São Paulo – The seminar “Dialogue of Civilizations” will address the coexistence of different cultural traditions, among them the Christian, Arab and Jewish ones, and lecturers will include specialists in the Arab world. The meeting is due on Monday (9th) and Tuesday (10th) in São Paulo, and will be attended by Edward J. Alam, a professor at the Notre Dame de Louaizé University, in Lebanon, Mamede Jarouche, an Arabic Literature professor at the University of São Paulo (USP), Anis Nacrour, the European Union’s chargé d’affaires in Syria, and the chairman of the Institute of Arab Culture (Icarabe), Salem H. Nasser.
Edward J. Alam teaches philosophy, cultural studies and theology and is the director of the Council for Research in Values and Philosophy in the Middle East, which assesses the need for social research and publishes the results of its work. He will discuss the theme “Lebanon’s Fertile and Infertile Ground” on December 9th at 11:00 am. Alam holds a doctorate in Philosophy from the University of Utah, in the United States.
Anis Nacrour will discuss “Sisyphus in the Levant” at 2:30 pm on the 9th. Sisyphus is a character from Greek mythology who is considered a master of malice and happiness. The lecturer is French and holds a doctorate in Political Science from the University of Paris I. He has served as a diplomat in Algeria, Bahrain, Great Britain, Israel, Qatar, United States and Yemen, and was a political and security advisor to Tony Blair for the Middle East Peace Process from 2007 to 2010.
The theme of Jarouche’s lecture will be "Rachid Daif, a Lebanese novelist.” He is a professor at the Department of Eastern Languages at the USP’s School of Philosophy, Languages and Human Sciences, and has translated the “Book of One Thousand and One Nights” directly from Arabic into Portuguese. Nasser will discuss “Being Arab in Brazil.” He is a professor at the Law School of Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV) and conducts research on Islamic law and its relationship with international law, among other issues.
Other debates will tackle Arab thematics, such as the lecture “Philosophy in Arabic and the Three Ecclesiastical Schools: Jewish, Christian and Islamic,” by the professor at the Department of Philosophy of the Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp), Jamil I. Iskandar, whose fields of study include Arab philosophy, education, Avicenna, metaphysics and ethics. Another lecture will be “History and its Metamorphoses: Middle East and Far East,” from the writer, journalist and collaborator with newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo, Gilles Lapouge.
According to one of the event’s coordinators, Denise Milan, the seminar will address the theme of coexistence, with an emphasis on the period extending from the 12th to the 21st centuries. According to Milan, São Paulo is the ideal place to host the seminar, seeing as the city comprises various Diasporas. The meeting will discuss both success stories in coexistence among different cultures, and the problems faced in this respect. Milan hopes the meeting will be attended by students, intellectuals, journalists and the general public.
The meeting is organized by Denise Milan and by the professor Olgária Matos. Milan is the Brazilian representative of the initiative “Lebanon: A Land of Dialogue between Civilizations and Cultures,” of the University of Notre Dame, and she will also speak at the seminar. The event is promoted by the Municipal Secretariat for Culture of São Paulo, the Office of the Vice President for Culture and University Extension at USP, and the Ortega y Gasset Cultural Tent. The speakers specialize in the fields of literature, history, philosophy and arts. The program will take place at Library Mário de Andrade, on Monday, and at Ortega y Gasset Cultural Tent, on Tuesday. Admittance is free.
Dialogue of Civilizations Seminar
December 9th and 10th, 2013 – São Paulo
Dec 9th from 9:30 am to 6:30 pm at Library Mário de Andrade, on Consolação street, 94
Dec 10th from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm at Ortega y Gasset Cultural Tent, on Anfiteatro street, Praça do Relógio, Cidade Universitária (USP campus)
Admittance is free – For reservations call: +55 (11) 3237 1898 or dialogodascivilizacoes@gmail.com
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
