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Josef Korbel School of International Studies

University of Denver's Center for Middle East Studies Hosts Conference on Crisis in Syria

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University of Denver - News and Public Affairs
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Leading Scholars, Syrian Opposition Leaders, Human Rights Advocates to Gather for All-Day Meeting, Explore Solutions to Conflict

DENVER— As the world watches in horror as the humanitarian crisis in Syria deepens, the University of Denver's Center for Middle East Studies in the Josef Korbel School for International Studies will host one of the most important conferences on the Syria crisis held in the United States since the bloody conflict erupted in March of 2011.

The "Resolving the Syria Crisis" conference will be held on Thursday, January 10 and Friday, January 11, at the Sié Chéou-Kang Center for International Security and Diplomacy at the University of Denver's Josef Korbel School of International Studies, 2201 S. Gaylord St.

The conference will bring together scholars, journalists, activists, and policymakers from around the world to explore and discuss the history behind the ongoing conflict, its current contours, national, regional and geopolitical implications, and potential resolutions. The conference is free and open to the public.

"This conference is unprecedented," said Nader Hashemi, director of the Center for Middle East Studies and an assistant professor of Middle East and Islamic Politics at the University. "Some of the leading scholars and opposition voices will debate the future of Syria here in Denver. We will examine the key ethical and political questions facing the international community and U.S. policy toward this embattled country," he noted.

The opening session "Surviving the Syrian Civil War" will be held from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan 10, in the Arthur N. Gilbert Cyber Café in the Ben Cherrington Hall. With the exception of the evening keynote panel, all conference panels will take place in Ben Cherrington Hall. Friday sessions run from 9:15 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The keynote panel will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, January 11, in the Davis Auditorium (Room 248) in Sturm Hall. It will focus on the question:  What are the Options for Resolving the Syrian Crisis?

For additional information on the conference, its schedule, participants, and paper topics can be found at the conference website, www.cmesconference.wordpress.com. RSVP at MEC@du.edu. Social media updates are available on Facebook at facebook.com/DUCenterforMiddleEastStudies and on Twitter at #DUSyriaConf.

Conference speakers include:

  • Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch
  • Michael Ignatieff, former member of Parliament and leader of the Liberal Party of Canada
  • Christopher Hill, dean of the University of Denver's Josef Korbel School of International Studies and former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq
  • Rafif Jouejati, spokeswoman for the Local Coordinating Committees in Syria; director of FREE-Syria, a humanitarian organization focusing on women's empowerment; and a member of the Day After Project, which is developing a transition plan for the country
  • Joshua Landis, President of the Syrian Studies Association and editor of SyriaComment.com, a blog on Syrian politics that attracts some 200,000 page-reads a month and is widely read by officials in Syria, Europe and Washington
  • Erica Chenoweth, director of the Program on Terrorism and Insurgency Research at DU's Sié Chéou-Kang Center for International Security and Diplomacy and co-author of Why Civil Resistance Works, for which she and her co-author won the 2013 Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order

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The University of Denver is committed to improving the human condition and engaging students and faculty in tackling the major issues of our day. The University ranks among the top 100 national universities in the U.S. For additional information, go to www.du.edu/newsroom or follow the University on Facebook and Twitter.


 

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