November 23, 2024

EagleEye

A Newsletter for UMW Faculty and Staff

Andrea Livi Smith Publishes Article in Journal

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Andréa Livi Smith, assistant professor and director of the Center for Historic Preservation, published her article entitled “The Young Preservationist: Findings from the First Undergraduate Historic Preservation Education Symposium” in the peer-reviewed journal Preservation Education & Research. PER is the scholarly journal of the National Council for Preservation Education.

The article is derived from the first Undergraduate Historic Preservation Education Symposium, organized by Dr. Smith and hosted by UMW in June 2010. Dr. Smith is currently organizing the second iteration of the symposium, to be held this summer.

Nabil Al-Tikriti Presents Paper to Istanbul History Congress

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On Thursday, Nov. 8, Nabil Al-Tikriti delivered a paper entitled “The Ties that Bind: Ottoman Sea Ghazis from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean” to the 1st International Congress of Eurasian Maritime History (Turkish Naval History), hosted by Piri Reis University in Istanbul, Turkey.  The conference website and conference program is available in the links, and the abstract of the paper delivered is as follows:

“In the first decade of the sixteenth century, several sea ghazis with little known prior experience grew active in the Indian Ocean, and came to be known as the “Rumis” in their new theatre of action. At first the active combatants appear to have acted somewhat independently, arriving in the Red Sea with Ottoman logistical support, Mamluk financial backing, and uncertain knowledge of what lay ahead. In time what began as an uncertain partnership grew into a regular Ottoman intervention designed to explore, exploit, and trade within the Indian Ocean basin.

In this paper, I plan to explore the first “Rumis” to venture into the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, particularly examining their connection to their Ottoman backers and their prior Mediterranean careers. In the course of this prosopographical examination, I hope to uncover what trends may have emerged between such individuals as Kurdoğlu, Hussein al-Kurdi, Şehzade Korkud, Kemal Reis, the Barbarossa brothers, and others who made a name for themselves in either theatre of operations.  In so doing, one of the primary questions I hope to explore is the degree to which early moves from the Mediterranean to Indian Ocean theatres was a centralized effort.”

Program Proposals for Black History Month Due 11/16

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The James Farmer Multicultural Center is accepting program proposals for Black History Month in February 2013. The 2013 Black History Month theme is “At the Crossroads of Freedom and Equality:  Celebrating our Past and Shaping Our Future.”  Programs and events that relate to the theme are encouraged, however any programs or events that examine the experiences and contributions of Americans of African descent are welcome.  The program proposal forms are due on Friday, November 16, 2012 by 5 p.m. You can send the completed forms via email to Ms. Greta Franklin at gfrankli@umw.edu, or send them to the  James Farmer Multicultural Center in  Lee Hall, room 211.  Go to the James Farmer Multicultural Center’s website at  http://students.umw.edu/multicultural/programs/black-history-month/ to obtain the program proposal form.  Please contact the James Farmer Multicultural Center at 540-654-1044 for questions regarding Black History Month.

We invite members of the University of Mary Washington community to submit program proposals for the annual Women’s History Month Celebration. Proposals are due by Wednesday, December 12, 2012 and the sponsors will be notified promptly. Approved programs will be included on the Women’s History Month calendar as well as in print and electronic publications. Preference will be given to programs and events relating to the 2013 theme, “Women Inspiring Transformation.”

The program proposal form can be found at http://students.umw.edu/multicultural/programs/womens-history-month/.  Please include as much information on the form as possible.

Return forms and appropriate attachments to:

Women’s History Month Planning Committee
James Farmer Multicultural Center
Attention: Marion Sanford
Lee Hall, Room 211
1301 College Avenue
Fredericksburg, VA  22401
Email at msanford@umw.edu

Claudia Emerson Honored as Woman of Distinction

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Arrington Distinguished Chair of Poetry and Professor of English Claudia Emerson was named one of seven “Women of Distinction” of 2012 by the Girl Scouts of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Emerson received the award during a ceremony on Wednesday, Sept. 26. The girl scouting review committee chose the “Women of Distinction” based on their ability to serve as examples of courage, confidence and character. Emerson’s award focused on her accomplishments in culture and communication.

Nabil Al-Tikriti Delivers Paper at Conference in Crete

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On Sunday, July 1, Nabil Al-Tikriti delivered a paper entitled “Grim Advice, Bold Solutions: Idris-i Bitlisi’s 1513 Treatise on the Caliphate and Sultanic Protocols” to the 20th annual CIÉPO [Comité International des Études Pré-Ottomanes et Ottomanes] Conference in Rethymno, Crete, Greece.  The abstract of the paper was as follows:

“Following the intensely chaotic violence of the 1511-13 Şahkulu rebellion and fraternal succession struggle, a wholesale changing of the palace guard ensued. In the course of this transition, several imperial elites applied for court employment and patronage via submissions of poetry, advice treatises, and other forms of cultured knowledge production. While the historical narratives commonly known as Selim-nāmes have attracted a modicum of scholarly attention, treatises submitted at the very beginning of Selim’s reign remain largely unknown. Three examples of such submissions include the anonymous 1512 Risala fi Sharh Qasida Julus Sultan Selim Khan, Idris-i Bitlisi’s 1513 Risala fi al-Khilafa wa Adab al-Salatin, and Shams al-Din Jahrami’s 1514 Risala Siyasiyya Bara-yi Sultan Selim.

In this paper, I shall summarize, analyze, and contextualize the second of the aforementioned three works, the nearly forgotten treatise presented by Idris-i Bitlisi (d. 1520) to “Yavuz” Sultan Selim (d. 1520) in February 1513. In order to place this submission within its immediate context, I shall also detail Idris-i Bitlisi’s biography during the chaotic transition years and briefly summarize the contents of the other two aforementioned treatises. While each of these authors presumably had self-aggrandizing motivations for their respective submissions, the arguments which they put forth in support of Selim’s rule and reign should provide nuanced views of the political theories and public arguments mobilized to support the new Ottoman ruler during a sensitive and divisive period of social upheaval.”

Nabil Al-Tikriti Moderates Forced Migration Workshop at NGO Assembly

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In his capacity as a board member of MSF / Doctors Without Borders USA, Nabil Al-Tikriti co-organized and moderated a June 7 workshop on migrant populations preceding the MSF USA 2012 General Assembly in New York City. Panelists included Dr. Alison Mountz of Wilfred Laurier University, Dr. Apostolos Veizis of MSF Greece, and Ivan Gayton of MSF Nigeria.  The workshop description was as follows: “In this workshop, participants will explore the peculiar challenges faced when trying to gain access to migrant populations. Is it possible to adequately serve a population which often intentionally avoids detection, resides primarily in urban contexts, constantly moves or aspires to move, displays inordinate ethnic and linguistic diversity, and exists in a legal limbo vis-a-vis the legal authorities under which MSF operates?  What level of legal risk should MSF international staff be prepared to accept vis-a-vis Frontex, Homeland Security, and other actors legally tasked with controlling, limiting, channeling, and preventing migration?”