Conference
The Middle East & Latin America
Introduction
The regions of the Middle East & Latin America have been connected for centuries. This interdisciplinary conference will explore the impact of the cultural, social, and political intertwining of the countries, communities and influencers from these two areas of the world. We are happy to announce our keynote speaker as Professor Wail Hassan, from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where he is Director of the Center for South Asian & Middle Eastern Studies, and Professor of Comparative Literature & English. This event will feature an in-person keynote speaker at KU & online panel discussions. Sponsored by Center for Global & International Studies, Middle East Studies Program, Center for Latin American & Caribbean Studies, and Jewish Studies Program.
Conference
University of Kansas
Globalization, economic development, and immigration have connected Arab and Middle Eastern communities to Latin American nations since at least the 19th century. Global social and cultural trends from Shakira to Brazilian soccer have linked together cultural trends and enthusiasts from both regions. Many nations on both areas of the World shared similar trajectories in economic development, including issues in post-colonial development, import substitution industrialization, and the fluctuation of oil markets. Historical events led to significant migration flows of people from the Middle East and North Africa and Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine in particular, to many areas in Latin America. Although the influence of these citizens with legacies from the Middle East has often not been acknowledged enough, these immigrants and their descendants have become important members of the communities they have joined, and they have helped to shape national identities in countries such as Brazil, Paraguay, Chile, Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico, for example. There is a great need to explore further the impact of the cultural, social, and political intertwining of the countries, communities, and influencers from these two areas of the World.
This conference took place on Friday, April 21, 2023.
Conference Program
Dr. Luciano Tosta, Director, Center for Global & International Studies, The University of Kansas (USA)
(Interpretation will be provided in Portuguese and English)
Panel chair:
Dr. Mike Wuthrich, The University of Kansas (USA)
Participants:
- Dr. Jacob Norris, University of Sussex (UK): “The Palestinian Americas in the Age of Third World Revolution” (Presentation in English)
- Mr. Paulo Cesar Rebello de Oliveira, Universidad de Salamanca (Spain): “Brazil, UAE and Israel: The Brazilian Foreign Policy under Jair Bolsonaro and its Regional Effects” (Presentation in Portuguese)
- Dr. Jessica Stites Mor, University of British Columbia (Canada): “South-South Solidarity: Palestinian Nationalism and the Left in the Southern Cone” (Presentation in English)
- Mr. Girisanker SanthoshKumar Bindu, Jawaharlal Nehru University (India): “Brazil's Evolving Relationship with the Middle East: Implications for Foreign Policy and Global Aspiration” (Presentation in English)
(Interpretation will be provided in Spanish and English)
Panel chair:
Dr. Rami Zeedan, The University of Kansas (USA)
Participants:
- Ms. Ipek Sahinler, University of Texas at Austin (USA): “The Turkish Boom in Latin America: Telenovelas, Violence, and Modernity” (Presentation in English)
- Mr. Manuel Ferez, Alberto Hurtado University Santiago de Chile (Chile): “Identity processes and cultural practices of the Sephardic Jews of Chile and their relationship with the homelands of the Middle East” (Presentation in Spanish)
- Dr. Mauricio Duarte, Gulf University for Science and Technology (Kuwait): “Imaginarios latinoamericanos en el periódico árabe Kuwait Times (1963-1967)” (Presentation in Spanish)
- Dr. Emanuela Buscemi, University of Monterrey (Mexico): “Decolonizing the Middle East and the Arabian Gulf: epistemologies from Latin America” (Presentation in English)
Keynote speaker: Dr. Waïl S. Hassan, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (USA), will present “The Middle East and Latin America: Comparing the Literatures of the Global South.”
Panel chair:
Dr. Brian Lagotte, The University of Kansas (USA)
Participants:
- Dr. Eric Lob, Florida International University (USA): “Iran-Venezuela Relations: Presidents, Postures, and Pressures” (Presentation in English)
- Dr. Christina Civantos, University of Miami (USA): “Orientalist Solidarity: The South-South Relations of Cuba’s Vaccine Internationalism” (Presentation in English)
- Dr. Kevin Funk, Columbia University (USA): “A (Neoliberal) ‘New World Economic Geography’: Current Trajectories in Latin American-Middle Eastern Relations” (Presentation in English)
(Interpretation will be provided in Portuguese and English)
ADDITIONAL REGISTRATION REQUIRED: Because there are 2 sessions happening at the same time, you must register specifically for this panel in addition to registering for the conference. Register here.
Panel chair:
Dr. Jessica Gerschultz, The University of Kansas (USA)
Participants:
- Dr. Patrícia Prado, Instituto Santo Tomás de Aquino (ISTA) (Brazil): “A pedagogia do martírio nas narrativas xiitas e a construção de uma identidade de resistência” (Presentation in Portuguese)
- Mr. Diogo Bercito, Georgetown University (USA): “A Brazilian Thawra: Arab Migrants In the 1932 São Paulo Revolution” (Presentation in English)
- Mr. Caio Porto, Universidade de Brasília (Brazil): “Enacting Palestinian Identity through Arab Food: A Study of Young Palestinians from the Diaspora in Brazil” (Presentation in Portuguese)
- Dr. Bahia Munem, Columbia University (USA): “Racializing Arabs in Latin America” (Presentation in English)
(Interpretation will be provided in Portuguese and English)
Panel chair:
Dr. Luciano Tosta, The University of Kansas (USA)
Participants:
- Dr. Muna Omran, Universidade Federal Fluminense (Brazil): “A inserção do Oriente Médio na Literatura do Brasil do século XIX e início do XX” (Presentation in Portuguese)
- Dr. Andrew Traumann, Centro Universitário Curitiba (Brazil): “Interseccionalidade Mundo Árabe-América Latina” (Presentation in Portuguese)
- Dr. Monique Sochaczewski, Instituto Brasileiro de Desenvolvimento, Educação e Pesquisa (Brazil): “Viajantes Brasileiras no Oriente Médio (séculos XIX e XX)” (Presentation in Portuguese)
- Dr. Mylene Mizrahi, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (Brazil): “Mr. Catra, Blacks and Jews: a reflexive conversation between artist and anthropologist” (Presentation in English)
Conference closing