Special Event: Thursday, March 31
"Loss and Restoration: The Life and Journeys of Leo Africanus" - Peter Sluglett, translator of Amin Maalouf's Leo Africanus and scholar of the 19th and 20th century Middle East, University of Utah
International Institute, Room 1636
8:00 p.m.
Thursday, February 10
Muslims, Christians and Jews in the World of Leo Africanus
Join Jonathan Glasser from UM’s Center for Near Eastern Studies as he explores how these three faiths interacted in the Middle Ages.
Ann Arbor District Library
Downtown Library Multi- Purpose Room
343 South Fifth Ave
7:00- 8:30 pm
For information, call 327-4560
Saturday, February 12
Ypsilanti Reads Program: Near East Dance (Family)
A family program on the history of bellydancing with a demonstration and instruction.
Ypsilanti District Library
Community Meeting Room
5577 Whittaker Rd., Ypsilanti 48197
1:30 p.m.
Tuesday, February 15
Berta Álvarez-Miranda, Complutense University, Madrid
Muslim communities in Europe are the result of labor migration and family reunification in the second half of the twentieth century. Today, Muslims in France, Britain, Germany and Spain are comparably disadvantaged in their integration into the labor markets and educational systems of the host countries. In contrast, variation among the state policies that address the cultural recognition of these minorities, and the accommodation of their religious practices, remains noteworthy. Such variation may be better understood in the light of the tradition of church-state institutional relations in each country and the dominant public discourses about the incorporation of immigrants into the host society and polity.
UM International Institute, Room 2609
1080 S. University
12:00-1:00 p.m.
For information, call 734-647-2743.
Tuesday, February 15
Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads Book Discussion: Leo Africanus
Ann Arbor District library staff lead a discussion of Maalouf’s novel.
No registration required.
Ann Arbor District Library
Malletts Creek Branch
3090 East Eisenhower Parkway
Ann Arbor
7:00 – 8:30 pm
For information call 327.4200
Thursday, February 17
Ypsilanti Reads Program: Insights into Arab-American Culture (All Ages)
The focus of this year’s Community Read is the Cultures of the Middle East. Join us as Dr. Luay Shalabi of the Arab American Cultural Center and Central Academy talks about the history of immigration from the Middle East to America in general and Washtenaw County in particular. He will also talk about some aspects of the Arab culture and touch on differences and similarities to the host culture.
Ypsilanti District Library
Community Meeting Room
5577 Whittaker Rd., Ypsilanti 48197
7:00 p.m.
Friday, February 18
An Evening of Middle Eastern Music
Well-Known Detroit area musician Ara Topouzian discusses the history of Middle Eastern Music while performing on the kanun (Middle Eastern laptop harp), the darbuka (Middle Eastern hand drum), and Duduk (Armenian wind instrument)
Ann Arbor District Library
Downtown Library Multi- Purpose Room
343 South Fifth Ave
7:00- 8:30 pm
For information, call 327-4560
Wednesday, February 23
Leo Africanus Book Discussion
Please join us at for a community discussion about this year's Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads title, Leo Africanus by Amin Maalouf. Shaman Drum staff member, Adil Salmouni, will lead the discussion which is free and open to the public.
Shamon Drum
311-315 S. State Street
Ann Arbor MI
7:00 p.m. No registration. For information please call 662-7407
Sunday, February 27
Israeli and Middle Eastern Dance
Detroit dancer/choreographer Harriet Berg and her troupe leads participants in Israeli and Middle Eastern dancing. Come prepared to move and have fun.
Ann Arbor District Library
Downtown Library Multi- Purpose Room
343 South Fifth Ave
2:00 – 4:00 pm
For information, call 327-4560
Monday, February 28
Ypsilanti Reads Program: Dearborn Traditional Ensemble (Family)
Learn more about the traditional music of the Middle East from a Dearborn-based musical group that plays traditional Arabic music using the oud and the tubla.
Ypsilanti District Library
Community Meeting Room
5577 Whittaker Rd., Ypsilanti 48197
7:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 3
Leo Africanus Book Discussion
The discussion group will begin with refreshments and get acquainted time at 7 pm and move into the book discussion around 7:30 p.m. Divine Shepherd is located at 2600 Nixon Road, just north of Plymouth Road, at the northeast corner of Nixon & Bluett (next to Clague Middle School).
Rev. Rodger Williams
Divine Shepherd Lutheran Church
2600 Nixon Road Ann Arbor, MI 48105
734.761.7273
DivShep@aol.com
Saturday, March 5
Film and Discussion: Promises
This moving film follows the journey of one of the filmmakers, Israeli-American B.Z. Goldberg as he travels to a Palestinian refugee camp and to an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, and to other neighborhoods of Jerusalem where he meets seven Palestinian and Israeli children. Alhough the children live only 20 minutes apart, they exist in completely separate worlds. Promises tells the story of a few children who dared to cross the lines to meet their neighbors. Ann Arbor Public Schools teacher, Irene Grace will lead a discussion after the film.
