{ "151525-21911689": { "datetime_modified":"20260914T093207", "datetime_start":"20260930T190000", "datetime_end":"20260930T210000", "has_end_time":1, "date_start":"2026-09-30", "date_end":"2026-09-30", "time_start":"19:00:00", "time_end":"21:00:00", "time_zone":"America\/Detroit", "event_title":"\u201cSearching for Nubia\u201d", "occurrence_title":"", "combined_title":"\u201cSearching for Nubia\u201d: Film Screening & Director Q&A", "event_subtitle":"Film Screening & Director Q&A", "event_type":"Film Screening", "event_type_id":"11", "description":"Free screening of the the film \u201cSearching for Nubia,\u201d directed by Yasmin Moll, U-M associate professor of anthropology: \u201cWhat does it mean to remember a place you have never seen? A new generation of Nubians battle misconceptions outside and inside their community as they search for a homeland lost but not forgotten. On the way they discover that finding home is never as simple as you imagine.\u201d\n\nA director Q&A with Professor Moll will follow the screening, moderated by Tiffany Fryer, U-M assistant professor of anthropology and assistant curator at the Museum of Anthropological Archaeology.", "occurrence_notes":null, "guid":"151525-21911689@events.umich.edu", "permalink":"http:\/\/events.umich.edu\/event\/151525", "building_id":"null", "building_name":"Off Campus Location", "campus_maps_id":"1", "room":"Theatre #3", "location_name":"The State Theatre: 233 S State St, Ann Arbor, MI 48104", "has_livestream":0, "cost":"", "tags":["film screening","Film","Anthropology","AEM Featured"], "website":"https:\/\/marquee-arts.org\/state-theatre\/", "sponsors":[ { "group_name":"Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies", "group_id":"2563", "website":"http:\/\/www.ii.umich.edu\/cmenas" } ], "image_url":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_151525_original-1.png", "styled_images":{ "event_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/crop-event_151525_original-1.png", "event_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/crop-event_151525_original-1.png", "event_large_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/crop-event_151525_original-1.png", "event_large_lightbox":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_large_lightbox\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/crop-event_151525_original-1.png", "group_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/crop-event_151525_original-1.png", "group_thumb_square":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_thumb_square\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/crop-event_151525_original-1.png", "group_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/crop-event_151525_original-1.png", "group_large_lightbox":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_large_lightbox\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/crop-event_151525_original-1.png", "event_large_crop":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_large_crop\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/crop-event_151525_original-1.png", "event_list":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_list\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/crop-event_151525_original-1.png", "event_list_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_list_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/crop-event_151525_original-1.png", "event_grid":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_grid\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/crop-event_151525_original-1.png", "event_grid_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_grid_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/crop-event_151525_original-1.png", "event_feature_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_feature_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/crop-event_151525_original-1.png", "event_feature_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_feature_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/crop-event_151525_original-1.png" }, "occurrence_count":1, "first_occurrence":21911689 } , "150148-21908292": { "datetime_modified":"20260910T110225", "datetime_start":"20261007T163000", "datetime_end":"20261007T180000", "has_end_time":1, "date_start":"2026-10-07", "date_end":"2026-10-07", "time_start":"16:30:00", "time_end":"18:00:00", "time_zone":"America\/Detroit", "event_title":"Manoogian Postdoctoral Lecture | Purist Pursuits: Language, Global Ideas, and the Creation of Western Armenian in the Ottoman Empire", "occurrence_title":"", "combined_title":"Manoogian Postdoctoral Lecture | Purist Pursuits: Language, Global Ideas, and the Creation of Western Armenian in the Ottoman Empire: Jennifer Manoukian (University of Michigan)", "event_subtitle":"Jennifer Manoukian (University of Michigan)", "event_type":"Lecture \/ Discussion", "event_type_id":"13", "description":"This lecture follows Armenians in the Ottoman Empire through a dramatic linguistic transformation, the aftershocks of which are still being felt today throughout the Armenian diaspora. It chronicles how and why Armenians in the Ottoman Empire fashioned a new language called Western Armenian in the eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and explores the evolution of an ever-changing ideology that undergirded all phases of the language's formation: linguistic purism. Manoukian will examine the power of global intellectual movements in crafting new language ideologies in the Ottoman Empire and reimagines what language histories can be for Ottoman-era language communities.