ORCNotes

CAORC Launches New Website, ORCNotes Moves

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Presta Boone) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:32:00 +0000

Visit our redesigned website to learn about our Member Centers and programs! ORCNotes can now be found at http://caorc.org/blog/ -- all previous content has been transferred over.

CLR/CAORC Grants for Short-Term Research in Portugal and/or Lusophone Africa

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Presta Boone) — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:49:00 +0000

Administered under the auspices of the Center for Lusophone Research (CLR), these grants will be for researchers in the arts, humanities, or social sciences based at US institutions who wish to conduct innovative research on topics pertaining to Lusophone culture, politics, or society, with a particular emphasis on Luso-Africa. The grants are designed to support advanced research focused on regional, cross-regional, and cross-disciplinary aspects of the Lusophone world. Initial funding is offered by the Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC). Grants are primarily intended for travel to enable scholars to reach sources and archives that are difficult to access. Grants may be used to travel to archives and/or conduct research in Portugal, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, or São Tomé and Príncipe. Each grant will cover up to the amount of $3000.

This fellowship program is offered in concert with, and as a counterpart to, the Fundação Luso-Americana para o Desenvolvimento (FLAD) Grant Program for Lecturing and Research in the US, which offers residencies for research and teaching at US universities. It is the hope of FLAD, CLR, and CAORC that these programs will grow into a robust exchange program that will support the expansion of Lusophone Studies.

For more information, please see caorc.org/clr.

CAORC Welcomes New Member Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Presta Boone) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 14:33:00 +0000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Dr. Mary Ellen Lane, Executive Director, Council of American Overseas Research Centers; 202-633-1599; lane.maryellen@caorc.org
Ms. Robin Presta Boone, Program Director, Council of American Overseas Research Centers; 202-633-1599; boone.robin@caorc.org

CAORC WELCOMES A NEW AMERICAN OVERSEAS RESEARCH CENTER
AS A MEMBER OF ITS INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION

At their meeting on April 14, 2013, the Board of Directors of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers voted to accept the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies (ANHS) as a full member of CAORC.

The ANHS was founded in 1971 as the Nepal Studies Association, with support from the Ford Foundation. In 1999, to reflect a widening member base and area of interest, the association broadened its mandate to cover the entire Himalayan region and adjacent mountain areas (High Asia), and adopted its current name. In 2010, ANHS became a Center in Developing Status with CAORC to reflect its growing focus on supporting research.

The President of the ANHS Board, Professor Mary M. Cameron, Department of Anthropology, Florida Atlantic University, will represent ANHS on the CAORC Board of Directors.

ANHS joins the CAORC federation of 24 affiliated American overseas research centers in 26 countries in Europe, Latin America, the Near and Middle East, North Africa, West Africa, and Central, South, and Southeast Asia. U.S. and host-country educational institutions rely on the centers to fund and support research and study overseas. Currently, almost 500 universities, colleges, museums, libraries, and other institutions in 29 countries hold 1,271 memberships in CAORC member centers around the world.

About CAORC (http://caorc.org/): The Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC) is the not-for-profit federation of 24 affiliated American overseas research centers in 26 countries: an organization with no analogue in American academe, industry, or government. CAORC initiates and successfully administers major innovative single and multi-country projects focusing on higher education and research, peace building, capacity building, and women’s empowerment; works to expand its member centers’ resource bases and service capacities; helps build capacity for host-country institutions; assists in the creation of new centers; and works to build bridges between the people of the United States and other countries around the world.

Although physically located at the Smithsonian Institution, CAORC is an independent 501(c)(3) organization, as are all its member centers. With their solid, long-standing networks of in-country contacts, the centers facilitate access to local research resources, create programs and projects that increase knowledge about these countries and regions, provide a forum for contact and exchange, offer library and technical support and accommodation, provide fellowships, and disseminate information through conferences, workshops, and publications.

The centers’ private structure and the unbiased research they promote make them respected foci of American academia in the countries where they operate. Through their permanent, independent, non-political presence in the host countries and regions, the centers are an integral part of the host countries’ intellectual infrastructure; partner regularly with host-country institutions and scholars on fellowships, conferences, and workshops; serve as a collegial meeting ground for large numbers of American, host-, and third-country students and scholars; and are the primary vehicle through which American scholars carry out research vital to our understanding of and interaction with other cultures.

About ANHS (http://anhs-himalaya.org/): ANHS is the oldest academic organization devoted to the study of the Himalaya in the United States. Members include universities, major libraries, scholars, students, resource and development professionals, and other Himalayan-region residents and enthusiasts. ANHS members work or live in or are experts on Bhutan, Nepal, the Indian Himalaya, Pakistan, Tibet, Afghanistan and Central Asia. ANHS has over 25 institutional members, and nearly 300 individual members.

The ANHS peer-reviewed journal, HIMALAYA, publishes original research and serves as a clearinghouse of information about regional publications, conferences, grant and study opportunities and research in progress. ANHS organizes conferences and symposia, sponsors photography exhibits and other outreach efforts, and issues an annual prize for the best graduate student paper and an annual senior fellowship to support research in the region.

ANHS is a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational organization governed by its Constitution and By-laws.

CAORC Receives a Major Grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Presta Boone) — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 16:08:00 +0000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Dr. Mary Ellen Lane, Executive Director, Council of American Overseas Research Centers; 202-633-1599; lane.maryellen@caorc.org
Ms. Robin Presta Boone, Program Director, Council of American Overseas Research Centers; 202-633-1599; boone.robin@caorc.org

CAORC Receives a Major Grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

The Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC) has been awarded a $1,000,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support a regional fellowship program enabling pre- and early post-doctoral scholars to conduct research in countries bordering the Mediterranean.

