Appel à communications : “The First World War and its Aftermath: The Shaping of the Middle East”, Inaugural GINGKO Conference, SOAS, Londres, 06-07/12/2014 — LIMITE : 02/06/2014 pour les communications, 07/07/2014 pour les panels
‘The First World War and its Aftermath: The Shaping of the Middle East’
Inaugural GINGKO Conference
6-7 December 2014
SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies), London
Convened by HRH Prince El Hassan of Jordan
and Dr Barbara Schwepcke, of the Gingko Library
The Gingko conference series brings together scholars from the East and
the West. The Gingko conferences are designed to complement the Gingko
Library, a project to publish one hundred books over the next ten years,
presenting the latest work in both Arabic and English across the full
range of humanities, social sciences and sciences relating to the Middle
East and North Africa. The first Gingko conference, to be held in London
on 6–7 December 2014, focuses on the effects of the First World War on
the Middle East. Our guest speakers include Professor Khaled Fahmy of
the American University in Cairo and Dr Eugene Rogan of the University
of Oxford. Other confirmed attendees include Professor Charles Tripp
(SOAS), Professor Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak (University of Maryland),
Professor Yousef Meri (LMU Munich) and Professor Mustafa Aksakal
(Georgetown University).
The course of the First World War, as it played out in the Middle East
and the political and cultural changes around it, shaped the modern
Middle East: The Ottoman and the Russian Empires fought each other for
supremacy in the region – neither succeeded nor survived the fight. Both
sides tried to use notions of Islamic unity and Pan-Arabism to their own
advantage: Sultan Mehmed V called for a global Muslim jihad against the
Entente Powers, while Britain stirred Pan-Arabism with little intention
of honouring promises made in the process. At the end of the First World
War four multi-ethnic empires lay in ruins. In the Middle East lines
were drawn in the sand, dividing communities which had lived together
for centuries. Wilson’s ideals were as powerful an inspiration as
Lenin’s communist utopia on nationalist leaders such as ‘Abd al-‘Aziz
al-Tha‘alibi and Saad Zaghloul, but what constituted a nation in the
Middle East and North Africa in the aftermath of the First World War? In
the end, neither the Tunisian Destour nor the Egyptian Wafd party were
allowed to present their case for national self-determination at the
Paris Peace Conference. And the only Middle Eastern delegation to attend
was the Hejaz, lead by Emir Feisal, who had been promised a united
Arabia – a promise betrayed at the end of the First World War.
Points of discussion could include:
• Shaping Ethnic Identity: From the Arab Revolt to Pan-Arabism, 1916 to 1933
•Shaping State Identity: The disintegration of the Ottoman Empire and
the artificiality of the post-First World War state system, 1919 to 1939
• Shaping National Identity: Wilson or Lenin? Who had the greater
influence on nationalism in the Middle East?
• Shaping Political Identity: From Subject to Citizen – What constitutes
legitimate governance in the aftermath of the First World War Middle
East and North Africa?
• Shaping Religious Identity: The Sultan’s jihad and the beginnings of
political Islam
Abstracts for papers should be submitted by Monday 2 June 2014 to Aran
Byrne; proposals for sessions must be submitted by Monday 7 July 2014.
Proposals should be no more than 300 words long.
For further details please contact:
Aran Byrne
The Gingko Library
70 Cadogan Place
London SW1X 9AH
Tel: +44 (0)20 7838 9055 Fax: +44 (0)20 7584 9501
Email: aran@thegingkolibrary.com
The inaugural Gingko conference looks at the immediate aftermath of the
First World War with a particular focus on how the period began a long
process of reshaping the identities of the peoples of the Middle East.
How has our understanding of this history changed in both Western and
Middle Eastern scholarship? What is the relevance of this history to the
self-understanding of the people and politics of the region? What are
the implications in terms of the concept of nation state and national
boundaries? How did it influence the legitimacy and governance in the
region? What lessons can be drawn from this period for both West and
East when looking at the challenges and opportunities in the Middle East
today?
The conference will include a gala plenary discussion between Lord Owen
and Prince El Hassan bin Talal on avoiding the mistakes of 1919 in the
modern Middle East and a visit to, and reception at, the exhibition
Forgotten Heroes: North Africans and the Great War 1914–1919. It will
conclude with a literary event, bringing together writers from the
Middle East and the West. Together, the two parts of the event will
complement one another, presenting a unique forum for intellectual
exchange among scholars and writers and will establish the intended
continuity to next year’s conference, when Literature and Iran will be
the main focus of the Gingko Conference.
The Inaugural Conference is expected to attract considerable media
attention and a PR agency will be engaged to handle individual interview
requests as well as to publicise the dialogue. The plenary discussions
will be recorded and made available via the internet to reach the widest
possible audience.
Funding opportunities to cover travel and accommodation are available
for scholars that are selected to speak at the conference. A selection
of the papers delivered at the conference will be published together in
a volume in the Gingko Library, following review. We will also be keen
to talk to speakers at the conference about the possibility of
developing their papers into book-length proposals for the Gingko
Library. All speakers will be invited to become members of the Gingko
Network, an association for scholars of the Middle East and North
Africa, based both in the region and beyond.
The Gingko Library is a not-for-profit limited company by guarantee,
which is currently applying for charity status and affiliation with the
Middle East Studies Association (MESA). It is committed to fostering
intercultural dialogue and better understanding between and within
Orient and Occident.
Please find more information here: www.thegingkolibrary.com
OpenEdition vous propose de citer ce billet de la manière suivante :
Chargé de diffusion scientifique (9 avril 2014). Appel à communications : “The First World War and its Aftermath: The Shaping of the Middle East”, Inaugural GINGKO Conference, SOAS, Londres, 06-07/12/2014 — LIMITE : 02/06/2014 pour les communications, 07/07/2014 pour les panels. IISMM. Consulté le 6 décembre 2024 à l’adresse https://doi.org/10.58079/py26
