Middle East Studies

Conference | Middle East Toxic Wars

event poster

Friday, November 10, 2017

9:00am – 5:00pm

Joukowsky Forum, Watson Institute

Registration is required. 

The Middle East has been ground zero for the major chemical attacks of the past 40 years. From the Iran-Iraq War (1980-88), to the Persian Gulf War (1991), to the Syrian Civil War (2011-present), countless civilians and soldiers have been exposed to chemical agents and hundreds of thousands of survivors live with the long-term consequences of these bombs. Yet, there has been limited scholarly and public work about chemical warfare and the traces it leaves behind in the region: from its illicit international trade, to the lives of survivors post-exposure, to the environmental disasters these bombs unleash.

Engaged Scholarship
Workshops, Conferences, Seminars


Brown University’s Middle East Studies is hosting the fifth Engaged Scholarship Conference on November 10, 2017, entitled Middle East Toxic Wars. This conference will bring together scholars and filmmakers from around the world to discuss the three main themes of the conference:

  • Investigating Ground Zero: How researchers investigate the immediate aftermath of chemical bombs, provide care for survivors, and gather evidence;

  • Illicit Trade of Deadly Bombs: How researchers and filmmakers can uncover the convoluted paths of production, circulation, and use of chemical bombs; and,

Global Legacies of Toxic Landscapes: How scholars and filmmakers unearth the long-term environmental effects of chemical warfare and the ways they impact future generations. And, how scholars of the Middle East can learn from those who work to raise awareness and further scholarship about the deadly impact of toxins in other areas of the world.  


Organized by Narges Bajoghli and Middle East Studies


Cosponsored by: 
The Cogut Institute for the Humanities
The Department of Anthropology
The Humanitarian Innovation Initiative (HI2)


Speakers:
Joost Hiltermann
Omar Dewachi
Hugh Gusterson
William Hartung
Fabienne Lips-Dumas
Catherine Lutz

Moderators:
Scott Frickel
Adam Levine
Nina Tannenwald