Keynote speakers

The keynote lectures will be open for public free of charge.

"Breaking boundaries between secularists and Islamists: The case of the Gender equality debate in Tunisia"

Sari Hanafi is a professor in Sociology at the American University of Beirut. He holds a PhD in Sociology from the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris (1994). Hanafi has studied various subjects including the political sociology of the Palestinian diaspora, civil society and elite formation. Currently he studies teaching of Islam in the religious universities in the Arab world. Hanafi serves as the president of International Sociological Association, ISA.

"Taboos and Blind Spots in Middle East Studies: Some reflections"

is a professor of Middle East Studies at Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages at the University of Oslo. 

"Resilient Boundaries and Fragile States: The Paradox of Sovereignty in the Contemporary Middle East"

is a Professor of Middle East Politics, Al-Qasimi Professor of Gulf Studies, and the Director for the Centre of Kurdish Studies in the University of Exeter. He is one of the leading scholars in the politics of Iraq’s Kurdistan. His other main interests are politics and international relations of Iraq.