MERIP Hosts Mohsen Mahdawi Podcast and Counterrevolution Panel at MESA
The Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP) will convene two events at the Hilton Park Plaza in Boston on November 21 and 22, as part of the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) annual conference. The programming includes a live podcast recording regarding activist deportation proceedings and a scholarly roundtable on the evolution of counterrevolutionary forces in the Middle East and North Africa.
Podcast recording with Mohsen Mahdawi
The first event, scheduled for November 21 from 8:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. in the Terrace Room, features a live podcast recording with Mohsen Mahdawi. Mahdawi, a former Columbia University student and activist involved in campus encampments, is currently engaged in legal proceedings regarding his status in the United States.
MERIP executive director James Ryan will host the conversation. The discussion is slated to cover Mahdawi’s efforts to contest his deportation and his perspective on the intersection between freedom of speech and the movement for Palestinian liberation. The session is open exclusively to registered MESA conference attendees, with refreshments provided throughout the evening.
MERIP @ MESA: Live Podcast and reception with Mohsen Mahdawi and a Roundtable on Counterrevolution. MERIP has a great lineup for this year’s MESA Conference at the Hilton Park Plaza in Boston, MA. Announcement and registration details ⬇️https://t.co/LlnYMwv0Q0
Roundtable discussion on counterrevolutionary dynamics
On November 22, the focus shifts to academic analysis at 8:30 a.m. with a roundtable titled “Thinking Through Counterrevolution.” Organizers Toby Jones and Jessica Winegar designed the session to examine the state of regional politics nearly 15 years after the 2011 uprisings that swept across North Africa and the Middle East.
The panel aims to move beyond a simple accounting of political events. Instead, the participants plan to analyze counterrevolution as a globalized condition that impacts multiple levels of society. The session features a diverse group of contributors, including Bassam Haddad, Stacey Philbrick Yadav, Andy Clarno, Shirin Vossoughi, Abdelrazzak Tikriti, Işıl Karacan, and Leslie Alexander.
Logistics for conference participants
Both the evening reception and the morning roundtable are restricted to individuals registered for the MESA conference.