Ann Arbor District Library
Downtown Library Multi- Purpose Room
343 South Fifth Ave
2:00 – 4:30 pm
For information, call 327-4560
Sunday, March 6
Leo Africanus Book Discussion
Please join us for a community discussion of this year's Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads title,
Leo Africanus. This discussion is free and open to the public.
Saline District Library
Brecon Room
555 N. Maple Road
Saline, Michigan 48176
2:00 p.m.
No registration is required. (734) 429-5450
Monday, March 7
Film and discussion: Covered Girls
Prior to 9/11, the average Westerner had little more than one-dimensional views of Islam and Muslim women. Covered Girls opens a window into the lives of a colorful and startling group of Muslim-American teenage girls in New York and challenges the stereotypes many Americans may have about this culture. Tom Hoetger, of NAME will moderate a panel discussion comprised of a student, a parent and a teacher, to help the community learn about the challenges for Muslim students, families and schools after 9/11. This program is cosponsored by the National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME)
Ann Arbor District Library
Downtown Library Multi- Purpose Room
343 South Fifth Ave
7:00 – 8:30 pm
For information, call 327-4560
Wednesday, March 9
"America and the Mideast: A Half-Century of Change"
John Cooley is a Former Correspondent, ABC News; Recipient, George Polk Memorial Award for "distinguished career achievement in international reporting;" Author, Unholy Wars: Afghanistan, America and International Terrorism; Payback: America's Long War in the Middle East; and Libyan Sandstorm: Qaddafi's Revolution An abstract of the lecture: Since World War II there are three main constants of American policy in the Middle East and North Africa, although these went major changes and mutations: 1) Fighting a global adversary. From 1945 until 1990, this took the form of the Cold War against the Soviet Union and "world Communism." From then, especially after the 9/11 attacks, the main external adversary became "international terrorism." 2) Protection of America's overseas energy-oil and gas-- sources and 3) Protection of the State of Israel. In many cases, constants 2) and 3) were merged with constant 1).
University of Michigan
1636 International Institute
1080 S. University St.
7:30 pm
Thursday, March 10: Special Event
Cristel de Rouvray, Leo Africanus Website Creator
Using slides and photographs from her travels and research, she will discuss the website, and lead the audience in a recap of her travels, comparing Morocco in the time of Leo Africanus with Morocco today. She will also discuss Leo Africanus, the man - as well as the process of undertaking such a project as the Leo Africanus website.
Pioneer High School
Schreiber Auditorium
601 West Stadium
Ann Arbor 48103
7:00 to 8:45 pm
Friday, March 11
The World is but a Moment: A Photographic Odyssey through the Muslim World
Peter Sanders - Reception following in the Assembly Hall.
Sponsored by the office of Diversity Affairs in the Rackham Graduate School.
Peter Sanders, internationally acknowledged as the leading photographer of the Islamic World, first gained fame in the mid 1960's as he covered London's seminal rock and roll scene. Travel to India in 1970 set him on a search that led to the Muslim world. He has devoted the last thirty years to documenting the remains of traditional Islamic societies that are fast disappearing from the earth.
His deep commitment to and love of traditional Islamic culture has brought him into intimate contact with people and places few photographers reach. Sanders is creating a striking and disparate record of the last vestiges of traditional Muslim societies in transition. The most recent publication of his work is In the Shade of the Tree: A Photographic Odyssey Through the Muslim World (2002). A sampling of his work is available at www.petersanders.com.
University Of Michigan
Rackham Amphitheatre
915 E. Washington Street
7:30 pm
For more information contact TaShara Bailey at 734.615.1291 or divasst@umich.edu.
Saturday, March 12: Special Event
High School and Middle School Teachers Workshop at WISD featuring the Leo Africanus Website Creator, Cristel de Rouvray
To register, email Linda Prieskorn at prieskor@aaps.k12.mi.us and provide your name, address and contact information.
WISD Washtenaw Intermediate School District Teaching and Learning Center
1819 South Wagner Road
Ann Arbor
For more information contact Linda Prieskorn at 734-994-1682.
