Student conference explores Power, Influence, and Authority in Middle East

Press release

Published April 12th, 2017 - 10:36 GMT

During the event

Undergraduate students gathered to present their original research recently as part of Georgetown University in Qatar’s Middle Eastern Studies Student Association’s (MESSA) fourth international conference. The event featured student research and discussions by guest speaker under the theme of ‘Power, Influence, and Authority in the Middle East.’

The student-run conference is a dynamic platform that allows students to present their work to an audience of their peers, faculty, staff, and invited guests. The presentations were followed by a question and answer session, allowing audience members to engage with the complexities of the subject matter.

“MESSA’s annual conference provides undergraduate students with an opportunity to showcase their original research and foster academic discussions on a range of topics,” said Dr. Christine Schiwietz, MESSA faculty advisor and assistant dean for academic affairs at GU-Q. “This facilitates academic discussion and informed dialogue and debates on power, foreign policy decisions, and socio-political issues facing the Middle East.”

After calling for submissions from undergraduate researchers, the MESSA student board reviewed all papers in order to ensure that only high quality, innovative research was presented on the day.

“It should either be a new exciting topic, or something from a new perspective, or it should be that you’ve done very hands-on work,” explained Mohammad Taimur Ali Ahmad (SFS’17), chair of the MESSA student board. “The papers we had today covered them… there were some papers that were completely new topics, and some that were typical, but from a new perspective.”

The guest speaker at this year’s event was Jordan Hattar, director of Help4Refugees.org, a non-profit focused on communicating fulfilling and communicating the needs of refugees in Syria and South Sudan. The event also featured the artwork of George Washington University student Emaan Saeed, who joined the attendees via video conferencing from the United States.

The conference rounded out a full week of events organized by the student club, including a public lecture by civil rights activist Dr. Sami Al-Arian, and an exhibition by photographer Mohammed Ismail focused on the Libyan uprising.

Background Information

Georgetown University in Qatar

Established in 1789 in Washington, DC, Georgetown University is one of the world’s leading academic and research institutions. Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q), founded in 2005 in partnership with Qatar Foundation, seeks to build upon the world-class reputation of the university through education, research, and service. Inspired by the university’s mission of promoting intellectual, ethical, and spiritual understanding, GU-Q aims to advance knowledge and provide students and the community with a holistic educational experience that produces global citizens committed to the service of humankind.

Located in Doha’s Education City, GU-Q offers the same internationally recognized Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service degree as Georgetown’s Capitol Campus in Washington, DC. This unique, interdisciplinary program prepares students to tackle the most important and pressing global issues by helping them develop critical thinking, analytic, and communication skills within an international context. GU-Q alumni work in leading local and international organizations across industries ranging from finance to energy, education, and media. The Qatar campus also serves as a residency and delivery location for the Executive Master’s in Emergency and Disaster Management along with the Executive Master’s in Leadership.