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(New Orleans, La. – October 30, 2019) Major international scholars of the Middle East will participate in a timely roundtable discussion next month at ��������. Titled “Future of Peace and Democracy in the Middle East,” the scholars aim to focus attention on the need for a more inclusive approach to the study of peace and democracy in studies of the Middle East and to encourage broader involvement in promoting it.

Each participant, from the vantage of their particular expertise, will offer a theoretical (conceptual) basis for linking peace studies with democratic ideals and insights on recent developments in Iran, Turkey, Syria, Palestine and Lebanon. The event is being held on the occasion of the 53rd annual meeting of Middle East Studies Association New Orleans, which runs from November 14 to 17, 2019.

Hosted by the university’s Middle East Peace Studies program, the roundtable talk runs from 7 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 14, in Nunemaker Auditorium at Loyola, 6363 St. Charles Ave., and a reception follows in the Collins C. Diboll Art Gallery, located in the university’s Louise and Edgar S. Monroe Library. Both events are free and open to the public, and free parking is available in the West Road parking garage. For those who cannot attend, the event will be broadcast live on Instagram at loyno_peacecon.

“We hope that this round table will address the logical and intellectual gap in peace and democratic studies in the Middle East and help those who are involved in the promotion of sustainable peace and democracy in the Middle East,” said Dr. Behrooz Moazami, Patrick G. O’ Keefe Distinguished Professor of History and Director of Middle East Peace Studies at Loyola. “Apart from the value of the discussion per se, our ultimate goal is to form a network of scholars who will collaborate actively to promote peace and democracy in the Middle East.”

Panelists include:

• Karam Dana, Ph.D., associate professor of history in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington Bothell and director of the American Muslim Research Institute (AMRI).
• Professor Tugrul Keskin is director of the Center for the Global Governance, Shanghai University, People’s Republic of China, and editor-in-chief, Sociology of Islam.
• Professor Joshua M. Landis is Sandra Mackey Chair and director of the Center of the Middle East Studies Department of International and Area Studies, University of Oklahoma.
• Nadim Shehadi is executive director of the Lebanese American University New York headquarters and academic center and an associate fellow of the Middle East and North Africa Program at Chatham House in London.
• Professor Mohamad Tavakoli-Targhi teaches Historical Studies & Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations at the University of Toronto and serves as editor-in-chief of Iran Namag: A Bilingual Quarterly of Iranian Studies. Reporters and photographers welcome. Interviews possible upon request.