“I'm writing this thank you note after returning home to Menoufiya, Egypt; having taken part in your exceptional CASAR conference. I cannot thank you enough for granting me this exceptional opportunity to be in direct and close touch with scholars from all over the world involved in the field of American Studies. I belong to a regional university in the middle of the Nile delta which is virtually cut off from the field of American Studies and does not have the privileges of Universities like Cairo University. I'm currently struggling to initiate an American Studies Graduate Diploma in my University, and through this conference I have made several contacts with professors from various American Universities who are willing to seriously help. The conference sessions have and continue to provide wonderful resources for my endeavors. And I will hold next week a workshop to colleagues from other universities in the Nile Delta to update them on the sessions of the conference. So, thank you for giving me and my university this opportunity. Without it, we would be stuck where we are. God Bless You.”
Osama Abd El-Fattah Madany
Professor of English
Chair, Dept. of English Language and Literature
Menoufiya University
“It was without a doubt one of the most intellectually stimulating conferences I've attended.”
“Things were truly well organized and smooth, making for one of the most memorable conference experiences I've had.”
Ashley Dawson
Professor of English, the Graduate Center
City University of New York
“The conference, once again, was superb, on all levels. I was glad to see colleagues I've known (from the conference 4 years ago and elsewhere) and meet people I hadn't known. The panels were all excellent. My only regret was that I couldn't attend all of them.”
Allen Hibbard
Professor of English & Director of Middle East Center
Middle Tennessee State University
“I just returned from Beirut yesterday. I had a fabulous experience at the CASAR conference. I found the panels that I attended extremely enriching and I was also extremely happy that our panel on ‘The American-Style University at Large’ was very well attended and very well received. We had some excellent comments and questions from the audience adding to our discussion about the variety of ways that “American” is deployed at various American-style universities outside the US. I went away feeling very intellectually engaged and challenged.”
Kathryn L. Kleypas
Director of Academic Advising Center and
Assistant professor of English and Comparative literature
American University of Kuwait
“It was a wonderful experience to be part of such a dynamic community of scholars and I hope to participate again in the future.”
“The logistics were so seamless, the accommodations so comfortable, that I could really focus on participating in the conference itself.”
Manijeh Moradian (Nasarabadi)
Program in American Studies
Department of Social and Cultural Analysis
New York University
"This is a quick note just to say 'thanks very much' for allowing me to attend the CASAR conference last week, and for all the hard work in terms of both programming and logistics which made it such a success. I feel that I learnt a lot about American Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, the relationship between them, AUB in general, and CASAR in particular, and it is not every conference which one can say that many positive things about, so thanks very much indeed!”
Hugh Goddard
Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for the Study of Islam in the Contemporary World
Edinburgh University
“The whole experience was great: I learnt lots and met some really fabulous people. The field-trip was absolutely fantastic; unreal almost and it’s such a great thing to do. All this is to say thank you for having me and making me feel so welcome. Thanks for all your hard work and fabulous organization: it was seamless and wonderful and the whole thing ran like clockwork with you behind the scenes.”
Craig Jones
PhD Student, Department of Geography
Liu Scholar, Liu Institute for Global Issues
University of British Columbia
“I wanted to write to thank you both for all the efforts you have put into making CASAR's fourth conference a very successful event. Having organized conferences before, I realize how demanding it is to put everything together. You have both done a fantastic job of making this a flawless conference. I look forward to participation in the future and to communication with you, Alex, to put the plans we discussed in Beirut into effect.”
Walid El Hamamsy
Assistant Professor, English Department
Cairo University