Linking three continents, 21 nations, and three world religions, the Mediterranean has long served as a central highway, bringing a shared history to countries now realigned by 20th century boundaries. The geographical proximity of countries that circle the Mediterranean has contributed to extensive and intensive interchanges at all levels, with concomitant transmission of ideas in the political, social, religious, economic, artistic, architectural, and technological realms. Many parts of this large area share natural linkages stemming from historical relationships dating back thousands of years. Artificially interrupted by border demarcations in the 20th century, many of the countries in this region are now at the heart of great political, economic, and religious developments that are once again redefining our world view. Despite these natural linkages, a regional approach to academic disciplines in this area has yet to be fully developed.

This focused regional fellowship program will enable pre- and early post-doctoral scholars to carry out research in the humanities and related social sciences in countries bordering the Mediterranean and served by the following American overseas research centers:

American Academy in Rome
American Center for Oriental Research in Amman
American Institute for Maghrib Studies, with centers in Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, and a nascent center in Libya
American Research Center in Egypt
American Research Center in Sofia
American Research Institute in Turkey
American School of Classical Studies at Athens
Cyprus American Archaeological Research Institute
Palestinian American Research Center
W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem

CAORC will fund ten to fourteen fellowships per cycle (according to fellowship duration) for three annual cycles. Fellowship duration will range from three to nine months. Following from the success of CAORC’s Multi-country Regional Fellowship Program, now in its 20th year, fellows may conduct research in one or more Mediterranean-area countries, provided that at least one country of research hosts an American overseas research center.

Additional information about the Mediterranean Regional Fellowship program, including application instructions and deadlines, will be available at caorc.org in late spring 2013.

About CAORC: The Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC) is the not-for-profit federation of 23 affiliated American overseas research centers in 25 countries: an organization with no analogue in American academe, industry, or government. CAORC initiates and successfully administers major innovative single and multi-country projects focusing on higher education and research, peace building, capacity building, and women’s empowerment; works to expand its member centers’ resource bases and service capacities; helps build capacity for host-country institutions; assists in the creation of new centers; and works to build bridges between the people of the United States and other countries around the world.

Although physically located at the Smithsonian Institution, CAORC is an independent 501(c)(3) organization, as are all its member centers. With their solid, long-standing networks of in-country contacts, the centers facilitate access to local research resources, create programs and projects that increase knowledge about these countries and regions, provide a forum for contact and exchange, offer library and technical support and accommodation, provide fellowships, and disseminate information through conferences, workshops, and publications. U.S. and host-country educational institutions rely on the centers to fund and support research and study overseas – currently, 486 institutions in 29 countries hold 1,241 memberships in CAORC member centers around the world.

The centers’ private structure and the unbiased research they promote make them respected foci of American academia in the countries where they operate. Through their permanent, independent, non-political presence in the host countries and regions, the centers are an integral part of the host countries’ intellectual infrastructure; partner regularly with host-country institutions and scholars on fellowships, conferences, and workshops; serve as a collegial meeting ground for large numbers of American, host-, and third-country students and scholars; and are the primary vehicle through which American scholars carry out research vital to our understanding of and interaction with other cultures.

CEMAT hosts American Studies Grantee Alumni Panel

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Presta Boone) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 14:49:00 +0000

Last week, CEMAT hosted its annual American Studies Grantee Alumni Panel for 2012-2013 returned grantees. Funded by the Public Affairs Office of the US Embassy in Tunisia, CEMAT has awarded the American Studies Grant to 26 Tunisian scholars since 2005. American Studies Grantees are Ph.D. candidates in American Studies (literature, law, business, social science, language pedagogy) or Tunisian professors working on curriculum development or publications. Grantees generally consult special collections or work with relevant American professors at U.S. universities who have influenced their own work. The American Studies Grant Program gives Tunisian scholars a unique experience of American campus life as well as make use of facilities and materials not available in Tunisia.

This year, our grantees expanded their research areas at U.S. university campuses to include law, public-private partnerships, public opinion surveys and Arab-American studies, in addition to the more traditional scholarly fields in literature and cultural studies. All grantees were extremely excited about their experience with American university campus life and the opportunity to interact with American researchers and scholars who work on similar subjects. One of our grantees was even offered a year-long visiting position at the University of Michigan to help set up a center for Arab-American studies.

The American Studies Grant program is one of CEMAT’s most important initiatives with significant impact on Tunisian graduate student and faculty careers. Starting with one single grant in 2005, CEMAT awarded eight grants in 2012 and looks forward to expanding the grant program this coming year, in terms of awardees as well as academic fields.

2012-2013 American Studies Grantee,
CEMAT Director Laryssa Chomiak and Riadh Saadaoui

Preserving and Developing Living Religious Heritage at a Unique Site Newly Conserved: The Red Monastery Church

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Presta Boone) — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 21:10:00 +0000

View the report from the American Research Center in Egypt's conference on "Preserving and Developing Living Religious Heritage at a Unique Site Newly Conserved: The Red Monastery Church."

Fellow Spotlight: Nathaniel Dominy

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Presta Boone) — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 19:15:00 +0000

Nathaniel Dominy
2008 Multi-Country Research Fellow
Professor of Anthropology, Dartmouth University
Project: Baboons, Stable Isotopes and the Lost Land of Punt
Countries: Egypt, Ethiopia, Uganda

1. Why did you apply for the Multi-Country Research Fellowship?
It was an exciting and natural fit for my research focus. I was exploring the antiquity of trade between Ancient Egypt and neighboring political states.

2. Which centers did you affiliate with?
ARCE - the American Research Center in Egypt

3. Did you have any unexpected discoveries in the field?
Yes, but mainly new interpersonal relationships. I 'discovered' several colleagues with shared and complementary research interests. Through them, I became aware of unpublished information that greatly enhanced my scholarship and multi-country research fellowship experience.

4. How did affiliating with the Overseas Research Centers impact your work?
Very positively. My affiliation with ARCE provided exceedingly valuable practical and logistical support. It was also very stimulating intellectually.

