.

POSITION: Producer
PRIMARY FUNCTION: Producers are responsible for the creative development, production, content quality of assigned programs; constructing fresh, informative, creative, compelling newscasts, summaries, updates and assigned special event coverage, ensuring balanced content consist with the mission goals of the company. Must demonstrate strong news judgment; ensure journalistic standards of fairness, accuracy and relevancy. Excellent Arabic writing skills.

POSITION: Correspondent
PRIMARY FUNCTION: The correspondent is first and foremost a storyteller responsible for providing clear and concise reports after gathering and verifying factual information through interviews, observations, and research. Demonstrate strong news judgment and organizational skills. College degree in Journalism or a related field preferred. 2-3 year previous experience as an on-camera correspondent.

POSITION: Quality Control Editor
PRIMARY FUNCTION: Review radio newscasts broadcast from Virginia and Dubai to prioritize the interviews based on their importance before translating them into English. Check newscasts to identify political and cultural sensitivities as well as syntax and contextual and typographical errors and suggest corrections.

POSITION: Assignment Editor
PRIMARY FUNCTION: AE manages assignments, deals with logistics, responsible for newsgathering and disseminating news assignments to correspondents in the United States and overseas. Ability to communicate and translate from English to classic Arabic. Good knowledge of the geography of the 22+ Arab speaking countries of the Middle East and North Africa.


POSITION: Guest Producer
PRIMARY FUNCTION: Ability to reach out and cultivate a large talented, informed network of contacts who can address relevant topics on air in a professional manner. Ability to create a story and guest ideas, pitches them to other staff members like the executive producer and the host/anchor and secures the guests appearance.

POSITION: Production Assistant
PRIMARY FUNCTION: Production Assistants provide support to Producers and Senior Producers in most stages of pre-production and news production. Responsibilities include, technical, creative and administrative tasks from logistical organization to booking live feeds, making sure the news production process runs smoothly. Ability to read and write classic Arabic

POSITION: Sr. Broadcast Designer
PRIMARY FUNCTION: : Responsible for collaborating with the creative team on conceptualizing, developing, and executing high quality broadcast design that creates competitive advantage for the network. A degree in Fine Arts, motion graphics, design, multimedia, or equivalent education or experience is sought. Qualified candidates who are bi-lingual in reading, writing and speaking Modern Standard Arabic are preferred. Minimum of 3-5 years of experience is required.

POSITION: Log Scheduler
PRIMARY FUNCTION: Ability to perform daily entries, communicate with various departments and create daily log packets. Must be well organized with a strong attention to detail and flexible.

POSITION: On-Air Promotion Producer
PRIMARY FUNCTION: Conceptualize, create, coordinate and execute production of promos, image ID and campaigns as assigned in accordance with the strategic planning of the On-Air Promotion Department. Bachelors Degree (Major in related area beneficial). Two to three years experience in a Creative Services/On-Air Promotions department

POSITION: Radio Broadcaster
PRIMARY FUNCTION: Ability to generate story ideas, plans, researches and drafts original broadcast-quality news scripts for assigned stories ensuring accuracy, balance and objectivity; broadcasts the news and other programs in a balanced, accurate and objective manner. Skilled reader, adept to ad-libbing during breaking news and ability to handle on-air problem. Clear pronunciation in Modern Standard Arabic, strong understanding of English desired. Bachelors Degree in journalism or broadcast journalism (preferred). 3-5 years news broadcasting experience.

POSITION: News Writer - Radio
PRIMARY FUNCTION: Write news scripts for radio broadcast for assigned stream. The incumbent translates material from English into Arabic ensuring that scripts conform to the Networks standards to provide balanced, accurate, objective news and information. Bachelors degree (Journalism or Broadcast Journalism is preferred) 3 years professional writing experience (experience writing international news preferred) Bi-lingual in verbal and written Classic Arabic and English

POSITION: Radio Correspondent
PRIMARY FUNCTION: Responsible for providing clear and concise reports after gathering and verifying factual information through interviews, observations, and research. The incumbent organizes all material, determines the emphasis and writes story or stories to fit the standard. Must have strong news judgment and organizational skills.

POSITION: Web Writer
PRIMARY FUNCTION: Translate and edit the news. All news, features, interviews, photos and actualities must be well organized, grammatically accurate, timely, balanced and of the highest professional standards. Mastery of Arabic and English and ability to write for the Web effectively in Arabic. Thorough practical knowledge of Arabic grammar is evident in drafting and editing.

POSITION: Web Editor
PRIMARY FUNCTION: Help select, write and edit news stories for website that are of interest to a Pan-Arab audience and meet the editorial standards. Ability to translate English to Arabic.