The fourth annual Liberal Arts International Conference being organised by Texas A&M University at Qatar (TAMU-Q) set to open at the Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) Student Centre today.
The theme of the three-day conference is “Crossing Disciplines, Crossing Borders.” The conference will explore a wide variety of regional and global topics from a multidisciplinary perspective.
Dr Leslie Seawright, assistant professor and interim chair of the Liberal Arts Programme, said, “We are excited to welcome renowned scholars and researchers from around the world to the fourth annual Liberal Arts International Conference. Outcomes of previous conferences have included collaborations on research of interest to Qatar. These topics include sports culture, food security, gender issues in higher education, heritage in the Gulf, linguistics and language, ethics and law.”
The conference will feature lectures, a trip to Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art and seven parallel sessions consisting of 20 panel discussions. Seawright said that collaborations in the past have led to several academic articles and two books.
There will be two keynote speakers this year. Prof Daniel Martin Varisco, research professor in social science at Qatar University, whose talk, “The Social Relevance of Sustainability: The Future of Post-traditional Culture in the Gulf,” will examine the effects of rapid modernity in the Arabian Gulf. Prof Cheryl Glenn, liberal arts research professor of English and women’s studies director at Penn State University will present the thought-provoking lecture, “What is happening to the Liberal Arts?”
Conference chair Dr Trinidad Rico said, “We have received overwhelming interest in participating in this conference, making the process of selection quite challenging. This shows that TAMU-Q is being increasingly recognised worldwide in theliberal arts.”
The event will serve as a rich opportunity in Qatar for scholars in the social sciences, arts and humanities to engage with colleagues from around the world and stimulate research and learning efforts.
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