5. What surprised you most about the countries you visited?
I was most surprised by Eritrea, a country with a vast wealth of exciting and important archeological sites that deserve more scholarly attention and preservation.

6. What was the most challenging aspect of your research?
Acquiring research permits - it was at times challenging but also edifying. Patience and cultural sensitivity are central to a successful multi-country research fellowship.

7. How did your project change over the course of your fellowship?
In my case, I came to better appreciate the underlying natural history associated with the human history in the region. It inspired new research directions and I was able to photograph key flora and fauna that will augment and highlight the research when it is published.

8. What aspects of your research did you enjoy the most?
Being outdoors and meeting new people and future collaborators. There is really no substitute for visiting the places that you are studying.

9. How will the Multi award impact your future research?
It reinforces my view that interpersonal engagement and the building of intellectual bridges between people and institutions are natural and exciting ways to do research. It often leads to unexpected insights and discoveries. The Multi award is one of few funding opportunities that encourages and facilitates this approach to scholarship.

10. Do you have any advice for future Multi fellows?
Apply!! You can count on an enriching and unforgettable experience!

CAORC fellowships for multi-country research are funded by the
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State.

Please support CAORC!

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Presta Boone) — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 22:14:00 +0000

Dear Friend,

For more than 30 years, CAORC has promoted advanced scholarly research by U.S. scholars and institutions – and has had a significant impact on every American overseas research center:

CAORC has worked hard to secure and maintain ongoing U.S. government financial support for the centers, through both the Department of State and Department of Education.
CAORC has strengthened the original centers by increasing their communication and cooperation.
CAORC has helped scholars establish new centers in Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Indonesia, Iraq, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Sri Lanka, West Africa, and Palestine.
CAORC has provided fellowships to several thousand American, host-country, and international scholars through a variety of programs.
Through its Faculty Enrichment initiative, Teaching about Islam and Middle East Cultures collaboration, and an outreach grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York, CAORC has increased the capacity of smaller U.S. colleges and community colleges for teaching and public education on international topics and cultures and helped close curriculum gaps for smaller educational institutions with few faculty members in area studies.
CAORC has provided access to important scholarly research materials for American, host-country, and international scholars through the Digital Library for International Research and by helping many centers acquire and maintain JSTOR subscriptions.

The difference between what the centers were able to accomplish in 1981, when CAORC was founded, and what they are able to accomplish now, thanks to CAORC’s active support, is simply astounding. And although we have faced difficult times in the last two years, we have achieved two major successes: the reinstatement of some Title VI funds, after the Department of Education eliminated the AORC competition, and the increase in the Department of State/ECA grant to $4,400,000, despite the fractious environment.

But we still have much to do – and we need your help to do it. Now, more than ever, we need to be able to show federal and private funders that hundreds of scholars, individuals, foundations, and others are standing strongly behind our efforts to strengthen higher education and further international scholarly research.

Please join me in including CAORC in your year-end giving plans and make a gift to enable CAORC to advocate for international education – and for all of our centers – in 2013.

With best wishes for the holidays and the New Year,

Jeanne Marecek, Ph.D.
Chair, Board of Directors
Council of American Overseas Research Centers

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please click here to donate online or send your check to CAORC at:
P.O. Box 37012, MRC 178
Washington, DC 20013-7012

CAORC is a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, academic organization. As described in IRS Publication 526, donations to CAORC are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Video: Storms Across the Sahara, a talk by Leonardo Villalón

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Presta Boone) — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 14:32:00 +0000

On Friday, November 2, 2012, Professor Leonardo Villalón presented a talk, sponsored by CAORC, entitled "Storms Across the Sahara: The Sahel in crisis one year after the fall of Qaddafi." View the lecture below.

Middle East Studies Association Annual Meeting

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Presta Boone) — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 18:43:00 +0000

CAORC cordially invites you to the following events during the 2012 Middle East Studies Association (MESA) Annual Meeting in Denver:

Sunday, November 18th
Decentering Muscat: Makran, Zanzibar and the Omani Empire in the Indian Ocean, c. 1800-1964
Panel 3094 – 8:30 AM
Sponsored by the Association for Gulf & Arabian Peninsula Studies (AGAPS)

Palestine and the Arab Revolutions
Panel 3059 - 11:00 AM
Sponsored by the Palestinian American Research Center (PARC)

Yemen after Saleh
Panel 3025 - 2:00 PM
Sponsored by the American Institute for Yemeni Studies (AIYS)

Political Economy of the Arabian Peninsula, Part II
Panel 3173 – 2:00 PM
Sponsored by the Association for Gulf & Arabian Peninsula Studies (AGAPS)

Colonial, Revolutionary, and Contemporary Libya: Emerging Research
Panel 3080 – 4:30 PM
Sponsored by the American Institute for Maghrib Studies (AIMS)

Monday, November 19th
Tunisian 'Exceptionalism'? Situating the 2011 Revolution and its Aftermath in the Context of
North African Regional Reform
Panel 3071 – 2:30 PM
Sponsored by the American Institute for Maghrib Studies (AIMS)

Tuesday, November 20th
Forgotten Legacy: Palestinians in Kuwait
Sponsored by the Association for Gulf & Arabian Peninsula Studies (AGAPS)
Panel 3012 – 8:30 AM

Please visit our booth (#604-605) in the Book Exhibit for information on CAORC and our Member Centers!

Please see the MESA website for more information and to register for the MESA Annual Meeting.

Storms across the Sahara: a talk by Leonardo A. Villalón

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Presta Boone) — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 17:56:00 +0000

Storms across the Sahara:
The Sahel in crisis one year after the fall of Qaddafi

a talk by
Leonardo A. Villalón
Associate Professor of Political Science and African Studies, University of Florida

Friday, November 2, 2012, 9:30am

Renaissance Hotel
Room: City Center I
1143 New Hampshire Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20037
doors open at 8:45am, light refreshments served

CAORC Multi-Country Research Fellowship Now Available!

