Performances, Events, and Presentations

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  AUC community only lecture: Gender-based violence (GBV), Women & the Law in Egypt

  The Prince Alwaleed Center for American Studies and Research CASAR

  This special guest lecture was part of the course “Exploring Feminist Perspectives in Egypt and the US” taught by CASAR Adjunct Faculty Yasmeen El-Ghazaly. The lecture was given in Arabic by Counselor Mohamed Samir, who is a senior member of the judicial authority in Egypt, responsible for the accountability of civil servants’ crimes and misconduct. He is also a lecturer in Political Science and Gender Based Violence Crimes. Samir has over 25 years of experience in his career, and was invited to discuss “challenges and legal obstacles women face when discussing gender based violence in Egypt.” In his insightful lecture, Samir discussed legal perspectives around topics such as adultery, rape (of both sexes), child marriage, pregnancy, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), and sexual harassment. Samir provided examples of cases where women suffered from Gender Based Violence (GBV) to show that legal actions need to be taken to protect women. His insights shed light on the reality for many women (and men) in Egypt.

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  CASAR (AUC community only) Lecture : Body Autonomy, Culture & Empowering Women in Egypt, US & Canada: The Differences That Unite Us'

  The Prince Alwaleed Center for American Studies and Research CASAR

  About the lecture: This event was CASAR’s last event opened for the AUC community only. It took place as part of the course AMST 1099 “Exploring Feminist Perspectives in Egypt and the US” taught by CASAR Assistant to Director and Adjunct Faculty Yasmeen El Ghazaly. The Panel included Ms. Malak El-Lamie from Motherbeing NGO representing Egypt, representing the United states was Ms. Alexandra Mcdougall who comes from the NGO ‘Women’s Advocates’ in Northern Minnesota, and representing Canada from the ‘London Abused Women's Centre’ in London, Ontario, is Wendy Goldsmith. Other than Ms. Malak, these guests joined the discussion via zoom, to answer questions about how well women are educated about their bodies in Egypt, America, and Canada. Other questions leading the discussion included “How do the cultural disparities play a role in the educational discourses used in that discipline in all three countries? How do we define what agency means? How does this knowledge make a difference in their lives? Which problems could be resolved when we educate women about agency and body autonomy?”

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  CASAR Public lecture: 'How Different Are We? Sexual Harassment Education in the US and Egypt'

  The Prince Alwaleed Center for American Studies and Research CASAR

  This event was part of a series of events centered around women since November is the United Nations month dedicated to awareness about the Elimination of Violence against Women. Director of CASAR Professor Mark W. Deets introduced the speaker, Jilllian Campana, Professor and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. Campana has given a TEDx talk in Mumbai, Created a film titled The Puzzle Club, and written several books including Western Theatre in Global Contexts: directing and teaching culturally inclusive drama around the world (Routledge, 2020) and It’s Not My Fault: five new plays on sexual harassment in Egypt, which she discusses in the context of this CASAR event, this book has also received the Times Higher Education’s Arts Humanities and Social Sciences Research Project of the Year for the Middle East - North Africa region. In her talk, Campana compares the nature of sexual harassment education in Egypt and the US by focusing on categories such as policies, training, whether this training is mandatory, and compares reactions to famous cases of sexual harrassment in Egyptian universities versus American universities. Through her presentation, she ran three short films that attempted to showcase to Egyptian students what harassment looks like, and how it can be dealt with in different contexts, AUC campus included. AUC theater students participated in making these movies, which Campana directed.

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  CASAR Public lecture: How far have women come in the past 120 years in Egypt and the US?

