DOHA: Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q) is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a two-day conference on power and its critical appraisal.
The forum, featuring top scholars and academics from across the world, will be held on February 3 and 4 on the campus.
It will present a sweeping appraisal of historical and contemporary examples of power expressed through cultural, social, economic and political institutions and identify and analyse non-traditional modes of power emerging from dramatic political shifts worldwide.
“We are celebrating what GU-Q does best: Innovative thought. To celebrate 10 years of intellectual innovation at GU-Q, we want people to think of power in a new way and through thoughtful and innovative research in keeping with the university’s reputation as a premier research institution,” said Dr Amira Sonbol, Professor of History and member of the organising committee.
Dr Laura Doyle, Professor at University of Massachusetts-Amherst, will speak on ‘Inter-imperial Powerscapes’ and Dr Sherman Jackson, Professor at University of Southern California, will discuss ‘Islam and Power: Between Shariah and the Islamic Secular’.
“As part of the anniversary celebrations, we decided to organise a conference that would be inclusive of all fields researched and taught at GU-Q.
“In our discussions as a committee it became apparent that the one subject that binds all of us — whether specialists in economics, political science, history, linguistics, anthropology or literature — is power,” said Mohammed Reza Pirbhai, Associate Professor of History, GU-Q, and Chair of the conference’s working committee.
Dr Gerd Nonneman, Dean, GU-Q, said: “In only 10 short years, our multicultural community of alumni, students and faculty have helped create some of the most meaningful research and knowledge about international affairs and the Middle East here.
“We hope to continue building on this momentum during the coming decade and the conference is one wonderful signpost.”
The forum is open to the public and will include panels: Empire Then and Now; Within and Beyond the Nation-State; Empowering the Disempowered; Forging Knowledge and Culture; and Muslims in Global Perspective. The Peninsula
