Disease and Disability in the History of the Middle East

Please join us for a workshop on Disease and Disability in the History of the Middle East. There will be a coffee and cake reception from 3:30 to 4:00 p.m.

The panelists belong to a group of scholars who see the Middle East through more than just political and economic lenses. They re-envision the place of the body in society as well as its changes over time, and through their research about disability they aim to arrive at a more nuanced understanding of hierarchies of power and oppression. It is also their conviction that including minority perspectives in our discussions of the past adds complexity and depth to our views on Middle East history. The workshop is a recognition of their efforts to establish disease and disability as essential categories of historical analysis in the field on a par with gender, class, and race.

Workshop Participants: Dr. Sara Scalenghe, Loyola University Maryland "Disability in the Middle East, Past and Present: An Introduction" Dr. Kristina Richardson, Queens College, CUNY "An Arabic Finger Alphabet from 16th-century Ottoman Aleppo"
 Dr. Beverly Tsacoyianis, University of Memphis
“Science and Spirits: Mental Illness in 20th Century Syria and Lebanon” Dr. Chantel Rodriguez, University of Maryland, College ParkDiscussant Dr. Ahmet Karamustafa, University of Maryland, College ParkChair