American University of Beirut

Georgetown University

April 13-15, 2023

Call for papers

[P​oster​]

For over ten centuries, the Druze, a small Arab Muslim community centered in Bilad al Sham, played a leading, at times the leading role in the socio-political history of almost all the nation states in Greater Syria in the aftermath of Empire, contributing to many of its nations which rose out of the post-World War I disintegration of the Ottoman Empire.

Notwithstanding their small numbers and esoteric dogma, the Druze assimilated seamlessly to the new countries they inhabited. They often assumed leadership positions in their careers as intellectuals, politicians, businessmen. It should not be surprising then that Druze individuals (and communities), with their effortless integration  in their diasporic locations, had catalyzed numerous success stories just as they did in their home countries.

Like many of their compatriots in Mount Lebanon and across the Syrian lands, the Druze were part of the early waves of immigration in the mid-19^th century.  They looked towards the Americas, Europe and later Africa for economic opportunities, consequently contributing in the processes of building up both their native and adopted lands.

While many studies have explored the Druze in both their original countries and abroad, a wide range of rich topics, stories and exceptional individuals remain and have yet to be uncovered and properly documented.

The Georgetown University Center for Contemporary Arab Studies (CCAS), in partnership with the American Druze Foundation (ADF)  and the Department of History and Archeology at the American University of Beirut, is organizing an international conference which will bring together leading researchers who have contributed to the field of Middle Eastern Studies with particular reference to the Druze.

The conference will focus exclusively  on the political, social and cultural evolution and/ or political role of the Druze both in their countries of origin as well as in the diaspora. This two-day conference will be held at Georgetown University in April 2023. It will also feature a number of activities and scholarly work covering art, food and culture, allowing the public to become more familiar with  the cultural heritage of  the Druze community.

While this conference essentially focuses on the Druze, it certainly encourages stories of many of the groups which interacted with the Druze both in the Levant and beyond.

Please send your titles and abstracts before January 15, 2023 to:

Makram Rabah mr62@aub.edu.lb

For any inquiries, please email  

ccasinfo@georgetown.edu