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 19:50:00 +0000

On-line Application Now Available!

The Multi-Country Fellowship Program supports advanced regional or trans-regional research in the humanities, social sciences, or allied natural sciences for U.S. doctoral candidates and scholars who have already earned their Ph.D. Preference will be given to candidates examining comparative and/or cross-regional research. Scholars must carry out research in two or more countries outside the United States, at least one of which hosts a participating American overseas research center. Approximately nine awards of up to $10,500 each will be given. The 2012/2013 application is now available. The deadline to apply is January 15, 2013.

Eligibility Guidelines

Eligibility requirements apply at the time of application. Applicants must meet all of the following requirements and will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, gender, age, national origin and/or disability.

• Must be a U.S. citizen. Proof of citizenship (photocopy of passport) must be shown upon award notification.

• Must have a Ph.D. or be a doctoral candidate who has completed all Ph.D. requirements with the exception of the dissertation.

• Must be engaged in the study of and research in the humanities, social sciences, and allied natural sciences.

• Must wish to conduct research of regional or trans-regional significance in two or more countries outside the United States, one of which must host a participating American overseas research center (ORC).

Application Deadline

The deadline for application submission is Tuesday, January 15, 2013.

Applications Available at http://caorc.org/programs/multi.htm

CAORC Member Centers are Located in:

Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Pakistan, Palestine, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Turkey, and Yemen

CAORC fellowships for multi-country research are funded by the
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State.

Call for Papers: The W.F. Albright Institute's 2013 Sean W. Dever Memorial Prize

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 15:33:00 +0000

The William F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem announces the 2013 Sean W. Dever Memorial Prize call for papers. This prize provides $650 for the best published article or paper presented at a conference by a Ph.D. candidate in Syro-Palestinian or biblical archaeology. Authors may be of any nationality but the article or paper must be in English. Co-written or co-presented pieces may be submitted if all the authors or presenters are doctoral candidates; the prize, if awarded, will be divided equally among authors/presenters.

All submissions (in PDF format) must include the author’s academic affiliation, mailing address, email address, and phone number. Please indicate the department in which the author is enrolled and the expected date of graduation. Submission of conference papers must include the name and location of the conference and the date on which the paper was presented. Submission of published papers must include the full bibliographic citation. All submissions must be received no later than December 31, 2012. The prize will be announced on Sean’s birthday, March 9, 2013.

Send PDF of paper to:
Mr. Sam Cardillo, W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research cardillo@sas.upenn.edu

Sean W. Dever Memorial Prize Committee: Carol Meyers and Beth Alpert Nakhai, co-chairs; Aaron Brody, Seymour Gitin and Edward Greenstein, members; J.P. Dessel, ex-officio; Norma Dever, honorary member.

2012 Prize Recipient: Robert S. Homsher of University College London Institute of Archaeology. His paper was entitled “Mud-Bricks, Construction and the Process of Urbanization in the Middle Bronze Age Levant.” It was presented at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the American Schools of Oriental Research, in San Francisco.

The Sean W. Dever Memorial Prize was established in 2001 by Professor William G. Dever and Mrs. Norma Dever, in memory of their son Sean.

The Hollings Center Presents: Afghanistan's Cultural Institutions and Private Sector in the Shadow of 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 13:46:00 +0000

Date: Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Location: Carnegie Conference Center, 1779 Massachusetts Avenue, NW

Light Lunch: 12:00-12:30 pm

Panel: 12:30-2:00 pm

Video Presentation: 2:00-4:00 pm

featuring:

Shaharzad Akbar

Partner and Chief Operating Officer at QARA Consulting, Kabul

Jahid Mohseni

Co-founder and director of Moby Group, Afghanistan's leading media organization

Laura Tedesco

Cultural Heritage Program Manager, Department of State, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs

Joanie Meharry

Director of Untold Stories: Oral Histories of Afghanistan's Cultural Heritage

Introductory Remarks:

Amb. Wendy Chamberlin

President, MEI

Moderator:

George Gavrilis

Executive Director, Hollings Center

The Middle East Institute and the Hollings Center are pleased to co-host a panel discussion and video presentation on Afghanistan's cultural institutions and the private sector in the context of the U.S. withdrawal in 2014.

International headlines about Afghanistan are consistently filled with stories about the sad state of security and politics in the country. Yet, underneath these headlines, Afghanistan's cultural institutions and private sector have grown significantly. From Afghan archaeological sites to TV channels, the country has experienced a quiet and fragile cultural renaissance. This panel will bring together archaeologists, media professionals and other experts to discuss Afghanistan's cultural institutions and the private sector. The discussion will cover subjects such as archaeological digs across the country and the rebuilding of the Afghanistan National Museum; the challenges of producing TV shows for a diverse and divided country; and the role of the US and the international community. Panelists will debate the likelihood that these cultural institutions will survive a reduced international engagement and whether these institutions will unify Afghans or draw the ire of insurgents and extremists. The main panel will be followed by a special presentation of Untold Stories, video shorts that document efforts by Afghans and Americans (such as Nancy Hatch Dupree) to preserve Afghanistan's archaeological sites and cultural heritage.

To RSVP for this event, click HERE.

PARC Conference: "Building on Strengths and Supporting Communities: Utilizing Research and Evaluation in Context"

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 20:07:00 +0000

From June 5-7, 2012 the Palestinian American Research Center (PARC) and Bethlehem University sponsored a conference entitled "Building on Strengths and Supporting Communities: Utilizing Research and Evaluation in Context."

