2015 Theme

Sexualities and Queer Imaginaries in the Middle East/North Africa

Brown University’s Middle East Studies will host the third annual Engaged Scholarship conference on April 10-11, 2015, with the theme of “Sexualities and Queer Imaginaries in the Middle East/North Africa.”

Our primary objective is to bring together a diverse group of experts from the Middle East and around the world (academics, journalists, activists, human rights advocates, filmmakers, novelists, faith-based leaders, artists, and others) who have contributed to the representations and/or development of lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/queer (LGBTQ) movements in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region.

The three central questions animating the conference are as follows:

• What is the ethical role that academics who work on queer social movements in the Middle East can play in supporting their development?
• How does that role differ from the contributions of grassroots activists, social entrepreneurs, civil society actors, states, and national, regional, and international institutions?
• How do we represent the past, present, and future trajectories of various queer movements in the Middle East/North Africa region?

Our co-sponsors include Brown University’s Pembroke Center, the Brown LGBTQ Center, the Sarah Doyle Women’s Center, the Watson Institute, and The Open Society Foundations.