November 2, 2019
Associate Professor of History Thabiti Willis hosted a one-day workshop focused on the challenges and opportunities of making connections with communities in North Africa and the Middle East. The workshop was facilitated by Sylvia Smith and Richard Duebel, London-based BBC journalists who specialize in arts and culture in North Africa and the Middle East. Fourteen participants attended the workshop, contributing to a lively discussion on arts and culture in the region with cross-cultural perspectives. Faculty and staff came from a variety of departments and offices, including Africana Studies, American Studies, French and Francophone Studies, History, Middle Eastern Studies and Languages, Political Science, Academic Technology, and Gould Library. Smith and Duebel shared short films with the participants centered on Gnawa music in Essaouira, Morocco, leading to a rich discussion on arts, culture, ritual, and their intersection with modernity and capitalism in North Africa and the Middle East. In addition to the expertise and insight shared by Smith and Duebel, participants made connections across disciplines and offered relevant examples from their own research and experience.
How to Nurture Partners in North Africa and the Middle East
Carleton faculty and Sylvia Smith of the BBC discuss