Past Events
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Dec 10Inside Syria: Visual Storytelling and the Human Side of ConflictOnline via Zoom
Building on the documentary "Inside Syria", this session invites reflection on how visual art and storytelling help us understand war, displacement, and everyday life under crisis.
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Dec 4Palestine on Screen: Stories of Survival and ResistanceMemorial Library, Room 126
Join us for a powerful evening of award-winning Palestinian short films that bear witness to life under displacement, setller colonialism, and unyielding resilience.
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Nov 17Steadfast on Campus: A Century of Global Palestinian Student ActivismOnline via Zoom
In this wide-ranging talk, Dr. Maha Nassar (University of Arizona) examines the transnational history of Palestinian student activism over the last century.
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Nov 13The Making of the Carceral State in Modern IranPyle Center 313
This talk traces the making of the carceral state in Iran, the resulting incarceration of millions of people over several decades, responses by Iranians and non-Iranians alike to these new prisons, and the global links inherent to this expansive state project.
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Nov 12Teaching Migration Through Comics: Exploring Hakim’s OdysseyOnline via Zoom Register
Join us for a special International Book Club featuring Hakim’s Odyssey by Fabien Toulmé — a powerful graphic narrative tracing one man’s flight from war-torn Syria to safety in Europe.
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Nov 3Society of the Righteous: Ibadhi Muslim Identity and Transnationalism in TanzaniaIngraham 206
Drawing from her new book "Society of the Righteous: Transregional Muslim Networks and Ibadhi Moral Reform in East Africa" (UNC Press, 2024), Dr. Kimberly Wortmann (Wake Forest University) will explore how Omani-Ibadi Muslims in Tanzania have navigated questions of religious belonging, moral reform, and heritage in the aftermath of empire.
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Oct 27Children’s International Story Hour: “Homeland: My Father Dreams of Palestine”Pinney Library, 516 Cottage Grove Rd., Madison, WI 53716
We will be reading the book to the children, introducing basic Arabic words, teaching basic facts about Palestine, creating an art project based on the book, and sampling Palestinian cuisine!
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Oct 22Narrating the Margins: Mohamed Choukri’s Short NarrativesIngraham 206
Choukri blends harsh realism with creative storytelling, following Zola’s idea that literature should be rooted in real human experience. His stories reveal the difficult truths of poverty, oppression, and social exclusion, rejecting idealized portrayals.
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Oct 8Art and Resistance in “Power Born of Dreams”Join us online for a discussion with Mohammad Sabaaneh, the author and illustrator of the award winning graphic novel "Power Born of Dreams: My Story is Palestine".
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Oct 6Cross-Stitching the Scattered: Women’s Literary SubjectivitiesIngraham 206
Professor Shereen Abouelnaga (Cairo University) looks at how women writers create their sense of self through stories that are often broken, layered, and full of contradictions. She uses cross-stitching—both as a real craft and a metaphor—to show how women piece together identity, memory, and voice across different times and places.