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CMES

Newsletter #26

March 2022

The CMES building on a lawn full of yellow spring flowers.

Message from the Director

The CMES staff is back in full swing “IRL” on Finngatan 16!

While we were hoping for a good start to 2022, we are all devasted and horrified by the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and the immense humanitarian crises unfolding in Europe since the end of February. Recently, CMES co-organised an event with the Department of Political Science, Centre for European Studies, and Centre for Languages and Literature on the Russian invasion of Ukraine to discuss why history matters and the wider repercussions in the Middle East. If you missed the event, it is possible to watch the panel discussion on Lund University's YouTube channel (see link below).

Spring has arrived early in Lund and we are now back in full swing “IRL” on Finngatan 16! While CMES staff remained amazingly resilient throughout the pandemic in following the regulations of social distancing, the house is now full with buzzing spontaneous meetings and creative talks! The CMES research staff has recently expanded with Sarah Ann Rennick joining us from Arab Reform Initiative in Paris and with Dalia Abdelhady and Rola El-Husseini Dean on writing retreats this spring. CMES has also held a number of well-attended research seminars in March on gender and techno-Islam in Saudi Arabia and on UN-agencies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Do not miss the next two seminars on the aesthetics of Swedish Muslim art creators and Swedish-Tunisian soil conservation!

So stay tuned on the CMES website, social media and Newsletter!

Karin Aggestam

CMES Director and MECW Coordinator

Latest Research News

Open Call for Research Project Proposals

CMES supports supports and coordinates research projects with high scientific potential, encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration between researchers from different disciplines within Lund University. All project members will get institutional affiliation with CMES and perform the research at CMES. One research project will be funded, starting in September 2022 and running for 3 years. Applications are open to scholars with employment at Lund University that hold doctoral degrees from at least two different disciplines. Deadline for applications: 19 April 2022. More information can be found on the CMES website.

The Russian Invasion of Ukraine - Why History Matters and What Will Be the Impact?

On March 9, CMES Director Karin Aggestam participated in a public panel to discuss the wider repercussions of the Russian invasion of Ukraine for the Middle East. A video recording of the event is available to watch online until March 31.

Ecology and Eco-Feminism in the Kurdish Movement

On March 21, CMES scholar Pinar Dinc gave a lecture at Uppsala University as part of the course "Actors and Strategies for Change: Towards Global Sustainabilites". She talked about ecology and eco-feminism within the Kurdish movement.

Identity and Mobilization of Post-2011 Arab Diasporas

On April 5, CMES scholar Sarah Anne Rennick will be giving a lecture at the University of Copenhagen on "Post-2011 Arab Diasporas: Non-Linear Dynamics of Identity Formation and Political Mobilization". On April 6, Sarah will be giving an online lecture at the Centre for European Research in Maastricht as part of the Euro-Arab Conversations Series. The talk is titled "Arab Diasporas in European Spaces: The Mediation of Identity Formation and Mobilization".

Past Events in March

March 3: Techno-Islam, Gender, and Saudi Politics in Global Media Discourse

CMES Research Seminar with Joel Abdelmoez (Lund University). At CMES and on Zoom, 13:15-14:30.

March 17: UN Agencies in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

CMES Research Seminar with Liora Sion (University of Copenhagen). At CMES and on Zoom, 13:15-14:30.

Upcoming Events

March 31: The Aesthetics, Ethics and Creativity of Swedish Muslim Art Creators

CMES Research Seminar with Anders Ackfeldt (Lund University). At CMES and on Zoom, 13:15-14:30.

April 28: Time and Development in Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia - an Interdisciplinary Memory Study of Swedish-Tunisian Soil Conservation 1983-1992

CMES Research Seminar with Ulrik Mårtensson (Lund University) and Annika Rabo (Stockholm University). At CMES and on Zoom, 13:15-14:30.

May 12: Creating an Alternative Umma - Clerical Authority and Religio-Political Mobilisation in Transnational Shii Islam

CMES Research Seminar with Oliver Scharbrodt (Lund University). At CMES and on Zoom, 13:15-14:30.

The CMES building on a lawn full of blue flowers.

May 18: Open House at CMES

CMES scholars will be showcasing their ongoing Middle East research with posters on display. At CMES, 13:00-16:00.

June 9: Law, Language and Space Making - Three Dimensions of Human Rights in Egyptian Feminist Activism Post-2011

CMES Research Seminar with Emma Sundkvist (Lund University). At CMES and on Zoom, 13:15-14:30.

Recent Publications

Cover of the journal "Conflict Resolution Quarterly"

"Tracing Responses to Recognition in the Oslo Peace Process and its Aftermath - the Interlinkage between Relational and Internal Ontological Security"

Authors: Lisa Strömbom and Yoav Kapshuk

"Vicia–Micronucleus Test Application for Saline Irrigation Water Risk Assessment"

Authors: Dalila Souguir, Ronny Berndtsson, Sourour Mzahma, Hanen Filali, and Mohamed Hachicha

Cover of the journal "Review of International Studies"

"Agonistic peace agreements? Analytical tools and dilemmas"

Authors: Lisa Strömbom, Isabel Bramsen and Anne Lene Stein

Cover of the report "Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability"

Chapter 4: "Water" in the 6th International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment report Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability

Contributing Author: Lina Eklund (among others)

"A Combination of Metaheuristic Optimization Algorithms and Machine Learning Methods Improves the Prediction of Groundwater Level"

Authors: Zahra Kayhomayoon, Faezeh Babaian, Sami Ghordoyee Milan, Naser Arya Azar and Ronny Berndtsson

Cover of the journal "European Planning Studies"

"Migration, place-making and the rescaling of urban space"

Authors: Mattias Kärrholm, Tina Gudrun Jensen, Laleh Foroughanfar and Rebecka Söderberg

"An integrated InSAR-machine learning approach for ground deformation rate modeling in arid areas"

Authors: Seyed Amir Naghibi, Behshid Khodaei and Hossein Hashemi

Reassessing Activism and Engagement Among Arab Youth

Editor: Sarah Anne Rennick

Find Out More About Middle East Research at Lund University

Lund University conducts Middle Eastern research of international quality and with a societal relevance across and between faculties. To find out more about the Middle East research being conducted at LU in Science, Medicine, Engineering, Humanities and Theology, and Social Sciences, please visit our website.

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About This Newsletter

This is a newsletter from the Centre for Advanced Middle Eastern Studies, Lund University. With the objective to provide an overview Middle Eastern studies undertaken at Lund University, this newsletter is intended to give updates on research, events, and other related news. It is also intended to form a window towards the society, showcasing important Middle Eastern research conducted at Lund University.

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