\n\nJennifer Manoukian is a historian of language. Her work explores the language practices and ideologies of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire and post-genocide diaspora. She earned her PhD in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures from the University of California, Los Angeles; her MA in Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies from Columbia University; and her BA in French and Middle Eastern Studies from Rutgers University. She is the author of *Purist Pursuits: Language, Global Ideas, and the Creation of Western Armenian in the Ottoman Empire* and two book-length literary translations from Western Armenian: *The Gardens of Silihdar by Zabel Yessayan* and* The Candidate by Zareh Vorpouni*. She is also the author of a number of articles and the co-founder of Gesaria Armenian Research and Academic Services.\n\nCosponsors: Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies, Department of Middle East Studies, Department of Linguistics, Department of Anthropology, and NAASR.", "occurrence_notes":null, "guid":"150148-21908292@events.umich.edu", "permalink":"http:\/\/events.umich.edu\/event\/150148", "building_id":"1000165", "building_name":"Weiser Hall", "campus_maps_id":"47", "room":"Room 555", "location_name":"Weiser Hall", "has_livestream":0, "cost":"", "tags":["Lecture","history","eurasia","Discussion","Armenian Studies","armenia"], "website":"https:\/\/umich.zoom.us\/j\/96508866848", "sponsors":[ { "group_name":"Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies", "group_id":"2563", "website":"http:\/\/www.ii.umich.edu\/cmenas" } ], "image_url":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150148_original-1.jpg", "styled_images":{ "event_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150148_original-1.jpg", "event_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150148_original-1.jpg", "event_large_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150148_original-1.jpg", "event_large_lightbox":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_lightbox\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150148_original-1.jpg", "group_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150148_original-1.jpg", "group_thumb_square":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_thumb_square\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150148_original-1.jpg", "group_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150148_original-1.jpg", "group_large_lightbox":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_large_lightbox\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150148_original-1.jpg", "event_large_crop":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_large_crop\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150148_original-1.jpg", "event_list":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_list\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150148_original-1.jpg", "event_list_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_list_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150148_original-1.jpg", "event_grid":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_grid\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150148_original-1.jpg", "event_grid_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_grid_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150148_original-1.jpg", "event_feature_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_feature_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150148_original-1.jpg", "event_feature_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_feature_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150148_original-1.jpg" }, "occurrence_count":1, "first_occurrence":21908292 } , "150692-21909932": { "datetime_modified":"20260821T164441", "datetime_start":"20261014T100000", "datetime_end":"20261014T170000", "has_end_time":1, "date_start":"2026-10-14", "date_end":"2026-10-14", "time_start":"10:00:00", "time_end":"17:00:00", "time_zone":"America\/Detroit", "event_title":"CMENAS 65th Anniversary: Celebrate the Legacy, Scholarship, & Future of Mena Studies", "occurrence_title":"", "combined_title":"CMENAS 65th Anniversary: Celebrate the Legacy, Scholarship, & Future of Mena Studies: Keynote by Aaron David Miller, Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace", "event_subtitle":"Keynote by Aaron David Miller, Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace", "event_type":"Conference \/ Symposium", "event_type_id":"5", "description":"10:30\u201311: Arrival & Registration\n\n11:00\u201311:10: Director Welcome Remarks by CMENAS Director Jay Crisostomo, George G. Cameron Professor of Ancient Near Eastern Civilization and Languages+\n\n11:15\u201312:30: Building CMENAS: Foundations & Transformations, Former Directors Panel \n\n1:30 \u2013 2:45: CMENAS in Practice: Careers & Impact featuring CMENAS Alumni, Language Lecturers, and K\u201312 Educators\n\n2:50\u2013 2:55: Keynote Introductions\n\n3:00\u20134:30: Keynote by Aaron David Miller, Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace\n\n4:30\u20134:40 PM: Closing Remarks\n\nAbout the Keynote Speaker:\nAaron David Miller is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, focusing on U.S. foreign policy. He has written five books, including his most recent, The End of Greatness: Why America Can\u2019t Have (and Doesn\u2019t Want) Another Great President (Palgrave, 2014) and The Much Too Promised Land: America\u2019s Elusive Search for Arab-Israeli Peace (Bantam, 2008), and hosts Carnegie Connects, Carnegie\u2019s premier live podcast. He received his PhD in Middle East and U.S. diplomatic history from the University of Michigan in 1977. Miller hosts Carnegie Connects, Carnegie\u2019s premier live podcast.