U.S. Senator Jon Tester To Discuss Foreign Policy at Missoula Central and Southwest Asia Conference

Faculty, students and researchers from around the world will gather to participate in the 14th annual Central and Southwest Asia Conference at the University of Montana next week. Director of UM’s Central and Southwest Asian Studies Center, Mehrdad Kia, says the program has grown a lot throughout the years.

“This started as a small conference and it brought maybe several hundred students and members of the community, but in time it has grown by leaps and bounds,” said Kia. “It is now a very well known and highly respected national and international conference.”

The conference will feature several panels and presentations that address timely issues such as the recent Iran nuclear deal, women as change agents in the Middle East and Muslim immigration to Europe.

“We have an entire team of incredible key note speakers, but meanwhile we will also have panels on women’s movement in Afghanistan and Iran and on and on,” Kia said. “Please visit the UM website and UM calendar and you will see it is one of the richest conferences we have organized.”

U.S. Senator Jon Tester is one of the speakers and will deliver a keynote presentation on the issue of leadership and foreign policy. The event begins at noon next Wednesday, KGVO listeners will have the special privilege of hearing many of the guests live on Talk Back.

Here is the full schedule for the upcoming conference:

Wednesday, March 23

· Noon-1:30 p.m.: Keynote Presentation: “France: Territorial, Social and Ethnic Apartheid,” presented by Thomas. Moderated by UM Professor Mladen Kozul.

· 2-3:30 p.m.: Panel: “Critical Texts: Fatima Sadiqi on the Vitality of Publishing, Research and Writing Regarding Women in the Middle East and North Africa,” presented by Sadiqi. Moderator and discussants include UM English Professor Prageeta Sharma and Rachel Mindell of the Montana Book Festival.

· 3:30-5 p.m.: Panel: “Western Europe and Immigration Crisis.” Panelists will each present. UM Professor Michel Valentin will deliver “De-Territorialization, Globalization and Emigration.” Thomas will deliver “Fortress Europe: Migration and Race.” UM journalism Professor Henriette Lowisch will deliver “The German Experiment: A Crumbling Welcome.” Kozul will serve as the moderator.

· 7 p.m.: Keynote Presentation: “Women in the Middle East and North Africa: Agents of Change,” Presented by Sadiqi. Rep. Andrea Olsen, Montana State Legislature, will serve as the moderator.

Thursday, March 24

· 10-11 a.m.: Panel: “The Golden Age of Central Asia,” presented by UM Central and Southwest Asia Program Associate Director Ardeshir Kia. UM lecturer Samir Bitar will serve as the moderator.

· 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Panel: “Struggle for Women’s Rights in Afghanistan & Iran,” presented by Shaima Khinjani, manager of academic programs, UM’s Defense Critical Language & Culture Program. UM anthropology Professor G.G. Weix will serve as the moderator.

· 12:30-2 p.m.: Panel: “Central & Southwest Asian Studies Student Panel.” Ardi Kia will serve as the moderator.

· 2-3:30 p.m.: Panel: “China and the Middle East.” Panel members include a delegation from Shanghai International Studies University: Professor Degang Sun, deputy director of the Middle East Studies Institute; Gafar Karar Ahmed, honorary research fellow of the Middle East Studies Institute; and Jiani Wang, Middle East Studies Institute doctoral student. Bitar will serve as the moderator.

· 7-9 p.m.: Keynote Presentation: “A Senator's Perspective on Foreign Policy,” presented by Tester.

Friday, March 25, 2016

· 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.: Panel: “Foreign Language Instruction and Cultural” Panelists are from the Mansfield Center’s Defense Critical Language & Culture Program and include UM Adjunct ProfessorOwen Sirrs, UM Associate Professor Reza Samar, Khinjani and UM Associate Professor Abdelilah Bouasria. Retired Maj. Gen. Don Loranger, director of the Defense Critical Language and Culture Program.

· 1-3 p.m.: Panel: “Putin’s Russia and its Policies in Ukraine, the Caucasus and the Middle East.” Panelists include UM history Professor Robert Greene, UM history Professor Michael Mayer, UM visiting scholar Milena Oganesyan and Mehrdad Kia. Bob Seidenshwarz, president of the Montana World Affairs Council, will serve as the moderator.

· 7 p.m.: Keynote Presentation: “The War in Syria and the Destruction of the Syrian Antiquity,” presented by Al-Azm. Bitar will serve as the moderator. Retired UM Professor Tom Lee will be a discussant.

Filed Under: Central and Southwest Asia Conference at the University of Montana, Director of UM’s Central and Southwest Asian Studies Center Mehrdad Kia, U.S. Senator Jon Tester