The first two days of the conference focused on building individual faculty and university research and program evaluation infrastructure and included 19 faculty members from five West Bank universities. The program involved training in models of evaluation; skill development in specific tools used for evaluation research such as logic models and SPSS-based analysis and factor analysis; as well as tools of qualitative research.

The third day of the conference was for 18 individuals from NGOs and sought to build on the existing research and program evaluation infrastructure. The program involved an overview of models of evaluation and skill building in the area of logic models. The additional theme of reaching out to and partnering with a university was included.

Both groups were given ample opportunities for networking. In addition to the valuable substantive information, many new partnerships were formed among and between the researchers, Palestinian universities, NGOs, and U.S. universities. The U.S. faculty members leading the program will continue to provide support to Palestinian faculty members in implementing their newly acquired skills, as well as nurturing for the new partnerships.

The conference was lead by three U.S. faculty members: Elizabeth Beck, Georgia State University; Mahasin Saleh, University of Nevada, Reno; and Soleman Abu-Bader, Howard University. This event was supported by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs through the Council of American Overseas Research Centers.

CEMAT Concludes Political Science Lecture Series

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Presta Boone) — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 19:48:00 +0000

In May 2012, CEMAT welcomed the last political scientist on the US Embassy sponsored political science lecture series (2011-2012). Professor Nathan Brown, a political scientist renowned for his work on democratization and constitutional politics in Egypt and Palestine, concluded the successful lecture series, leading three discussions on the comparative constitutional reform processes and the politics of the Muslim Brothers in Egypt.

Constitution Drafting in the Arab World: Lessons and Landmines?
Prof. Nathan J. Brown, George Washington UniversityProf. Clement M. Henry, American University of Cairo

On May 23, 2012, Professor Brown discussed constitutional reform in the Arab World. His two-part lecture first outlined the historical moments of constitution writing in the Arab World. Breaking elitist traditions of the past, constitution drafting in contemporary Egypt and Tunisia incorporate civil society and previously banned political parties into the drafting process. The second part of the lecture discussed the constitution drafting processes now underway. While hotheaded debates over the relationship between the state and Islam dominate those discussions, Professor Brown suggested political actors focus more squarely on institutional design, especially questions relating to centralized authority in the executive branch. Professor Clement M. Henry from the American University of Cairo discussed Professor Brown’s lecture, setting up a lively debate on the ‘proper’ stages of constitution drafting among the fifty-member audience.
On May 25, Professor Brown gave the same lecture to Tunisia’s future diplomatic corps at the Tunisian Institute for Diplomats.

Islamist Movements in Arab Politics: From Opposition to Governing

Prof. Nathan J. Brown, George Washington University

On 24 May, 2012, Professor Brown lectured on the evolution of Islamist movements in the Arab World to the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy. Professor Brown began the lecture with a historical overview of the Muslim Brothers in Egypt. During the former authoritarian regime, the Muslim Brothers participated in elections in order to lose: the regime would not broker a parliamentary plurality, and a relative electoral victory would increase regime oppression. During the authoritarian era, the Muslim Brothers developed into a ‘comprehensive movement with comprehensive strategy’ with wide reach into society. January 2011 turned the Muslim Brothers’ strategy on its head. The party’s new political party, Freedom and Justice Party, won a plurality of seats in the 2011 legislative elections, and its candidate Mohammed Morsi is now battling a former Prime Minister in the second round of presidential elections. The shift from an electoral strategy of partial participation to domination of both the executive and legislative branches of government forces the movement and its new party to address deep questions, with great bearing on its furniture. Close to 40 people, including members of the US State Department Foreign Service Institute, attended and participated in the lively debate.

A CAORC Wedding

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Presta Boone) — Mon, 21 May 2012 18:48:00 +0000

CAORC is pleased to announce the wedding of Dr. Laryssa Chomiak, CEMAT Director, to Dr. Robert Parks, CEMA Director. We wish the couple best wishes for a lifetime of happiness!

The Council of American Overseas Research Centers is pleased to announce the Multi-Country Research Fellows for the 2012 cycle!

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Presta Boone) — Wed, 16 May 2012 18:49:00 +0000

The Council of American Overseas Research Centers is pleased to announce the Multi-Country Research Fellows for the 2012 cycle!

The CAORC Multi-Country Research Fellowship Program supports advanced regional or trans-regional research in the humanities, social sciences, or allied natural sciences for U.S. doctoral candidates and scholars who have already earned their Ph.D. Scholars must carry out research in two or more countries outside the United States, at least one of which hosts a participating American overseas research center.

CAORC fellowships for multi-country research are funded by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairsof the United States Department of State.

Abu Bakarr Bah, Associate Professor of Sociology, Northern Illinois University

International State-Building: Lessons from the Civil Wars in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Côte d’Ivoire

Research Countries: Senegal, Sierra Leone

This project is a comparative study of the state-building role of the international community in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Cote d’Ivoire. It addresses two overarching questions: why the international community intervenes in war-torn African countries? How could intervention contribute to the development of stable and democratic states in Africa? The study is intended to lead to four articles and a book.

Elizabeth Buckner, Doctoral Candidate in Education, Stanford University

Higher Education Policy Reform in Tunisia and Jordan

Research Countries: Jordan, Tunisia

My dissertation investigates the emergence and development of private higher education in two Arab nations with long legacies of state-run higher education. By carrying out a comparative case study of higher education policy reform in Tunisia and Jordan – two countries that have both rhetorically adopted private higher education, but experienced divergent outcomes – my dissertation will investigate how nations formulate higher education policies, and what factors shape policies in lower-income Arab nations where PHE is a new and contentious policy. In particular, I am interested in understanding how policymakers balance global models advocating PHE with the need to uphold their legacies of free public schooling, and which factors shape policy design and implementation.

