The Center for Middle Eastern Studies presents
Growing Up in Contemporary Iraq
This one-day symposium will focus on Iraq's youth: what it is like to be one of the 20 million young Iraqis under 30 living in Iraq today.
Growing Up in Contemporary Iraq will feature four panels covering the political, economic, social and cultural challenges facing Iraqi youth, including such topics as: educational and vocational adequacy, role of trauma in youth development, religious and social organization, women social activism, depiction of young people in literary and art production, and youth leadership potential for Iraq's next political phase.
Speakers:
Eric Davis, Professor, Political Science, Rutgers University
Joseph Sassoon, Associate Professor, al-Sabah Chair in Politics and Political Economy of the Arab World, Walsh School of Foreign Affairs, Georgetown University
Kanan Makiya, Senior Fellow, Professor Emeritus, Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, The Crown Center for Middle East Studies, Brandeis University
Roy Mottahedeh, Gurney Research Professor of History, Harvard University
Ömür Budak, Consul General of Turkey in Boston
Zahra Ali, Rutgers University
Bilal Wahab, Nathan and Esther K. Wagner Fellow, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Payam Mohseni, Director, Iran Project, Belfer Center, Harvard Kennedy School of Government
Nawaf Obaid, Visiting Fellow for Intelligence & Defense Projects, Belfer Center for Science & International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School; weekly columnist, Al Hayat
Sayed Hossein Al Qazwini, Islamic Seminary of Karbala, Iraq
Abbas Alkateshi, Rutgers University
Marsin Alshamary, MIT
Safwan al-Amin, Harvard Kennedy School of Government
Layth Sidiq, Berklee School of Music
Organizers:
Roger Owen, A. J. Meyer Professor of Middle East History, Emeritus, Department of History, Harvard University
Muhamed Almaliky, MD, Associate, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University; Director, Iraqi American Institute
Program (updated 3/14/18):
8:50am: welcome remarks by Professors William Granara and Roger Owen
9:00-10:30am: Setting the Scene , The Youth and Its Content
Roger Owen: Youth as a Political Category (moderator & discussant)
Eric Davis: Post-ISIS Iraq, Prospects for Change
Bilal Wahab: Kurdistan, A Crisis in Leadership
Kanan Makiya: Is a New Political Order Possible?
10:30pm-12:00pm: Preparing the Next Generation
Muhamed Almaliky, moderator
Joseph Sassoon: Role of Trauma in Youth Development
Zahra Ali: Women and Political Activism
Marsin Alshamary: Youth and Security-Democracy Trade-Off
12:00-2:00pm: break for lunch
2:00-3:30PM: Possibilities for Reform
Abdulrazzaq al-Saeidi, moderator
Hossein al-Qazwini: Post-Sistani's Hawza
Safwan al-Amin: Constitution's Challenges
Abbas Fadhil Alkateshi: Creating a Political Party in Iraq
Roy Mottahedeh: response to Hossein's paper on Hawza
3:30-4:00: coffee break
4:00-5:30pm: Iraq and the region
Kristin Fabbe, moderator
Payam Mohseni: Is Iran a Friend or a Foe for Iraq?
Ömür Budak: Turkey: A Potential Partner
Nawaf Obaid: Saudi Rapprochement
Contact: Liz Flanagan