Social Sciences in Arab Countries Facing a Scientific Multi-versalism : Pathways, Challenges and Constraints

8th and 9th of July 2011

An ISSC 2012 World Social Science Forum Lead-Up Event

Venue :
College Hall, Auditorium B1
American University of Beirut

Day 1 (8th of July)

09.00 – 09.15 Inauguration and welcome talks
Peter Dorman, President, AUB
Michael Kuhn, President, World SSH Net
Chebib Diab, President, LSA
Layla Al Zubaidi, Director, HBF- Middle East

Section 1 : Approaches towards internationalization : Social sciences and humanities in the era of globalization

Chair : Ahmad Baalbaki

09.15 – 09.45 A world social science system beyond the hegemony of the Western concept of science
Michael Kuhn, Germany

09.45 – 10.15 Internationalization of social research : A case in Lebanon
Sari Hanafi and Justine Baer, Lebanon

10.15 – 10.45 Coffee break

Chair : Jacques Kabbanji

10.45 – 11.15 Indigenized while internationalized : Tensions and dilemmas in China’s modern transformation of social sciences
Rui Yang, China

11.15 - 11.45 Arab social sciences and their internationalization – some epistemological issues
Yousef Salame, Syria

11.45 - 12.15 Isn’t anthropology already a multi-versalist discipline ? Assessing the status of anthropology in Asian social sciences
Nestor Castro, Philippines

12.15 - 13.00 General Discussion Section 1

13.00 – 14.00 Lunch break

Section 2 : Theories traveling between spaces of knowledge production

Chair : Boulos Wehbe

14.00 – 14.30 The ‘internationalization’ of social sciences as an ‘obstacle’ in understanding the on-going Arab revolts
Jacques Kabbanji, Lebanon

14.30 – 15.00 La lecture Africaine de Michel Foucault
Léon-Marie Nkolo Njodo, Cameroon

15.00 - 15.30 Teaching Giddens in the Arab world
Ray Jureidini, Lebanon

15.30 – 16.00 Coffee break

Chair : Rigas Arvanitis

16.00 – 16.30 A periphery’s bind : Geographical location, conceptual resources and public engagement in Lebanese social scientific practice
Fadi Bardawil, Samer Frangie, Germany & Lebanon

16.30 - 17.00 Scientific knowledge on migration in/from Africa or Arab countries
Lama Kabbanji, France

17.00 – 17.30 Knowledge production : A perspective from the periphery ?
Carmen Bueno Castellanos, Mexico

17.30 – 18.00 Between Arab and Western universities : Similarities and differences in the graduate studies
Melhem Chaoul, Lebanon

18.00 - 18.30 Research priorities in Egyptian sociology
Ahmad Badawi, Egypt

18.30 - 19.00 Sociological university production in Lebanon : A bibliographic analysis
Hala Awada, Lebanon

19.00- 19.30 General Discussion Section 2

Day 2 (9thth of July)

Section 3 : Collaboration and encounters

Chair : Marlene Nasser

09.00 – 09.30 Cultural translation, civilization encounter and social reflexivity. A note on sociology in Japan
Shujiro Yazawa, Japan

09.30 - 10.00 Scientific collaboration within the Mediterranean : The practical making of ‘international’ knowledge
Rigas Arvanitis, Lebanon

10.00 - 10.30 Coffee Break

Chair : Sari Hanafi
10.30 – 11.00 The Franco-Maghrebi co-operation : Between national traditions and the new liberalism of the EU
Adel Selmi, France

11.00 - 11.30 La pratique de la sociologie au Maroc à l’épreuve de l’internationalisation des savoirs
Kamal Mellakh, Morocco

11.30 - 12.30 General Discussion Section 3

12.30 – 13.30 Lunch break

Section 4 : Approaches towards multi-versal knowledge productions

Chair : Rafif Rida Sidawi

13.30 – 14.00 The dynamics of global social knowledge transformation processes
Hebe Vessuri, Venezuela

14.00 - 14.30 An alternative concept of culture with an Islamic outlook
Mahmoud Dhaouadi, Tunisia

14.30 – 15.00 Coffee break

Chair : Michael Kuhn

15.00 - 15.30 Observing the call for Islamization of the scientific social science knowledge
Wiebke Keim, Germany

15.30 – 16.00 Alternative intellectual practice in Tamil Nadu and their possible lessons for Arab social sciences
Kumaran Rajagopal, India

16.00 - 17.30 General Discussion Section 4 and Concluding Discussion

17.30 Farewell and end of Conference

18.00 – 19.30 Business meeting of the World SSH Net
(For network members)

Discussion Forum :

An online discussion forum will be available after the conference to continue discussions after the conference. The World SSH Net (http://worldsshnet.org/forum/) will establish such an online discussion forum.