\n\nMiller\u2019s articles have appeared in the *New York Times*, *Washington Post*, *Politico*, *Foreign Policy Magazine*, and *Foreign Affairs Magazine*. He is a frequent commentator on CNN, MSNBC, NPR, BBC, and SiriusXM Radio.\n\nJoin on Zoom: https:\/\/myumi.ch\/E78M6", "occurrence_notes":null, "guid":"150692-21909932@events.umich.edu", "permalink":"http:\/\/events.umich.edu\/event\/150692", "building_id":"1000191", "building_name":"Michigan League", "campus_maps_id":"108", "room":"Vandenberg Room (2nd Floor)", "location_name":"Michigan League", "has_livestream":0, "cost":"", "tags":["Middle East Studies","Conference","cmenas","center for middle eastern and north african studies","Area Studies"], "website":"https:\/\/myumi.ch\/E78M6", "sponsors":[ { "group_name":"Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies", "group_id":"2563", "website":"http:\/\/www.ii.umich.edu\/cmenas" } ], "image_url":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150692_original-1.jpg", "styled_images":{ "event_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150692_original-1.jpg", "event_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150692_original-1.jpg", "event_large_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150692_original-1.jpg", "event_large_lightbox":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_lightbox\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150692_original-1.jpg", "group_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150692_original-1.jpg", "group_thumb_square":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_thumb_square\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150692_original-1.jpg", "group_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150692_original-1.jpg", "group_large_lightbox":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_large_lightbox\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150692_original-1.jpg", "event_large_crop":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_large_crop\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150692_original-1.jpg", "event_list":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_list\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150692_original-1.jpg", "event_list_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_list_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150692_original-1.jpg", "event_grid":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_grid\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150692_original-1.jpg", "event_grid_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_grid_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150692_original-1.jpg", "event_feature_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_feature_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150692_original-1.jpg", "event_feature_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_feature_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150692_original-1.jpg" }, "occurrence_count":1, "first_occurrence":21909932 } , "151293-21911330": { "datetime_modified":"20260901T102705", "datetime_start":"20261028T140000", "datetime_end":"20261028T160000", "has_end_time":1, "date_start":"2026-10-28", "date_end":"2026-10-28", "time_start":"14:00:00", "time_end":"16:00:00", "time_zone":"America\/Detroit", "event_title":"CMENAS 2026 Fall Colloquium Series | Chokepoints: Temporalities of Navigation in the Red Sea", "occurrence_title":"", "combined_title":"CMENAS 2026 Fall Colloquium Series | Chokepoints: Temporalities of Navigation in the Red Sea: Jatin Dua, University of Michigan", "event_subtitle":"Jatin Dua, University of Michigan", "event_type":"Lecture \/ Discussion", "event_type_id":"13", "description":"The story of shipping and of global trade is often narrated as one of ever-increasing efficiency and speed, of transitions from sail to steam to cargo and futures of automation\u2014of making straight lines. But, for as long as there has been trade (and ships) there have been delays and interruptions\u2014rerouters and rerouting. I argue that disruptions and moments when things appear to be stuck or rerouted are neither aberrations nor failures. Rerouting, far from being an exception, is both the norm and, at times, such as this contemporary moment of wars, sanctions, and tariffs, is a condition desired by many as a mode of profit and possibility.\n\nTo showcase the productive possibilities of rerouting, I focus on one sea route\u2014the Bab-el-Mandeb, a key chokepoint for global trade connecting Europe to Asia and the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean. In 2023, in response to Houthi attacks on merchant ships, this shipping route briefly disappeared, as cargo ships were rerouted through the Cape of Good Hope. I tell this story of this rerouting and its consequences both ephemeral and long-lasting from the perspective of a mobile set of actors in the Red Sea. Locating them within longer histories and wider geographies, I argue for the centrality of interruptions within our understandings of circulation and crossings in the Indian Ocean and beyond.