Dear Colleagues,
On behalf of the academic administration, I am happy to announce that the topic of next year’s Nicholas R. Clifford Symposium will be, “Writing and Translating Nations and Cultures: Words, Images, and Ideas in the Middle East and Beyond.” The symposium is named after Nicholas Clifford, who taught history at the College from 1966 to 1993 and who in his many years as a member of the faculty and administration cultivated critical inquiry on our campus.
The rising popular protest against established regimes is arguably the most significant story of 2011. The topic of this year’s symposium seeks to deepen understanding of developments in the Middle East by examining how cultures and national identities are interpreted by the peoples within that region and by those outside of it, with special attention given to an array of expressive forms that facilitate such interpretation.
Timi Mayer and Larry Yarbrough are organizing this symposium, and the preliminary plans point to what will surely be one of the highlights of the 2011-2012 academic year. We look forward to the symposium, which is scheduled for Thursday, September 22, through Saturday, September 24, 2010.
We also want to thank the other faculty members who submitted topics; we received several strong proposals which made the final decision difficult.
Best,
Jim
James Ralph
Dean of the Faculty
Rehnquist Professor of American History and Culture
Old Chapel 106
802-443-5908