In the Thinking the Mediterranean Series
“Secularism in the Mediterranean” in a Lecture at the BA
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Alexandria—
The BA’s Alexandria and Mediterranean Research Center (Alex-Med) is organizing on Sunday, 20 April 2008, the tenth lecture of the Thinking the Mediterranean series under the title “Secularism in the Mediterranean”.
The Thinking the Mediterranean series was launched in May of 2006 and has so far brought together nearly twenty of the most prominent experts on the history and culture of the Mediterranean, as part of Ramses 2 Program.
The lecture will include two speakers: Magdy Abdulhafez Abdallah Saleh, visiting professor at the Université de Picardie Jules Verne in Amiens, France, and Lebanese novelist, critic, and researcher Nazik Saba Yarid.
The lecture will tackle a number of issues related to secularism, including the history of the concept and its application in Arab Mediterranean countries, the opposing trends that have appeared in the area, the philosophical background of both secularism and fundamentalism, and the effects the concept has had on literature and society particularly in reference to women’s issues, education, and law.
Professor Saleh is a widely-published researcher whose philosophical writings appear routinely in major cultural publications in Arabic, English, and French. He is a member in a number of Arab and global organizations, including the International Association for Plastic Arts, Paris; the Association of Oriental Studies, France; the National Egyptian High Council for Culture’s Philosophical Committee; among many others. His published research deals with philosophy, civilization, and political history in tandem.
Saba Yarid, who received her doctorate in literature from the American University in Beirut, is the author of a work of non-fiction entitled Secularism and the Arab World which has been translated into English, along with her novel Improvisations on a Missing String. Her other works of fiction include Al Thekrayat al Mulghah wal Aqnea (The Deleted Memories and the Masks) and several books for youngsters. Yarid has received several awards and decorations, prominent among which are the French Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques and the Netherlands’ Prince Claus Award which she received for lifetime achievements.
The series of Thinking the Mediterranean presents two points of view on the Mediterranean; one from the north and the other from the south. These events are published on the Internet and broadcasted via several TV channels.
The lecture will start at 19.00 hrs at the BA Conference Center, Lectures Hall.