QU college to host meet on Middle East studies

The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) at Qatar University (QU) will host a two-day conference on March 17-18 titled “Perspectives on Middle East Studies”, in co-operation with Cambridge University. The event is part of the latter’s programme of joint educational and scholarly events under its Centre of Islamic Studies.The conference will bring together scholars, researchers and experts from Qatar, the United Kingdom and beyond, to engage on issues relevant to the Middle East and Gulf region such as language, culture, media, women, literature, politics and others. The event will feature presentations of research from a variety of perspectives, highlighting their breadth and scope of research, and demonstrating the dynamic nature of the Middle East region. QU president Prof Sheikha Abdulla al-Misnad and Centre of Islamic Studies director Prof Yasir Suleiman will present the welcoming remarks. Fourteen speakers from QU, Cambridge University, Hamad bin Khalifa University, University College of London in Qatar, Northwestern University Qatar, and University of Sarajevo will participate in sessions headlined Language, Culture and Society; International Relations; History; Gulf Region; Media; Urban Planning and Museums; Gender and Women’s Studies; and Arabic and Beyond. Commenting on the conference, Prof al Misnad said: “This is a wonderful example of the importance of an interdisciplinary perspective, scholarly exchange and collaboration. We look forward to more opportunities to collaborate with Cambridge University to advance this partnership. Last year our Gulf Studies Centre and Social and Economic Survey Research Institute hosted the Gulf Research Meeting at Cambridge University, an annual convening of Gulf-focused academics - a number of our students and faculty also presented and participated in that meeting. I am delighted to see that many of the participants from that event will attend this conference.”