Nathan Devir, Assistant Professor of Hebrew, Jewish Studies, and Comparative Literary and Cultural Studies, University of Utah

Analyzing Hebraic Ancestry Narratives among the “Neo-Jews” of Ghana and India

Research Countries: Ghana, India

The aim of this research is to record and analyze the diasporic reconstructions of Hebraic ancestry myths in several oral narratives of two little-known “neo-Jewish” groups whose members have specifically expressed a desire to have these narratives recorded for posterity. These groups are the Sefwi Wiawso and Sui “House of Israel” of southwestern Ghana and the Telugu “Sons of Ephraim” of Andhra Pradesh, India. This project will explore these groups’ self-identification with a Hebraic ancestry based on legends regarding the Lost Tribes, transformations of Jewish dietary laws, and the incorporation of local lore into standard Biblical stories.

Madigan Fichter, Doctoral Candidate in History, New York University

Rocking the Balkans: Counterculture and Youth Dissent in Southeastern Europe, 1965-1975

Research Countries: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria

In the 1960s, the Balkan countries were in the grips of the global youth revolt. Balkan youth interwove elements of peasant culture, nationalism, socialism and Western rock culture into unique, hybrid identities tying local context to the global youth movements’ aesthetics and goals. My postdoctoral work investigates counterculture and youth dissent in the Balkans from 1965-1975, extending my dissertation’s focus on Romania, Serbia and Croatia, to Bosnia and Bulgaria. I am particularly interested in the intersections of Islam with popular culture and political dissent. I will produce a book manuscript of a region-wide study of unofficial youth culture and politics.

Cameron Gokee, Doctoral Candidate in Anthropology, University of Michigan

Archaeological Landscapes of Gold Production in Precolonial West Africa

Research Countries: Guinea and Senegal

This project proposes to examine how precolonial societies occupying the gold fields of West Africa participated in, or reacted to, the expansion of increasingly global trade networks over the past 1500 years. Specifically, the project will involve archaeological survey in the gold-producing regions of Bambuk (Senegal) and Buré (Guinea) to document the chronology and socio-spatial organization of sites associated with past settlement, metal production, and other activities. Comparing the long-term dynamics of these two archaeological landscapes is vital to understanding the different ways in which local cultural traditions intersected with the global political-economic processes known from outside historical sources.

Mukaram Hhana, Doctoral Candidate in History, University of Pennsylvania

Commandeering Empires: Ottoman Tripoli in the Age of Revolution, 1789-1830

Research Countries: Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom

From 1789-1830, North Africa took center-stage in the Mediterranean theater of war. As France, Great Britain and the United States stormed Egypt, Tripoli and Algiers, regional officials became interlocutors for inter-imperial exchange. My research focuses on the Qaramanlis: the corsair governors of Ottoman-held Tripoli. I investigate how a privateering boom, local power struggles, and Tripoli’s ties with its neighbors created a complicated network of political actors and shaped imperial ambitions in the region. My work recasts North Africa as an important center in the Mediterranean and Ottoman worlds, and explores the historical ties and complicated dynamics of the pre-colonial Maghreb.

Bridget Kustin, Doctoral Candidate in Anthropology, Johns Hopkins University

The Theology, Economics, and Politics of Islamic (Micro) finance in Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia

Research Countries: Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia

Bangladesh’s rapidly growing Islamic finance industry is poised to expand by folding poor clients into Islamic microfinance. I will conduct research into the Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited’s Islamic microfinance program, its rural clients, and Saudi Arabia’s Islamic Development Bank, a key supporter of the program. Through interviews, participant-observation, survey collection and data analysis, and client household financial diaries, I will explore: 1) processes of commensuration between Islamic economics and development economics, and notions of 'social justice' operational in both. 2) Negotiation of religious (e.g. eschatological) versus economic demands on the uncertain futures of the poor through accounting and auditing practices. 3) How Islamic microfinance, as an element of the broader Islamic finance industry, suggests the creation of a particular kind of transnational Islamic public.

Emily McKee, Postdoctoral Associate in Anthropology, Yale University

Trans-Border Water Conservation: An Ethnographic Study

Research Countries: Israel, Jordan, West Bank

Dichotomous messages circulate about water's role in Middle Eastern peace or conflict, some anticipating inevitable water wars, and others seeing cooperative conservation as a peace-building opportunity. Through multi-sited ethnographic research, this proposed project explores, first, the strategies and practices of regional water conservationists to learn how they negotiate a context of nationalist conflict as they promote trans-border responsibility and cooperation. Next, to learn the sociopolitical effects of such conservation efforts for residents, research with border communities will examine how residents view and act in response to conservation campaigns urging them to change water-use practices and expectations of ethno-national division.

Christopher Tounsel, Doctoral Candidate in History, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
The Construction of Identity-Formation in Southern Sudan, 1898-1964

Research Countries: Egypt, United Kingdom
My research focuses on the construction of identity in southern Sudan during the period of Anglo-Egyptian government and on into the first years of Sudanese independence. More specifically, my project will concern official perceptions of the southern Sudanese, the work by which African vernacular languages were textualized and defined, and how certain cultural and religious dispositions were attributed to and appropriated by particular southern groups.

Juan Cole Visits Tunisia on CEMAT-hosted Lecture Tour

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Mon, 14 May 2012 19:40:00 +0000

Professor Juan Coles (center) speaking with CEMAT
scholars following the lecture

During the week of May 6, 2012, CEMAT hosted Professor Juan Cole as part of its popular Political Science Speakers Series. Professor Cole began his speaking tour at the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy. He spoke, in Arabic, on the timely subject of Iran and the Arab Spring. Professor Cole then joined an audience of over fifty at CEMAT for a talk entitled, “How Likely are the ex-Dictatorships Transition to Democracy?” which he discussed with Tunisian public intellectual Professor Hamadi Redissi.

