BRISMES Council Meeting

Dear All,
The next BRISMES council meeting will take place this Friday on 14th of March, at University of Warwick. Being part of BRISMES, the graduate section is part of the agenda, this includes updates, problems, issues related to BRISMES graduate section. If you think there is anything that should be raised in this upcoming meeting don't hesitate to contact Mona El-Kouedi, the Graduate Representative mmak55@yahoo.com

Best Wishes,
Yours
Mona

Middle East Studies and Representation... The Quest for Objectivity??!!

Today I had a class on cultural studies, to tell you the truth, I was very hesitant to take this module, seen that I'm already writing my MA dissertation which is completely theoretical, on political representation...

But for some reasons, I found my self enrolled in this class, and frankly I'm so happy with it... it tries to add some cultural, anthropological, and ethnographic aspects to my narrow political knowledge, ... sometimes it's important to get outside the box not to be suffocated ;)) ..

I thought that I can do a theoretical study, in terms of being impartial, objective, neutral, ...etc... (include all the non-defined words associated with political 'science'), but found it as an illusion, even if I claim that I do reflect all these 'ethical' ideals, I still do reflect my cultural background...

Unconsciously, following the Freudian Slip, I found myself defending the subaltern, the colonised, the other, .... I found myself a Saidian protesting against 'bad' orientalism... refuting the non-existence of authenticity, arguing that this claim is actually the product of a power structure that want to destroy the 'other'... moreover, and more dangerously, I was actually refuting the possibility of an outsider to ever represent an 'other'...

Then, I remembered Middle Eastern Studies, I remembered BRISMES, I remembered the papers that I was praising in the last graduate conference... I retreated in my attack, allowing other students to humiliate me, that was hard guys ;))) ... I returned home thinking and thinking, provoking my ideas in class and my ideas on the Middle Eastern studies... I had tones of questions in mind:

what makes these studies different?? why they are not part of the 'bad' orientalism?? why an 'outsider', in this case Phd student or researcher, can talk about 'other' insider culture??? Can they be more 'objective' than other studies?! Can these papers really represent 'people' in the Middle East??!! who is to judge this anyway??!! who is to draw the line in the first place between an insider and an outsider??!!... I still cannot have any answers to these questions, and is not seeking absolute ones, ... But I think these questions are in your minds as well, would be great to know your opinions, consider it as self-critique whose value lies in the act of questioning itself and the effort in reaching an answer...

The image: The Scribe, Ludwig Deutsch (1855 - 1935) from Ahram Weekly website: weekly.ahram.org.eg/2002/573/bo5.htm

BRISMES Annual Lecture 2007: Prof Clive Holes

The BRISMES Annual Lecture will take place at the British Academy (10 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AH) at 5.30pm on Wednesday, 21st November.

Professor Clive Holes (Oxford) will speak on 'From Suez to Iraq via Jimmy and Diga: Arabic popular poetry as a form of free speech'.

This will be followed by an informal reception. All welcome.
There is a map on the BRISMES website - www.brismes.ac.uk - just click on 'Annual Lecture'.

BRISMES Graduate Section.. ;))

• The graduate section aims to bring graduate students studying the Middle East in Britain together in order to:
  Strengthen the communityof graduate students in the field of Middle East studies in Britain
  Create a network providing advice and support for current and prospective graduates: raising awareness of academic resources, funding opportunities, and career opportunities both within and outside academia
  Make BRISMES more representative and better equipped to promote Middle East studies
  The organisers urge students in Middle East studies to get involved:
  Join the graduate section's list by sending an E-mail to brismesgrad-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

• Join BRISMES. Membership for students is only £20 per year and this includes subscription to the British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies and the BRISMES Newsletter
  Attend the graduate section's second annual study day on 8th September in Edinburgh
  Tell the organisers what BRISMES and the graduate section can do to improve Middle East studies generally and graduate studies specifically.

• For further information please contact Mona El-Kouedi: mmak55@yahoo.com

BRISMES

The British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (popularly known as BRISMES) was established in 1973 to encourage and promote the study of the Middle East in the United Kingdom. It brings together teachers, researchers, students, diplomats, journalists and others who deal professionally with the Middle East. Membership is open to all the above, regardless of nationality - indeed regardless of where in the world you are based.

For more information, please visit http://www.dur.ac.uk/brismes/

What is BRISMES Graduate Conference?!

Established in 2005, the BRISMES Graduate Conference is the only Middle East event for graduate students committed to accepting papers from all disciplines. It is becoming an increasingly important venue where young scholars can meet, exchange diverse ideas and build a sense of a community of practice. The distinct role of the BRISMES Graduate Conference is to help develop this community of practice among those building a career specialising in the Middle East.