Posted on April 21, 2008
Members of Team al-Sadr approached Team Iran to begin negotiations about how to do what was best for their Shi’a constituents. As they whispered in the front of the room, Teams Israel and America worked on their own deliberations in the back.
As the Security Council meeting opened at Thursday’s Middle East Conference tensions were immediately revealed between Iran and Israel’s misunderstandings of nuclear weapon possessions.
These discussions were part of the simulation led by Prof. Bernd Kaussler of the political science department during the conference. Students assumed roles in order to understand negotiation and diplomacy processes within volatile situations.
“This will test your skills in diplomacy, strategy and even how good of terrorists you are,” Kaussler said. “Anything goes.”
Madison Political Affairs Club, a non partisan political group, sponsored the conference with involvement from students and faculty in several academic departments.
“When I came here to JMU, I had an interest in the Middle East, but there was nothing here,” said Caitlin Havron, a senior political science major. “It seemed like students were really ignorant about the Middle East.”
As the first student to sign up for the new Middle Eastern Communities and Migrations minor, Havron hopes students are now more eager to learn about the region.
“You get distorted images from the news, so it’ll be good for everyone to hear a different side, with a more pro-Middle East perspective,” said Nicole Sabara, a junior international affairs major.
Sabara, co-chair for the conference with Havron, said she has faced ignorant questions from others about her Middle Eastern descent.
“It’s really nice to share my culture and my heritage and to get more involved at JMU,” Sabara said.
The conference featured presentations by students on papers about Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Palestine and Israel, as well as a question and answer session led by professors.
Senior international affairs major Brian Tynan attended the opening session about Iran.
“What surprised me a lot is that I didn’t know a lot about Iranian history,” he said. “Sixty years ago it was more advanced and progressive than it is today, especially for women’s rights.”
The conference also included a free lunch of Middle Eastern foods, including hummus and pita, falafel, baklava, stuffed grape leaves and Turkish delight. Havron said the lunch helped encourage students to attend.
“This food is really similar to the Middle Eastern food I’ve had from my friends,” sophomore Teresa Llewellyn said.
She said she came to the conference to learn more about Afghanistan’s current situation.
“The media changes stories so much so I think that something like this helps make JMU students more aware,” Llewellyn said.
Questions during the closing session focused on nuclear weapons and the women’s movement in Iran, Israeli and Palestinian relations, Afghanistan’s issue with unity and Egyptian political changes.
“I think time is not working for Israel, instead it’s pressing against Israel,” Schusterman Scholar in Residence Chaim Weizmann said. “Every day it gets more complicated.”
Stephen Poulson, sociology professor, focused on questions about Iran.
“The Iranian women’s movement is very clever,” Poulson said. “Women can protest in a symbolic way that men can’t. The way beauty has been redefined is fascinating too. I’d say this is the strongest movement in the Middle East right now, and there actually seems to be a dialogue between the different groups of women that you don’t see in other movements.”
He also described the country as constantly changing, whether politically, militarily or socially.
“Living in Iran, you don’t know what’ll happen week in and week out,” Poulson said. “There’s this uncertainty about the government.”
Sabara said she was impressed with the turn out and participation at the conference. She hopes to expand the event next year as students increase their interest in the region.
“The Middle East is probably going to be the most important region if it isn’t already, with its implications on the rest of the world,” Tynan said.
