Conference poster
This conference has now passed.
The Department of International Relations, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, in association with the Skilliter Centre for Ottoman Studies, Newnham College, University of Cambridge, is organizing a conference on Middle Eastern Societies (1918-1939): Challenges, Changes and Transitions to be held on 15-17 October 2015 in Ankara, Turkey. The organizer of the conference is Associate Professor Ebru Boyar.
The period 1918 to 1939 represents one of major upheaval and change in the Middle East. Following the end of the First World War and the collapse of the Ottoman empire, a new political map of the region was constructed, mandates were established and new nation-states emerged. Examining the period from two major perspectives, state-society relations and city-society relations, this conference aims to examine various aspects of social change, questioning how societies adopted, adapted to, negotiated over or resisted changes imposed by internal or external political actors, or brought about by violence or economic circumstances. It will also examine how reforms and changes in one society impacted on other societies in the region and how different segments of the same society responded to change.
Subjects that papers might consider include:
- Migration and mobility
- Health and medicine
- Education
- Legal practices
- The position of women
- Political participation
- Leisure and entertainment
- Advertising and consumption
- Welfare
- Tourism
The two key-note speakers are Professor Ulrike Freitag, Professor at the Institute of Islamic Studies, Freie Universität Berlin and Director of Zentrum Moderner Orient, Berlin, and Professor Eugene L. Rogan, University Lecturer in the Modern History of the Middle East, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford, and Director of The Middle East Centre, St Antony’s College, University of Oxford.
Preference will be given to papers which are case study focused and demonstrate use of primary source data. Papers, which will be 20 minutes in length with ten minutes for discussion, will be circulated to participants three weeks before the commencement of the conference. As the aim of the conference is to generate as much discussion as possible and to encourage the construction of new ideas, the number of papers will be limited and there will be no parallel sessions. It is intended to publish selected papers from the conference in a volume to be published by an international publisher.
Those interested in participating in this conference should submit an abstract (including affiliation and contact details) of between 400 and 500 words to Professor Ebru Boyar (boyar@metu.edu.tr) by 15 January 2015. Participants will be selected and contacted by 15 February 2015.
Speakers’ food and accommodation will be covered for the duration of the conference but participants are expected to cover their own travel costs. The language of the conference will be English.
More information can be found on the METU website.