  The Prince Alwaleed Center for American Studies and Research CASAR

  About the lecture: In honor of the 16 days of activism set by the UN campaigning for eliminating violence against women, CASAR hosted an event to see how far women have come in the past 120 years in the United States and in Egypt, and what changes might be possible in the foreseeable future. This was CASAR’s last public event for the Fall 2023 semester, and was made special by the warm welcome from Director Mark W. Deets, and the efforts of Yasmeen El Ghazaly, who created a video compiling important figures of women throughout the decades in the United States and in Egypt, and also acting as the moderator for the panel event. The guest speakers were AUC’s very own Professor and Associate Dean Jillian Campana, who has published an award winning book with plays to raise awareness about sexual harassment, and also advocated for the use of videos and a learning and training tool for educational environments. She shares her own experience during this event as a woman growing up in the United States and moving to Egypt. CASAR’s special guest speaker was a board member of the School of GAPP Dr. Hoda El Sadda, a professor of English and Comparative Literature at Cairo University, a feminist, and the Co-founder of the Women and Memory Forum. The lecture compared the accomplishments women witnessed in both countries over the past 120 years discussing the reasons for the differences in paces between both countries.

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  CASAR Public lecture: Mapping the Journeys of Enslaved People from Zanzibar to the Gulf

  The Prince Alwaleed Center for American Studies and Research CASAR

  Part of the CASAR October lecture series and in partnership with AUC’s history department, this event featured guest scholar John Thabiti Willis, an associate professor of history at Clarendon College in Northfield Minnesota. For the last ten years Thabiti has dedicated himself to the study of African contributions to the history and heritage of pearling in the Gulf. In this event, AUC had the honor of listening to how Thabiti uses geographical information systems (GIS) to organize primary evidence gathered from manumission statements to analyze enslaved peoples journeys from Zanzibar to British political agents in Bahrain, Muscat, and Sharjah between the mid 1920s to 1940s. Thabiti walked the guest listeners through the heritage and histories of pearling in the Gulf, the map creation and archival data, and the implications of this research so far, identifying patterns in the GIS created maps. While students and faculty members enjoyed light snacks and beverages, there was also an opportunity for a question and answer.

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  CASAR Public Lecture: October Surprise? Iran and Jimmy Carter’s Electoral Defeat in 1980

  The Prince Alwaleed Center for American Studies and Research CASAR

  September 10, 2023 at 1 pm

  AUC New Campus Tim Sullivan Lounge

  Event Report by CASAR Research Assistant: Maha Muehlhaeusler

  Event Title: October Surprise? Iran and Jimmy carter’s Electoral Defeat in 1980

  This event was the Center for American Studies and Reseach’s (CASAR) first event of the Fall 2023 semester. Around thirty individuals were hosted, including faculty members from HUSS, GAP and interested students from across AUC. Snacks and coffee were offered as well. The event was co-hosted by CASAR Assistant Director & Adjunct Faculty Yasmeen El Ghazaly and Director of the CASAR Dr. Mark W. Deets, who warmly welcomed Dr. Mike Reimer from the AUC Department of History to the podium. In his lecture, Dr. Reimer analyzed the relationship between the events in Iran and Jimmy Carter’s electoral Defeat in 1980. Referring to his lecture as a “glorified book review”, he emphasized that the main source and inspiration for his lecture on this topic is the book October Surprise by Gary Sick.

  Before unpacking the complex political relationships and tensions Dr. Reimer provided historical and chronological context to what exactly led up to the relationship between Iran and the United states, as well as defining what an “October surprise” is. Dr. Reimer argued that it would be an oversimplification to portray the United States as an agent simply causing events to take place in the Middle East, and in this case study especially.

  What was happening in Iran? Dr. Reimer summarizes that following the 1953 coup d’etat in which Reza Shah Pahlavi was returned to power, the Shah set up the SAVAK, an Iranian version of the Egyptian “mukhabarat” according to Dr. Reimer. The Shah accepted United States aid, and most importantly, a massive number of arms imported from the United States. Here Dr. Reimer made sure to mention how the Shah was perceived by Iranian citizens as a “puppet” figure for the United States, and discusses the complexity behind this argument; after all, it was the United States that returned the rule of the Shah. In 1972 Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger (according to Gary Sick) visited the Shah, when Nixon looked across the table and told the shah “protect me.” This allowed Dr. Reimer to raise the question of, was the Shah a proxy or a partner to the United States? This alliance between Iran and the United States continued for three decades from the fifties to the seventies.