\n\nJatin Dua is an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Michigan (U-M). He also directs the Oceans Lab at U-M, dedicated to collaborative and multimodal ways of engaging oceans as anthropological interlocutors. His research explores maritime mobility, and its perils and possibilities, in the Indian Ocean, focusing on processes and projects of governance, law, and economy. His book, *Captured at Sea: Piracy and Protection in the Indian Ocean, published with the University of California Press* (December 2019) [winner of the 2020 Elliot P. Skinner Book Award; shortlisted for the 2024 Monsoon Book Prize and translated into Italian and Greek] is a multi-sited ethnographic and archival engagement with Somali piracy and contestations over legitimate and illegitimate commerce in the Western Indian Ocean. In addition, he has published several articles on maritime anthropology, captivity, political economy, and sovereignty in *Public Culture*, *American Ethnologist*, *Cultural Anthropology,* *Ethnos*, *Annual Review of Anthropology*, *History and Anthropology* and *Comparative Studies in Society and History*. He is currently the editor-in-chief of *Comparative Studies in Society and History*.\n\nRSVP: https:\/\/myumi.ch\/PbbAb\n\nIf there is anything we can do to make this event accessible to you, please contact us. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the university to arrange. Contact: warsansa@umich.edu", "occurrence_notes":null, "guid":"151293-21911330@events.umich.edu", "permalink":"http:\/\/events.umich.edu\/event\/151293", "building_id":"1000165", "building_name":"Weiser Hall", "campus_maps_id":"47", "room":"Room 555", "location_name":"Weiser Hall", "has_livestream":0, "cost":"", "tags":["Middle East Studies","Lecture","History","Global Affairs","Discussion","Cmenas Colloquium Series","center for middle eastern and north african studies"], "website":"https:\/\/myumi.ch\/PbbAb", "sponsors":[ { "group_name":"Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies", "group_id":"2563", "website":"http:\/\/www.ii.umich.edu\/cmenas" } ], "image_url":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_151293_original-1.jpg", "styled_images":{ "event_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_151293_original-1.jpg", "event_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_151293_original-1.jpg", "event_large_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_151293_original-1.jpg", "event_large_lightbox":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_lightbox\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_151293_original-1.jpg", "group_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_151293_original-1.jpg", "group_thumb_square":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_thumb_square\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_151293_original-1.jpg", "group_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_151293_original-1.jpg", "group_large_lightbox":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_large_lightbox\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_151293_original-1.jpg", "event_large_crop":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_large_crop\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_151293_original-1.jpg", "event_list":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_list\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_151293_original-1.jpg", "event_list_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_list_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_151293_original-1.jpg", "event_grid":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_grid\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_151293_original-1.jpg", "event_grid_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_grid_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_151293_original-1.jpg", "event_feature_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_feature_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_151293_original-1.jpg", "event_feature_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_feature_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/09\/event_151293_original-1.jpg" }, "occurrence_count":1, "first_occurrence":21911330 } , "150315-21909006": { "datetime_modified":"20260911T121720", "datetime_start":"20261111T140000", "datetime_end":"20261111T160000", "has_end_time":1, "date_start":"2026-11-11", "date_end":"2026-11-11", "time_start":"14:00:00", "time_end":"16:00:00", "time_zone":"America\/Detroit", "event_title":"CMENAS 2026 Fall Colloquium Series | Western Sahara: Multi-scalar Struggles, Recognition and Change in a Thawing Conflict", "occurrence_title":"", "combined_title":"CMENAS 2026 Fall Colloquium Series | Western Sahara: Multi-scalar Struggles, Recognition and Change in a Thawing Conflict: Irene Fern\u00e1ndez-Molina, University of Exeter, United Kingdom", "event_subtitle":"Irene Fern\u00e1ndez-Molina, University of Exeter, United Kingdom", "event_type":"Lecture \/ Discussion", "event_type_id":"13", "description":"Irene Fern\u00e1ndez-Molina is a senior lecturer in International Relations at the University of Exeter. She is a scholar of international relations of the Global South and across the Euro-Mediterranean space, contested statehood and international recognition politics, and foreign policy and conflicts in the Maghreb. She previously worked as a research fellow at the European Neighbourhood Policy Chair of the College of Europe (Warsaw), Schuman fellow at the Directorate-General for External Policies of the European Parliament (Brussels), and PhD research fellow at Complutense University of Madrid. Her research has been published in journals such as *International Affairs*, *International Studies Review*, *Review of International Studies*, *International Political Sociology*, and the *Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding*. She is the author of *Moroccan Foreign Policy under Mohammed VI, 1999\u20132014 *(2016), and co-editor of *Global, Regional and Local Dimensions of Western Sahara\u2019s Protracted Decolonization* (2017), and* Foreign Policy in North Africa: Navigating Global, Regional and Domestic Transformations* (2021).