Saturday, March 12
Tour of Middle Eastern Cultures
University of Michigan
Leave from the State St. side of the UMMA 525 S. State
1-8:00 pm
Sunday, March 13
Lecture on Islamic calligraphy by Yasser Tabbaa, PhD, guest curator
Apse Gallery UMMA
525 S. State St.
3:00-5:00 pm
Wednesday, March 16
Panel Discussion: Leo AMERICANus: Adjusting to Life in America
As Leo Africanus moved by caravans in the early 1500s from Granada to Fez, Timbuktu, Cairo, Rome and Tunis, he tried hard to adopt the customs of each new place with varying degrees of success. Panelist from Asia, Latin America and the Middle East talk about challenges and triumphs of their time in America. Join in a discussion of how new layers of identity are created as one meets the challenges of life. Panelists include Kenneth Ayouby, Pouya Entezami, Bilha Birman-Rivlin, Ronit Ricci. This program is cosponsored by the National Association for Multicultural Education. (NAME)
Ann Arbor District Library
Downtown Library Multi- Purpose Room
343 South Fifth Ave
7:00 – 8:30 pm
For information, call 327-4560
Wednesday, March 16
"Multilinguality in Diaspora Film" - Hamid Naficy, Art History, Rice University
Univeristy of Michigan Rackham Amphitheater
915 E. Washington Street
8:00 pm
Thursday, March 17
"On the Summit of the Hindu Kush: Osama Bin Laden's 1996 Declaration of War Reassessed" - W Flagg Miller, Anthropology and Religious Studies, University of Wisconsin at Madison
University of Michigan Rackham Amphitheater
915 E. Washington Street
8:00 pm
Friday, March 18
Tastes of the Mediterranean: Panel Discussion with Delicious Samplings
Representatives from four wonderful Ann Arbor eateries will tell stories of the role food played in the their families and cultures and what inspired them to make a living in the restaurant business. Each will offer mouth-watering samples of the delicacies that have made them so popular. Participating Food Establishments include Mediterranean Market (Tunisia), Zingerman's and Exotic Cuisine & Bakeries (Syria).
Ann Arbor District Library
Malletts Creek Branch
3090 East Eisenhower Parkway
Ann Arbor
7:00 – 8:30 pm
For Information, call 327-4200
Saturday, March 19
3rd Annual Islamic Science Symposium "Earth and Sky"
University Michigan
Kuenzel Rm., Michigan Union,
530 S. State St.
9:00 am-3:00 pm
Saturday, March 19
Lecture: Arab And Muslim American in the Post 9/11 Era
Dr. Suad Joseph, Professor of Anthropology & Women's Studies at the University of California received her Ph.D in anthropology from Columbia University. She has authored or edited several books on gender, family, politics and cultural construction of the self in the region of Lebanon and the Middle East.
Ann Arbor District Library
Downtown Library Multi- Purpose Room
343 South Fifth Ave
1:00 – 2:30 pm
For information, call 327-4560
Monday, March 21
"Satire in Israeli Literature and Culture" - Gidi Nevo, Ben Gurion University
Rackham Amphitheater
915 E. Washington Street
8:00 pm
Tuesday, March 22
Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads Program: A Book Discussion of Leo Africanus
Join us for a discussion of Middle Eastern culture and the journeys of Leo Africanus. Free, drop in.
Ypsilanti District Library-Whittaker Road,
5577 Whittaker Rd.
Ypsilanti
7 pm
Details: (734) 482-4110 ext. 1303
Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads Book Discussion: Leo Africanus
Ann Arbor District library staff leads a discussion of Maalouf’s novel.
No registration is required.
Ann Arbor District Library
Downtown Library Multi- Purpose Room
343 South Fifth Ave
7:00 – 8:30 pm
For information, call 327-4560
Wednesday, March 23
University of Michigan Health System Diversity Brown Bag Book Discussion: Leo Africanus
Noon-1p.m.: University Hospital, Dining Room A and
3-4:30 p.m.: North Campus Administrative Complex, Conference Room C, at 2901 Hubbard Rd.
Sponsored by the UMHS Diversity Advisory Team
Contact info: Cathy Frank, cathyf@med.umich.edu
No registration required.
Open to the public.
"Virtual Cairo: A Historian engagement with Simulation" - Nezar al-Sayyad, Architecture; Director, Center for Middle East Studies, University of California, Berkeley
Nezar Al-Sayyad, is the Director of the Center for Middle East Studies & a Professor of Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley. Presently, he is also a faculty member for both the UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design and the International Association for the Study of Traditional Environments. He has completed field research in Indonesia and Egypt, and specializes in the urban housing of Muslim cities.
University of Michigan
Aud. 2104, Art & Arch. Bldg
2000 Bonisteel Blvd.
Ann Arbor
7:00 pm
Thursday, March 24
"Law, Order and Participation: Challenges to Democracy in the Middle East" - Lisa Anderson, Public Policy; Dean, School of Public Policy, Columbia University
University of Michigan
1636 International Institute
1080 S. University St.
7:30 pm
Friday, March 25
"The Ethics of Death and Islamic Revival in Egypt" - Charles Hirschkind, Anthropology, University of California Berkeley
University of Michigan
418 West Hall
550 East University Ave.
12:00 pm
Thursday, March 31
"Loss and Restoration: The Life and Journeys of Leo Africanus" - Peter Sluglett, translator of Amin Maalouf's Leo Africanus and scholar of the 19th and 20th century Middle East, University of Utah
International Institute, Room 1636
8:00 p.m.