  Dr. Reimer continued to discuss the turmoil within Iran that led to the demise of the Shah with the 1978 revolution. One important cause was the economic drop in oil revenue, which had induced “megalomania” in the decades beforehand. As a clergy-led revolution unfolded, Ayatollah Khomeini returned from exile to Iran. Two years earlier in 1976, Jimmy Carter had been elected for the “advocacy of human rights.” The Iranian perspective, according to Dr. Reimer, included some intellectuals being hopeful that Carter would push the shah towards liberalization, an ultimate “human right.”

  In 1979, the same year that Khomeini returned to Iran, student Militants took over the United States embassy and held all American individuals hostage. This event is known as the Hostage Crisis. Dr. Reimer brings to attention that though some sources suggest that Khomeini “gave approval” to the students and was in support of the event, others suggested that the prime minister of Iran and other government officials were in disagreement with Khomeini’s radical decision to take over the embassy. This shows, as Dr. Reimer argued, the confusion and complexity of the political situation in Iran, as it is not clear who is in charge at this point in time.

  The 1980 Reagan vs. Carter elections can be studied from the perspective of the Hostage Crisis, Dr. Reimer suggested. Since the hostages were released exactly five minutes after President Raegan’s inauguration, one might easily think “there must be a connection,” but Dr. Reimer debunks this fallacy as there was still more evidence to analyze. Did Khomeini keep the American hostages in order to humiliate Carter who was slowly growing unpopular in America for his failure to free the hostages? On a tangent, Dr. Reimer made sure to highlight the importance of historiography and the importance of analyzing sources and the possibility of new evidence arising. He also mentions that the author Gary Sick was on the national security council and worked for Jimmy Carter, and he himself argues that the hostages were kept to teach Carter a lesson.

  New questions began to arise here: Did president Raegans campaigner, William Casey have contact with Iran? Dr. Reimer looks at the evidence for this, which is that he was in Madrid and not Iran at the time he was mysteriously traveling, for “reasons unknown.” The other important question asked by Dr Reimer is why would Iran cooperate with the United States? The answer that Dr. Reimer suggested is weaponry: Iran even worked with Israel, for not only did they have a common enemy of Iraq, but since Israel received weapons from the United States, Iran and Israel shared the same weapon systems. Ultimately, Iran chose the “better deal” which would mean more arms, and would mean waiting to release the hostages until after the October elections. The “October Surprise” is defined according to Gary Sick as a electoral win when there is an expectation to lose.

  “So what if this did happen? Why is it significant?” asked Dr. Reimer. The answer to this was the question of loyal opposition, which includes interfering with foreign policy of the Carter administration. It is also significant because it endangered the lives of fifty-two American hostages. Dr. Reimer reaffirmed the importance of the revision of history, and “setting the record straight” for the legitimacy of Reagan's victory over Carter. In this way, Raegans presidency is put in a different light, where there is a continuation of the exchange of arms for hostages, putting him in the same position Carter was in 1980. Dr. Reimer concludes by stating how Gary Sick’s “investigations show the importance of corroboration in the writing of history,” how Israel’s readiness to interfere in American domestic politics shows them trying to gain advantage, and how it is shown that Iranians who thought that some government leaders in Iran were involved with the negotiation of the Reagan campaign were ultimately correct.