\n\nJoin on Zoom: https:\/\/myumi.ch\/7J946\n\nIf there is anything we can do to make this event accessible to you, please contact us. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the university to arrange. Contact: warsansa@umich.edu\n\n*Part of the International Institute Theme Year: Sovereignty*\nhttps:\/\/myumi.ch\/ii-theme", "occurrence_notes":null, "guid":"150315-21909006@events.umich.edu", "permalink":"http:\/\/events.umich.edu\/event\/150315", "building_id":"1000165", "building_name":"Weiser Hall", "campus_maps_id":"47", "room":"Room 555", "location_name":"Weiser Hall", "has_livestream":0, "cost":"", "tags":["Theme Year","Lecture","Discussion","Cmenas Colloquium Series","center for middle eastern and north african studies"], "website":"https:\/\/myumi.ch\/7J946", "sponsors":[ { "group_name":"Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies", "group_id":"2563", "website":"http:\/\/www.ii.umich.edu\/cmenas" } ], "image_url":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150315_original-1.jpg", "styled_images":{ "event_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150315_original-1.jpg", "event_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150315_original-1.jpg", "event_large_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150315_original-1.jpg", "event_large_lightbox":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_lightbox\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150315_original-1.jpg", "group_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150315_original-1.jpg", "group_thumb_square":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_thumb_square\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150315_original-1.jpg", "group_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150315_original-1.jpg", "group_large_lightbox":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_large_lightbox\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150315_original-1.jpg", "event_large_crop":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_large_crop\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150315_original-1.jpg", "event_list":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_list\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150315_original-1.jpg", "event_list_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_list_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150315_original-1.jpg", "event_grid":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_grid\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150315_original-1.jpg", "event_grid_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_grid_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150315_original-1.jpg", "event_feature_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_feature_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150315_original-1.jpg", "event_feature_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_feature_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150315_original-1.jpg" }, "occurrence_count":1, "first_occurrence":21909006 } , "150145-21908256": { "datetime_modified":"20260910T110827", "datetime_start":"20261111T163000", "datetime_end":"20261111T180000", "has_end_time":1, "date_start":"2026-11-11", "date_end":"2026-11-11", "time_start":"16:30:00", "time_end":"18:00:00", "time_zone":"America\/Detroit", "event_title":"Guest Lecture | Heritage Forensics: Culture on the Front Lines of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict", "occurrence_title":"", "combined_title":"Guest Lecture | Heritage Forensics: Culture on the Front Lines of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict: Lori Khatchadourian (Cornell University)", "event_subtitle":"Lori Khatchadourian (Cornell University)", "event_type":"Lecture \/ Discussion", "event_type_id":"13", "description":"This talk introduces the concept of heritage forensics, a framework for studying abuses of cultural heritage in contexts of conflict, genocide, and ethnic cleansing. Drawing on the new co-authored volume, *Heritage Forensics: Cultural on the Front Lines of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict*, the presentation examines how cultural sites became entangled in the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh during the interwar period (1994-2020). The talk considers how satellite-based heritage forensics is being deployed prospectively, to monitor hundreds of Armenian sites in Karabakh following Azerbaijan's 2023 takeover of the region and the displacement of its Armenian population. In doing so, it asks: how can satellite-based monitoring function as a form of \"counter-forensics,\" turning surveillance technologies developed for military purposes back on the state? Can heritage forensics move us beyond retrospective documentation to actively deter erasure and support truth, reconciliation, and accountability wherever cultural heritage is at stake?