Cultural Connections

New Mediterranean Symposium crosses political, musical borders

April 1, 2008

Café Mira, a world music and Afro-Nord group from Western Europe and Northern Africa, will close out the New Mediterranean Symposium with a concert.

The global implications of cultural and human migration will be showcased in a unique blend of music and dialogue at the New Mediterranean Symposium on Thursday, April 3.

Organized by The Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues, the symposium will feature written, musical and other artistic expressions of identity and political struggle by North African Arab migrants in Europe, as well as Arab-Israeli political identity struggles in the Middle East.

"In today's world of blending cultures and increasingly permeable political boundaries, it's important to understand different cultures and the effects of multiculturalism on identity and everyday life," said Katie Stewart '10, one of the symposium organizers. "I think that the New Mediterranean symposium will be greatly beneficial in increasing our knowledge of both the positive effects of cultural exchange and the resistance that it has instigated."

Creative expression

Students will play a key role in the symposium by presenting provocative poems, songs, statements or other forms of creative expression about the politics of identity, said Heather Merrill, executive director of The Clarke Forum.

"These do not have to be limited to the geography of Europe, North Africa or the Middle East, but can include artistic expressions of politics and identity struggles in the United States," she said. "It should be a great learning experience and a world of fun as well. We will also have some large boards set up for audience members to spontaneously express their ideas and sentiments."

The day-long symposium will focus on the displacement of culture and identity across the geopolitical boundaries between Europe and North Africa. It will feature a lecture and presentation by Mark LeVine, professor of modern Middle Eastern history at University of California, Irvine. LeVine, a leader of the new generation of historians and analysts of the modern Middle East and Islam, spent more than a decade living in and reporting on the region in places such as Iraq, Israel, the Palestinian territories, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Pakistan, Iran, the Persian Gulf and Morocco.

Other speakers scheduled to attend are Tahar Lamri, prize-winning author from Italy and Algeria, and Marie Orton, assistant professor of Italian studies at Truman State University.

Culture Jam

At 7 p.m., LeVine will lead a Culture Jam on "Diasporic Identities in Art" in the Anita Tuvin Schlechter auditorium, followed by a concert by Café Mira, a world music and Afro-Nord group from Western Europe and Northern Africa. A Culture Jam is an improvisational and participatory program that involves the audience with artists, activists and scholars in performance and dialogue. The following are on the "panel" discussion led by LeVine: Lamri; Reda Zine, one of the leaders of the Moroccan heavy metal scene; Cotten Seiler, assistant professor of American Studies; Andrea Lieber, Sophia Ava Asbell Chair in Judaic Studies, associate professor of religion; and Ed Webb, professor in political science and international studies.

The symposium is sponsored by The Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues, the Office of the Dean of Students, the department of music, the department French and Italian, Multi-Organizational Board (MOB), Student Activities, Panhellenic Association, Intrafraternity Council and The Middle East Center at the University of Pennsylvania.