The audience at CEMAT included Tunisian and American students, embassy staff, Tunisian professors, journalists and the general public. The talk was also live-streamed on Tunisia-live.net. For his final talk, Professor Cole addressed students at the Faculty of Letters in Kairouan, Tunisia’s holy city and cultural magnet, housing the oldest mosque in North Africa. Professor Cole spoke about the American interpretation of the Arab Spring. His visit also afforded him the opportunity to meet with local US dignitaries and major Tunisian political leaders.

CAORC Welcomes Newest Member Center

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Presta Boone) — Wed, 09 May 2012 16:23:00 +0000

CAORC is pleased to announce our newest Member Center: the American Institute for Indonesian Studies.

The American Institute for Indonesian Studies (AIFIS) was established in January 2012 as a consortium of US universities and colleges interested in furthering the development of Indonesian studies in the United States and fostering scholarly exchange between Indonesian and US scholars. Its mission is to facilitate study and research concerning Indonesia in the fields of the physical sciences, social sciences, agricultural practices and technologies, engineering, and the arts and humanities. A key goal of AIFIS is to create an open and friendly environment that draws in Indonesian and American researchers from diverse backgrounds, and maximizes interactions between American and Indonesian scholars and students.

AIFIS’s US office is situated at Cornell University, where the Echols Collection on Southeast Asia offers the most extensive library holdings on Indonesia in the United States. Its Jakarta office at the Sampoerna School of Education, fully furnished and equipped with computers, desks and office supplies, offers excellent facilities that are freely available to American scholars from the consortium member institutions, as well as to all interested Indonesian scholars and students. The Indonesian reading room contains a diverse collection of books and journals dealing with Indonesia, which were donated by our U.S. consortium member universities. AIFIS staff in our Jakarta office provides personal assistance with research and residency permits for US researchers and networking facilities for visiting US and Indonesian academics. AIFIS has taken an active role in planning and supporting events that foster scholarly exchange between American and Indonesian scholars and is coordinating with a wide variety of other academic institutions and organizations to arrange presentations and other events throughout the 2012 calendar year. It is looking into the possibility of opening a branch facility in Yogyakarta and later in other areas of Indonesia, such as Bandung, Surabaya, and Medan.

U.S. and Indonesian AIFIS organizers, staff, and other presenters at the conclusion of the
inaugural seminar at the AIFIS offices in the Sampoerna School of Education in Jakarta.

WARC Holds Conference on Political Crisis in Guinea Bissau

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Tue, 08 May 2012 19:44:00 +0000

Excellency Mamadou Pires, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guinea Bissau,
Professor Boubacar Barry, and His Excellency Ambassador Cabral

The current situation in Guinea Bissau is of critical concern throughout West Africa. On April 12, just before the presidential run-off election scheduled for April 22, the military staged a coup that overthrew the constitutional government. The political situation in Guinea Bissau has been unstable for the past several years, and this most recent event has broad repercussions for the entire region. ECOWAS has instituted sanctions after the refusal by the military junta to allow the interim president to manage the return to civilian rule and has called for the deployment of a regional military force.

WARC organized a panel discussion on this issue on Wednesday, May 2. The guest speakers were His Excellency Mamadou Saliou Diallo Pires, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Guinea Bissau and His Excellency Mario Cabral, Ambassador of the Republic of Guinea Bissau in Dakar. The event was moderated by Professor Boubacar Barry, Université Cheikh Anta Diop.

Press coverage of the panel was featured in major newspapers in Dakar, with several carrying the story on the front page. The panel was an excellent opportunity for the Bissauan community in Dakar to discuss the issues currently prevailing in their country. The exchanges were quite charged; at one point M. Pires, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Guinea Bissau insisted on the need to discuss political issues rather than rather than resort to military action.

In addition to the suggestion that military forces in Guinea Bissau need to be re-structured, the panelists strongly emphasized the need to have a multi-national military force in the country to restore order. The speakers applauded the current efforts of the international community (including ECOWAS and the African Union) to restore the rule of law and democracy in Guinea Bissau.

View video from the event here:

Hollings Center Event, Thursday, May 10: The U.S.-Turkey Commercial Relationship: A Growing Partnership

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 18:01:00 +0000

Please join the Hollings Center for an insightful discussion as four panels of academic, industry and government experts examine developments in the U.S- Turkey economic relationship. Topics include Turkey in the global economy, Turkey’s foreign trade and changing trade partners, innovation and entrepreneurship, labor and competitiveness, the Arab Spring and Turkey and the politics of Turkey’s economy. This conference is organized in partnership with the Henry M. Jackson Foundation and the Hollings Center for International Dialogue. The event will take place from 9:00-4:00 at the Cosmos Club, 2121 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC. Registration Required. Please click here for more information.

Three CAORC Member Centers Awarded NEH Grants

noreply@blogger.com (Robin Presta Boone) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 18:15:00 +0000

April 25, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Dr. Mary Ellen Lane, Executive Director, Council of American Overseas Research Centers; 202-633-1599; lane.maryellen@caorc.org

Three CAORC Member Centers Awarded NEH Grants

The Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC) is pleased to announce that three American Overseas Research Centers received grants in the 2012-2013 competition for Fellowship Programs at Independent Research Institutions (FPIRI) from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).

NEH grants for Fellowship Programs at Independent Research Institutions support fellowships at institutions devoted to advanced study and research in the humanities, such as American Overseas Research Centers. These NEH fellowships provide scholars with research time and access to resources that might not be available at their home institutions.

Since 1991, the American Research Institute in Turkey (ARIT) NEH Fellowship program has provided fellowships for advanced scholars who wish to carry out long-term research in Turkey in affiliation with an ARIT center in Istanbul and/or Ankara. Fellowship tenures range from four months to one year. The fields of study cover all periods of history in the general range of the humanities, and include humanistically oriented aspects of the social sciences, prehistory, history, art, archaeology, literature, and linguistics, as well as interdisciplinary aspects of cultural history. Funded fellows will make use of the extensive and diverse archival and cultural resources that are accessible to researchers in Turkey. The ARIT program will support from one to three fellows each year for three years, beginning in 2013.