  In a brief amount of time Dr. Reimer allowed individuals attending to ask questions. Students asked whether Khomeini would have be at a disadvantage by taking the Reagan deal, to which Dr. Reimer suggested that it is difficult to know how much Reagan knew and how much his campaign manager knew, counting on the fact that Khomeini was angry with Carter. Another question focused on the need for arms in Iran. Dr Reimer pointed out that that Iranians were aware in 1980 that they would eventually face war with Iraq, and that there was pressure to get arms. This lead to the deal with Carted, but also the BETTER deal with Reagan. Another important question was that of which side the United States was on during the Iran-Iraq war, and the answer was both. Though Americans had ground troops in Iraq, the United states was providing arms for Iran to fight with. It was also asked what role the hostages played, or how they felt, which Dr. Reimer revealed that in interviews with them they described themselves as “prawns in an internal struggle in Iran.” Dr. Reimer concluded his event by highlighting the fluidity of history and the importance of perspectives and disagreements in the discipline of history.

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  CASAR Public lecture: The Gaza War: Implications for the United States and Egypt

  The Prince Alwaleed Center for American Studies and Research CASAR

  Director of CASAR Professor Mark W. Deets, also a current member of the History department of AUC specialist in African Studies acted as moderator for this Event. CASARs two guest panelists in this discussion were visiting scholar Professor David Dumke and Professor Karim Hagag. Dumke is the Executive Director of the Office of Global Perspectives & International Initiatives at the University of Central Florida (UCF). He teaches Middle East history, U.S. foreign policy, and American politics, and “has written extensively on these subjects.” He also is host and executive producer of WUCF-TV’s award-winning Global Perspectives (Public Broadcasting Service). Dumke spent the early years of his career in the United States Congress, and also has experience working with NGOs in the Middle East and North Africa. Panelist Karim Hagag is currently a Political Science professor at practice AUCs school of Global Affairs and Public Policy. Before his shift to academia, Hagag served for over 25 years as an Egyptian diplomat and has focused on “on US-Egyptian relations, Middle East regional security, arms control and non-proliferation, and Arab-Israeli diplomacy.” These two figures engaged in an important conversation surrounding the current events in Gaza, and discussed the Egyptian and American position, analyzing them in a global context and providing insights to the larger scene of the Palestinian-Isreali conflict. The conflict threatens the Biden Administration according to Dumke, and has changed United states politics. In Egypt, the conflict has been more humanitarian, and dealt with by preserving stability on the border as much as possible.

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  CASAR Public Panel Discussion: "Global and Regional Repercussions of the 6th of October War: Arab and American Perspectives"

  The Prince Alwaleed Center for American Studies and Research CASAR

  With the 50th anniversary of the 6th of October War (1973) on the horizon, the CASAR department put together a panel to discuss different perspectives in the Middle East and United States. After an introduction to the CASAR department by Director Mark W. Deets, the panelists were introduced. This panel featured AUC History department professor Mouaness Hojairi, who discussed and contrasted Egyptian, Syrian, Palestinian, and Lebanese perspectives. Also from the history department was Professor Michael Reimer, who discussed American Jewish and Israeli perspectives on the war. The special guest for this event was a panelist, a distinguished scholar from the University of Central Florida, David Dumke, who discussed the American perspective on the war. A former member of the United States Congress, Professor Dumke is the director of Global Perspectives and International Initiatives at his university and also co-hosted a public television programme discussing Middle East politics, diplomacy, and United States policies. After the three professors presented their unique findings, the panel was open to a Q&A, where event attendees were free to join the discussion as well.

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  CASAR Student Discussion Series: ‘Does Social Media Bring More Harm Than Good?’

  The Prince Alwaleed Center for American Studies and Research CASAR

  CASAR Student Debate Series - Launched in Fall 2023:

  The Center of American Studies and Research (CASAR) launched a Student Discussion Series in Fall 2023 semester, it is a student-led debate on a plethora of current hot topics. In this student discussion series, students play the role of delving into topics together to understand one another. This event is broadcasted on Facebook live via the CASAR Facebook Page, where the entire record is still available to watch. Students passionately present their arguments in an organized manner, going back and forth between the two sides, and often students become excited about leading their side of the class with their perspectives. The winner presenting the best argument to support their opinion is awarded a certificate of appreciation, a special feature (and photo) on the CASAR website, FB & IG pages as well as an honorary special feature on the 'Speaker of the month' board at the center. One of the main goals of this series of discussions is to engage CASAR more with the undergraduate students of AUC and encourage them to explore our courses & ultimately enroll in our minor.