\n\nLori Khatchadourian is Professor of Near Eastern Studies and Anthropology at Cornell University, and co-founder and co-director of Caucasus Heritage Watch. She currently serves as Director of the Cornell Institute of Archaeology and Material Studies. Khatchadourian\u2019s research spans the fields of archaeology, social anthropology, and heritage studies, with a particular focus on Armenia, the wider South Caucasus, and neighboring regions. Current projects explore the archaeology of modernity, including problems of genocide, deindustrialization, and the entanglements of cultural heritage and war. She is the co-author of *Heritage Forensics: Culture on the Front Lines of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict* (Cornell, 2026) and author of Imperial Matter: Ancient Persia and the Archaeology of Empires (UC Press, 2016). She is also co-editor of *Rethinking Empire: Materiality, Metaphysics, and Imperial Politics* (SAR, 2026) and *Fitful Histories and Unruly Publics: The Archaeology of Eurasia *(2017).\n\nhttps:\/\/umich.zoom.us\/j\/99311308952\n\nCosponsors: Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies, Department of Middle East Studies, Department of Linguistics, Department of Anthropology, Classical Studies, Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies, and NAASR.\n\nIf there is anything we can do to make this event accessible to you, please contact us. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the university to arrange. Contact: armenianstudies@umich.edu", "occurrence_notes":null, "guid":"150145-21908256@events.umich.edu", "permalink":"http:\/\/events.umich.edu\/event\/150145", "building_id":"1000165", "building_name":"Weiser Hall", "campus_maps_id":"47", "room":"Room 555", "location_name":"Weiser Hall", "has_livestream":0, "cost":"", "tags":["armenia","Armenian Studies","Discussion","History","Area Studies","Lecture"], "website":"https:\/\/umich.zoom.us\/j\/99311308952", "sponsors":[ { "group_name":"Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies", "group_id":"2563", "website":"http:\/\/www.ii.umich.edu\/cmenas" } ], "image_url":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150145_original-1.jpg", "styled_images":{ "event_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150145_original-1.jpg", "event_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150145_original-1.jpg", "event_large_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150145_original-1.jpg", "event_large_lightbox":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_lightbox\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150145_original-1.jpg", "group_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150145_original-1.jpg", "group_thumb_square":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_thumb_square\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150145_original-1.jpg", "group_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150145_original-1.jpg", "group_large_lightbox":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_large_lightbox\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150145_original-1.jpg", "event_large_crop":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_large_crop\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150145_original-1.jpg", "event_list":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_list\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150145_original-1.jpg", "event_list_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_list_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150145_original-1.jpg", "event_grid":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_grid\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150145_original-1.jpg", "event_grid_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_grid_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150145_original-1.jpg", "event_feature_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_feature_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150145_original-1.jpg", "event_feature_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_feature_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150145_original-1.jpg" }, "occurrence_count":1, "first_occurrence":21908256 } , "150314-21909005": { "datetime_modified":"20260911T121739", "datetime_start":"20261202T140000", "datetime_end":"20261202T160000", "has_end_time":1, "date_start":"2026-12-02", "date_end":"2026-12-02", "time_start":"14:00:00", "time_end":"16:00:00", "time_zone":"America\/Detroit", "event_title":"CMENAS 2026 Fall Colloquium Series | \u2018Vernacular Sovereignty\u2019 Without a State: Kurdish Studies, Decolonial Thought, and the Making of Online Kurdistan", "occurrence_title":"", "combined_title":"CMENAS 2026 Fall Colloquium Series | \u2018Vernacular Sovereignty\u2019 Without a State: Kurdish Studies, Decolonial Thought, and the Making of Online Kurdistan: M. Mashuq Kurt, Royal Holloway University of London, United Kingdom", "event_subtitle":"M. Mashuq Kurt, Royal Holloway University of London, United Kingdom", "event_type":"Lecture \/ Discussion", "event_type_id":"13", "description":"What does it mean to imagine a nation without a state? This talk draws on my broader research in Kurdish studies to examine how Kurdish political life has repeatedly been organized around forms of authority and belonging that do not depend on, or wait for, a state. Taking my recent article \"The Making of Online Kurdistan,\" co-authored with Bar\u0131\u015f \u00d6ktem, as its empirical center, the talk asks how Kurdish Generation Z constructs national belonging through digital platforms \u2014 building a transnational field of community through hashtags, online seminars, and digitally organized movements, even as this same infrastructure exposes Kurdish youth to surveillance and repression across borders. I situate this case within a longer arc of my work on Kurdish politics and within a decolonial reading of Kurdish studies more broadly. Rather than offering a general theory of sovereignty, the talk uses the Kurdish case to think through a live and unresolved question in the study of stateless nations: what forms can political authority, legitimacy, and collective imagination take when territorial statehood is foreclosed, and what is gained and lost when that struggle moves online.