Envisioning LGBTQ Rights in the Middle East

Tuesday, October 13, 2015 - 3:00pm

Presenter: Dr. Sa’ed Atshan, Swarthmore College
Location: LGBT Center, 3907 Spruce St, Philadelphia PA

 

The Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region is incredibly diverse-- and its LGBTQ communities are just as heterogeneous. How does queer subjectivity differ across the region? What are the challenges to local and international LGBTQ rights organizing in the Middle East? What successes and advances have we witnessed over the past decade? While the case of Queer Palestine will serve as a key area of discussion, this lecture, presented by Sa'ed Atshan, will also address the broader regional context.

Sa’ed Atshan is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at Swarthmore College. He previously served as a Postdoctoral Fellow in International Studies at the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University. He holds a PhD (2013) and an MA (2010) in Anthropology and Middle Eastern Studies from Harvard University. He also received an MPP (2008) from the Harvard Kennedy School and a BA (2006) from Swarthmore College. Atshan has served as a Lecturer in Peace and Justice Studies for more than five years at Tufts University and he has earned four “distinction in teaching” and several advising and mentoring prizes from Harvard for his work as a head teaching fellow and resident tutor there. He has been awarded multiple graduate fellowships, including from the National Science Foundation, Social Science Research Council, Woodrow Wilson National Foundation, Andrew Mellon Foundation, and the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. He is also the recipient of a Soros Fellowship and a Kathryn Davis Fellowship for Peace. He has worked for the American Civil Liberties Union, the UN High Commission on Refugees, Human Rights Watch, Seeds of Peace, the Palestinian Negotiations Affairs Department, and the Government of Dubai. Atshan is also a member of Al-Qaws, an organization promoting LGBTQ Palestinian rights.

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