  The winner of this debate was Yomna Hisham Othman.

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  CASAR Student Discussion Series: Should Cultural Artifacts be Returned to Their Country of Origin?

  The Prince Alwaleed Center for American Studies and Research CASAR

  Student Debate Series - Launched in Fall 2023:

  The Center of American Studies and Research (CASAR) launched a Student Discussion Series in Fall 2023 semester, it is a student-led debate on a plethora of current hot topics. In this student discussion series, students play the role of delving into topics together to understand one another. This event is broadcasted on facebook live via the CASAR Facebook Page, where the entire record is still available to watch. Students passionately present their arguments in an organized manner, going back and forth between the two sides, and often students become excited about leading their side of the class with their perspectives. The winner presenting the best argument to support their opinion is awarded a certificate of appreciation, a special feature (and photo) on the CASAR website, FB & IG pages as well as an honorary special feature on the 'Speaker of the month' board at the center. One of the main goals of this series of discussions is to engage CASAR more with the undergraduate students of AUC and encourage them to explore our courses & ultimately enroll in our minor.

  The winner of this debate was: Mohanad Fouda

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  Exploring my Father's Rare Books, Magazines, and Newspapers Collection

  Amal Nagah Elbeshbishi

  This presentation was delivered at the a workshop under the title "Here be dragons: Navigating newspaper archives in Egypt and the Middle East". It provides background information about the Nagah Elbeshbishi collection which is held at AUC and Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

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  Tawfiq el Hakim's Donkey Market play

  Tawfiq el Hakim's Donkey Market play

  The 2020-2021 CASA cohort perform The Donkey Market by Tawfiq al-Hakim as a final act before graduating from the program.

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  Macbeth by William Shakespeare

  Stancil Campbell

  Scenery Design for the AUC production of "Macbeth." Written by William Shakespeare. Directed by Lars Tatom. Scenery Design by Stancil Campbell. Costume Design by Jeanne Arnold. Lighting by Michael Wellborn. Technical Direction by Hazem Shebl. Stage Managed by Perihan Abdel Salam. Falaki MainStage Theatre. The American University in Cairo. Egypt. 2004.

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  Al-Liss by Tawfiq al-Hakim

  Stancil Campbell

  Designs for the AUC production of "Al-Liss." Written by Tawfiq al-Hakim. Directed by Mahmoud El Lozy. Scenery and Lighting by Stancil Campbell. Scenery assistant Walid Hammad. Lighting assistant Haya Abdulrahim. Costumes by Nermine Saeed. Sound Design by Ahmed Salah. Technical Direction by David Wlodarski. Stage Managed by Sara Shaarawi. Malak Gabr Theatre. American University in Cairo. Egypt. 2009.

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  Al Mahrusa by Saad El-Din Wahba

  Stancil Campbell

  Scenery design for the American University in Cairo production of "Al Mahrusa." Written by Saad El-Din Wahba. Directed by Mahmoud El Lozy. Scenery co-designed by Jeanne Arnold and Stancil Campbell. Costume design by Dina El Sheik. Lighting Design by Sarah Youssef. Sound design by Robert Beshara. Technical Direction by Hazem Shebl. Falaki Mainstage Theatre. The American University in Cairo. Egypt. 2005.

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  Al-Nass Elli Taht by Noaman Ashour

  Stancil Campbell

  Designs for the AUC production of "Al-Nass Elli Taht." Written by Noaman Ashour. Directed by Mahmoud El Lozy. Scenery and Lighting by Stancil Campbell. Costumes by Nermine Said. Technical Direction by Scott Yuille. Stage Managed by Laila Youssef. Malak Gabr Theatre. American University in Cairo. Egypt. 2012.