\n\nMashuq Kurt is Associate Professor of Sociology in the Department of Law and Criminology at Royal Holloway, University of London. His work sits at the intersection of Middle Eastern studies and the sociology of migration and diaspora, examining how Kurds and other marginalised communities construct political authority and belonging outside the institutions of the nation-state. He is the author of *Kurdish Hizbullah in Turkey: Islamism, Violence and the State* (Pluto Press, 2017), co-editor of the *South Atlantic Quarterly Special Issue: Decolonizing Kurdish Studies *(2024) and the *Contemporary Islam Special Issue: Islam, Critique and the Canon* (2024), and has published in journals including *Current Anthropology*, *Journal of Middle East Women's Studies*, and *Social Research: An International Quarterly*. His recent article \"The Making of Online Kurdistan\" (*Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies*, 2026), co-authored with Bar\u0131\u015f \u00d6ktem, examines how Kurdish Generation Z constructs national belonging through digital platforms. He was a Marie Curie Global Fellow at the London School of Economics and Yale University, has held visiting positions at Stanford and Sciences Po CERI. A regular contributor to public and policy debates, he has organised panels and given talks at the UK Parliament, Chatham House, and RUSI, and his commentary has appeared in Foreign Policy, Le Monde, and The New Arab, among others. He is also an award-winning filmmaker: his documentary *The Seven Doors *received the Jean Rouch Award from the American Anthropological Association's Society for Visual Anthropology in 2020.\n\nJoin on Zoom: https:\/\/myumi.ch\/pgV2y\n\nIf there is anything we can do to make this event accessible to you, please contact us. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the university to arrange. Contact: warsansa@umich.edu\n\n*Part of the International Institute Theme Year: Sovereignty*\nhttps:\/\/myumi.ch\/ii-theme", "occurrence_notes":null, "guid":"150314-21909005@events.umich.edu", "permalink":"http:\/\/events.umich.edu\/event\/150314", "building_id":"1000165", "building_name":"Weiser Hall", "campus_maps_id":"47", "room":"Room 555", "location_name":"Weiser Hall", "has_livestream":0, "cost":"", "tags":["Theme Year","center for middle eastern and north african studies","cmenas","Cmenas Colloquium Series","Discussion","Lecture"], "website":"https:\/\/myumi.ch\/pgV2y", "sponsors":[ { "group_name":"Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies", "group_id":"2563", "website":"http:\/\/www.ii.umich.edu\/cmenas" } ], "image_url":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150314_original-1.jpg", "styled_images":{ "event_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150314_original-1.jpg", "event_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150314_original-1.jpg", "event_large_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150314_original-1.jpg", "event_large_lightbox":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_lightbox\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150314_original-1.jpg", "group_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150314_original-1.jpg", "group_thumb_square":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_thumb_square\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150314_original-1.jpg", "group_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150314_original-1.jpg", "group_large_lightbox":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_large_lightbox\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150314_original-1.jpg", "event_large_crop":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_large_crop\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150314_original-1.jpg", "event_list":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_list\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150314_original-1.jpg", "event_list_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_list_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150314_original-1.jpg", "event_grid":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_grid\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150314_original-1.jpg", "event_grid_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_grid_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150314_original-1.jpg", "event_feature_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_feature_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150314_original-1.jpg", "event_feature_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_feature_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150314_original-1.jpg" }, "occurrence_count":1, "first_occurrence":21909005 } , "150316-21909007": { "datetime_modified":"20260816T221327", "datetime_start":"20261209T140000", "datetime_end":"20261209T160000", "has_end_time":1, "date_start":"2026-12-09", "date_end":"2026-12-09", "time_start":"14:00:00", "time_end":"16:00:00", "time_zone":"America\/Detroit", "event_title":"CMENAS 2026 Fall Colloquium Series | Middle Eastern Christians: The Struggle for Recognition and Rights", "occurrence_title":"", "combined_title":"CMENAS 2026 Fall Colloquium Series | Middle Eastern Christians: The Struggle for Recognition and Rights: Fiona McCallum Guiney, University of St Andrews, Scotland", "event_subtitle":"Fiona McCallum Guiney, University of St Andrews, Scotland", "event_type":"Lecture \/ Discussion", "event_type_id":"13", "description":"A continued presence of Christians in the Middle East is perceived as at risk due to demographic change, adverse socio-economic conditions, political instability, conflict, and migration. Indeed, from making up 12.7% of the population in the Middle East in 1900, the Christian presence has dwindled to 4% by 2020, with a notable decline in countries with a considerable Christian population but affected by conflict, such as Iraq and Syria. Indigenous to the region, Christians are proud of their contributions to the education, society, and politics of the Middle East. Yet, they struggle to translate these forms of soft power into political actions that address legislation, practices, and violence that infringe their rights as citizens. Relationships with powerful Western actors campaigning against the persecution of Christians have led to international visibility but also accusations of undermining national unity from political and societal actors in the region. This paper explores the different strategies pursued by Middle East Christians in the region and diaspora to be recognized as Christians and claim their rights as citizens.\n\nFiona McCallum Guiney is Professor and Head of the School of International Relations at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. Her research on Middle Eastern Christians focuses on group identity, the connection between legitimacy and religious leadership, and group interactions at the state-community and society-community levels, both in the Middle East and diaspora. Professor Guiney was the Project Leader of the EU funded study \u2018Defining and Identifying Middle Eastern Christian Communities in Europe\u2019. She is a former Director of the Institute of Middle East, Central Asia and Caucasus Studies at the University of St Andrews.\n\nIf there is anything we can do to make this event accessible to you, please contact us. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the university to arrange. Contact: warsansa@umich.edu", "occurrence_notes":null, "guid":"150316-21909007@events.umich.edu", "permalink":"http:\/\/events.umich.edu\/event\/150316", "building_id":"1000165", "building_name":"Weiser Hall", "campus_maps_id":"47", "room":"Room 555", "location_name":"Weiser Hall", "has_livestream":0, "cost":"", "tags":["center for middle eastern and north african studies","Middle East Studies","Lecture","Discussion","Cmenas Colloquium Series"], "website":"", "sponsors":[ { "group_name":"Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies", "group_id":"2563", "website":"http:\/\/www.ii.umich.edu\/cmenas" } ], "image_url":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150316_original-1.jpg", "styled_images":{ "event_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150316_original-1.jpg", "event_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150316_original-1.jpg", "event_large_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150316_original-1.jpg", "event_large_lightbox":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_large_lightbox\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150316_original-1.jpg", "group_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150316_original-1.jpg", "group_thumb_square":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_thumb_square\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150316_original-1.jpg", "group_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150316_original-1.jpg", "group_large_lightbox":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/group_large_lightbox\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150316_original-1.jpg", "event_large_crop":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_large_crop\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150316_original-1.jpg", "event_list":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_list\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150316_original-1.jpg", "event_list_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/event_list_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150316_original-1.jpg", "event_grid":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_grid\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150316_original-1.jpg", "event_grid_2x":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_grid_2x\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150316_original-1.jpg", "event_feature_large":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_feature_large\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150316_original-1.jpg", "event_feature_thumb":"https:\/\/events.umich.edu\/media\/cache\/resolve\/event_feature_thumb\/media\/attachments\/2026\/08\/event_150316_original-1.jpg" }, "occurrence_count":1, "first_occurrence":21909007 } }