Possible topics include:
- Country Specific Themes (i.e. Iran, Iraq, Egpyt etc.)
- Islam and Religions of the Region
- Politics
- Conflict and Resolution
- Holidays (Religious and State)
- Health Care
- Education
- The Ancient Middle East
Would your class or community group like to have a guest speaker address issues related to the Middle East? When possible, CMES will arrange for a University of Arizona student (from a Middle Eastern country or an American expert in Middle Eastern Studies), UA faculty member, or a visiting scholar to give a guest lecture to K-12 and post-secondary classes or to community groups.
If you want to arrange a speaker for your class or group, email Lisa Adeli - adeli@email.arizona.edu.
Below are descriptions of a few of our speakers, our 2015-2016 "Outreach Scholars." These are students with extensive experience in the Middle East who give talks on behalf of CMES.
Mahmoud Ismail is from Egypt, studying in the law program. In Egypt, he was part of a government ministry just after the Arab Spring, and he wants to talk about Egyptian politics and government.
Mohammed Jukhadar is from Saudi Arabia, but his mother is Turkish, so he spends time in both countries and speaks both languages. He is interested in speaking about Middle Eastern cultures.
Maria Khawam is a freshman Physiology student from Syria. She came to the U.S. three years ago after experiencing war trauma. She has already shared her experiences at our teachers' workshop on refugees, speaking about why her family left Syria, how hard it was to adjust to the U.S., and the differences between her parents' perspectives and hers. (Her parents dream of returning to Syria; she plans to stay in the U.S.)
Mumina Obeid grew up in the U.S., but she is half Mexican-American and half Syrian-American. Her perspective is interesting, particularly for Mexican-American students who didn't know about the connection between their culture and Middle Eastern immigrants to Mexico. In addition, Mumina wears a head scarf and would love to speak about Islam to U.S. young people.
Babak Yadegari is a graduate student from Iran. He is most interested in speaking about Iranian culture - and would rather leave politics to Mohammed and religion to Mumina.
