Prof. Nubar Hovsepian, Political Science and International Studies, is on sabbatical this semester. While on sabbatical, he has traveled extensively to present his work at various venues. In October (6-7) he participated in a conference sponsored by the Georg Eckert Institute Braunschweig, Germany) on: Education and Conflict: Perspectives from Israel/Palestine. In particular he presented a paper titled: “The Context of the Palestinian Curriculum: Post-Conflict or Conflict?” The paper draws on Dr. Hovsepian’s book: Palestinian State Formation: Education and the Construction of National Identity (2008). The paper will be published in an edited volume.
Professor Hovsepian also traveled to Cairo, Egypt in October to visit his daughter, but he also met with several scholars to discuss his ongoing book project. Upon returning from Cairo, he delivered two lectures at UC Santa Barbara. The Orfalea Center for Global and International Studies and the Center for Middle East Studies hosted his talk on: “Edward Said’s Palestine/Israel: Inclusion Without Domination.” This talk is part of Hovsepian’s book project: Edward Said as Conscious Pariah: The Politics of a Public Intellectual. He also gave a talk titled “Beirut as a War Zone.”
On 27 October, Professor Hovsepian delivered a talk at Harvard University, sponsored by the Middle East Forum of the Center for Middle eastern Studies at Harvard. He presented a modified version of his talk on Edward Said. During this trip he also met with various scholars (Columbia University and University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia) to discuss the contours of his ongoing work on Said. He met with one major publisher in NY who expressed great interest in the book project.
From 18-21 November Professor Hovsepian will participate in the annual conference of the Middle Eadt Studies Association which will be held in san Diego. He will chair a panel on: “Perspectives on Islam and Politics in Palestine.” He is also scheduled to meet with other publishers who are trying to secure rights for his book on Edward Said.