Since 1993, the NEH Fellowship program at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens(ASCSA) has given U.S. scholars the opportunity to conduct research in Greece and utilize the many excellent resources available at the ASCSA. As the ASCSA’s most prestigious fellowship earmarked exclusively for post-doctoral scholars to carry out research in the humanities, the NEH fellowships are an important part of the School’s overall fellowship program, providing over 50 fellowships annually to students, teachers, and scholars. Each fellowship, through its selection criteria, contributes to the diverse academic community at the ASCSA. For 16 years, the NEH fellowship program has been a major factor in establishing the School’s reputation as the premier overseas research center for the study of the Greek world. Research by NEH fellows on humanities topics results in publications, lectures, and conferences that reach a broad audience of scholars, students, and the general public in the U.S. and abroad.

The Palestinian American Research Center (PARC) NEH FPIRI Fellowship program will give PARC an opportunity to focus attention on post-doctoral humanities research on Palestine. Beginning in 2013 PARC will award one to two fellowships each year for three years, with fellows receiving from four to eight months of support. The NEH grant will assist PARC in expanding the pool of scholars specializing in Palestinian studies and building the body of scholarship on Palestine. Since 1998, PARC has awarded almost 180 fellowships to American and Palestinian doctoral and post-doctoral scholars in diverse fields ranging from medicine to cultural anthropology. In addition to a small but rich library of scholarship on Jerusalem, PARC cosponsors conferences and seminars in Palestine and the United States and offers a panel at the Middle East Studies Association each year.

Other NEH fellowships and research grants supporting international research are also available through the following American overseas centers:

Albright Institute of Archaeological Research (Jerusalem)
American Academy in Rome
American Center of Oriental Research (Amman)
American Institute of Indian Studies (New Delhi, Calcutta, Chennai, and Pune)
American Research Center in Egypt (Cairo)

Please go to http://caorc.org/ for further information on these fellowships and grants.

CAORC and American Overseas Research Centers

Founded in 1981 and located in the Smithsonian Institution, the Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC) advances higher learning and international scholarly research, particularly in the humanities and social sciences, by U.S. scholars and academic institutions by promoting communication and cooperation among U.S. overseas research centers; providing general and continuing publicity about the centers’ importance and contributions; providing the centers with programmatic, administrative, financial, legal, and policy guidance; exchanging scholarly and research information among the centers; facilitating the creation of new centers; and encouraging, sponsoring, and coordinating multi-center, multinational, and regional research and collaborative projects.

CAORC is a not-for-profit federation of 22 independent American overseas research centers that promote advanced scholarly research, particularly in the Humanities and Social Sciences, with focus on the conservation and recording of cultural heritage and the understanding and interpretation of modern societies. The centers are a key part of the circulatory system of U.S. higher education for communication with the regions and for independent, top-caliber scholarly research and highest level exchange that pushes the frontiers of knowledge.

Since the decades following World War II – and in some cases since the late 1800s – American overseas research centers have been the main face of U.S. academia in many countries. The centers are the primary vehicle through which American scholars and students carry out research vital to our understanding of and interaction with other cultures. The centers foster international education andscholarly exchange overseas by facilitating the work of individual U.S. scholars and students who are conducting research; sponsoring fellowship programs for pre-doctoral and senior scholars; providing intensive foreign language study for individuals and groups; implementing cultural preservation initiatives that often serve as training venues for young American and host-country scholars; convening conferences and seminars; and collaborating on research, publication, library, and outreach projects. One of the most important functions CAORC and the centers provide is an institutional network to connect U.S. academics to local scholars and resources in regions of the world where facilitation and access to research resources are difficult to obtain.

Each year CAORC and the centers grant hundreds of fellowships for overseas research to students and faculty at American institutions. Additionally, each year the centers host and facilitate research for thousands of students, teachers, and scholars supported by the Fulbright programs, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Council of Learned Societies, the Social Science Research Council, as well as hundreds of independent U.S. scholars and study groups.

"The Last Harvest: The Yemenis of the San Joaquin" premiering on PBS-OC/SoCal, May 1, 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:30:00 +0000

The Last Harvest explores the lives and times of Muslim Immigrants from Yemen and their descendants who call California's San Joaquin Valley home. This film was produced with support from the American Institute of Yemeni Studies and the Council of American Overseas Research Centers, through a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York. The film will air on PBS-OC/SoCal, May 1, at 10:30 PM PST.

WARC Exhibit: Images of the African Diaspora in NYC Community Murals

noreply@blogger.com (Monica) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 19:22:00 +0000

On the afternoon of April 6, 2012, Jane Weismann, curator and member of Artmakers Inc, launched an exhibit at WARC entitled, "Images of the African Diaspora in New York City Community Murals."

The exhibit depicts murals found in the Manhattan neighborhoods, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is composed of 35 images mounted on foam core which explore how African and Caribbean art, history, religion and myth have influenced mural themes and content.

The murals attracted a substantial crowd at WARC

Starting with New York's earliest community murals in Harlem (1968 - 1971), the exhibition focuses on the Black nationalism movement, the artistic philosophy of Ghanaian artists, and how the artists drew inspiration from various other sources such as African fertility symbols, Egyptian rituals, and religious icons. The murals also include references to African American cultural figures, history and politics, the Caribbean slave trade, immigration, and Ethiopian illuminated manuscripts and magic scrolls.

Ms. Weissman gave invitees a very detailed tour explaining the meaning and history of the images. The opening session was attended by a select group of 15 people, including well-known Senegalese artists such as Mr Yelimane Fall, art lovers and representatives of the press. Since the opening, viewers have been flocking in to admire the beauty of the various images, which are on exhibit at WARC until May 4.