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  A Silly Goose by Georges Feydeau

  Stancil Campbell

  Lighting Design for the AUC production of "A Silly Goose." Written by Georges Feydeau. Directed by Tom Markus. Scenery by Richard Block. Scenery assistant Jeff Hinchee. Costumes by Jeanne Arnold. Sound by Lars Tatom. Technical Direction by Hazem Shebl. Stage Managed by Perihan Abdel Salam. Falaki MainStage Theatre. The American University in Cairo. Egypt. 2005.

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  The Crucible by Arthur Miller

  Stancil Campbell

  Designs for the AUC production of "The Crucible." Written by Arthur Miller. Directed by Frank Bradley. Scenery and Lighting by Stancil Campbell. Design assistant Hesham El Sabban. Costumes by Jeanne Arnold. Technical Direction by Mohamed Talaat. Stage Managed by Kenzy Abdel Aziz. Malak Gabr Theatre. American University in Cairo. Egypt. 2015.

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  The Odd Couple by Neil Simon

  Stancil Campbell

  Lighting design for the AUC production of "The Odd Couple (Female Version)." Written by Neil Simon. Directed by Leila Saad. Scenery design by Nermine Amer. Costume design by Nermine Said. Lighting design by Stancil Campbell. Lighting design assistant Nezar Alderazi. Technical Direction by David Wlodarski. Stage Managed by Jihan Shaarawi. The Gerhart Theatre. American University in Cairo. Egypt. 2010.

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  Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov

  Stancil Campbell

  Scenery design for AUC production of "Three Sisters." Written by Anton Chekhov. Directed by Frank Bradley. Scenery by Bill Forrester. Costumes by Jeanne Arnold and Nadeen Lotayef. Lighting by Stancil Campbell. Technical Direction by David Wlodarski. Stage Managed by Yasmine Riad. Malak Gabr Theatre. American University in Cairo. Egypt. 2010.

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  Antigone by Sophocles

  Stancil Campbell

  Scenery design for AUC production of "Antigone." Written by Sophocles. Directed by Frank Bradley. Scenery by Stancil Campbell. Costumes by Jeanne Arnold. Lighting by Michael Wellborn. Falaki Main Stage Theatre. American University in Cairo. Egypt. Spring 2002 and remount Fall 2002.

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  Grease by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey

  Stancil Campbell

  Designs for the AUC production of "Grease." Written by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Directed by Paul Mitri. Scenery and Lighting by Stancil Campbell. Costumes by Janice Benning. Technical Direction by Hazem Shebl. Wallace Theatre. American University in Cairo. Egypt.

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  Isis Habibati by Mikhail Roman

  Stancil Campbell

  Designs for the AUC production of "Isis Habibati." Written by Mikhail Roman. Directed by Mahmoud El Lozy. Scenery and Lighting by Stancil Campbell. Costumes by Nermine Said. Technical Direction by David Wlodarski. Falaki Studio Theatre. American University in Cairo. Egypt

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  Mad Forest by Caryl Churchill

  Stancil Campbell

  Designs for the AUC production of "Mad Forest." Written by Caryl Churchill. Directed by Frank Bradley. Scenery and Lighting by Stancil Campbell. Lighting Design Assistant Ziad Osman. Costumes by Dina Abdel Aziz. Technical Direction by Hazem Shebl. Stage Managed by Nadeen Lotayef. Malak Gabr Theatre. American University in Cairo. Egypt. 2012.

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  One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey and Dale Wasserman

  Stancil Campbell

  Designs for the AUC production of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." Novel by Ken Kesey and play by Dale Wasserman. Directed by Mark Mineart. Scenery and Lighting by Stancil Campbell. Costumes by Jeanne Arnold. Sound by David Tawfik. Technical Direction by Scott Yuille. Stage Managed by Nada Soliman. Malak Gabr Theatre. American University in Cairo. Egypt. 2012.