Submissions - Inaugural Middle East Conference 2020 | HBKU

The conference will be organised as roundtables, workshops and moderated panels from peer-reviewed submissions and presentations by invited speakers including keynote speakers. 
We welcome individual paper submissions, as well as thematic panel submissions consisting of 3-4 papers.

Thematic areas include, but are not limited to, the following relating to the MENA region:

  • Uprisings, transition to democracy and the role of civil society 
  • Shifting politics, proxy wars and regional and international alliances
  • Climate change and environmental challenges
  • Economic diversification and the quest for inclusive growth
  • Economic sanctions and blockades as foreign policy tools
  • The role of arts and culture 
  • The role of women and gender in social, economic, cultural and political change
  • Gender and sexuality
  • Refugees, displacement and migration
  • History and memory
  • Knowledge production, epistemology and methodology of Middle East Studies
  • Comparative literature and creative arts
  • Cultural heritage and study of museums 
  • The changing role of traditional and digital media 
  • Digital Humanities and application in the analysis of creative work 
  • Social media, disinformation, propaganda and information controls 
  • Language technologies and their application in the Middle East
  • Opinion mining and social media analytics.

Instructions for Submission of Abstracts: 

The language of the conference will be English.
Proposals should include the following elements:

  • Applicant’s institutional affiliation and contact information, including email
  • Abstract of 500-600 words which includes: 
    • An introductory statement that outlines the background and significance of the study
    • A short description of the basic methodology adopted
    • A clear indication of the major findings of the study and its contribution
  • A short biography of no more than 100 words

Papers accepted will be allocated 30 minutes in the program, which includes no more than 20 minutes for presentation and 10 minutes for questions/discussion. 
We welcome submissions from PhD students, early career academics as well as established researchers.

Please submit your abstract through the following link.

Key Dates:

  • Abstract submission (the deadline for proposals is 16 January 2020).
  • February 16, 2020: Notification of abstract acceptance.
  • February 1 - April 21, 2020: Registration open.

For further information, please direct your enquiries to Mrs Shereen Khairallah at shkhairallah@hbku.edu.qa.