Middle East Studies Night:
Feb. 21 in the Fowler Center

Feb. 10, 2005--On Monday, Feb. 21, Arkansas State University in Jonesboro will celebrate Middle Eastern culture with the annual Middle East Studies Night in the Grand Hall of Fowler Center, 201 Olympic Drive on the campus.

Beginning at 6:30 p.m., an informal discussion will be held during the reception. At 7 p.m., a light dinner of Middle Eastern cuisine will be served. This will be followed by a one-hour presentation at 7:45 p.m. from the Middle East Studies Committee award recipients from last year.

The presenters include:

Dr. Gil Fowler, professor of journalism, and his students, who visited Kuwait last year for a cultural exchange with the media;

Dr. Alyson Gill, assistant professor of art, who will discuss her work in the Greco-Roma Museum of Egypt;

Dr. Erik Gilbert, associate professor of history, who will discuss his work in Yemen;

Kathy Dellion, doctoral student in Heritage studies, will talk about gender issues in the Middle East culture;

Dr. Ernesto Lombeida, associate professor of Spanish, will discuss the relations between Morocco and Spain during the Middle Ages.

In 1993, ASU was one of several Arkansas universities to receive an endowment from King Fahd of Saudi Arabia to promote Middle Eastern culture through research and cultural exchanges. Shortly thereafter, a Middle East Studies Committee comprised of a cross section of ASU faculty was formed to promote interest and support of academic research and to establish informational and educational relationships with Middle Eastern nations.

In addition to the presentations and discussions featuring research studies and cultural exchanges of this past year, the recipients for the 2005 awards will be announced on Feb. 21.

The Middle East Night is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Dr. Tom Fiala, associate professor of teacher education and chair of the Middle East Studies Committee at 870- 972-8429.

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