FSU MEC News

Kelly Baker, a senior majoring in international affairs and middle eastern studies from Greensboro, N.C., will travel to Jordan to study Arabic starting this fall. It will be a return visit. Baker studied in Amman during the summer of 2016, and the experience put her on a path toward fulfilling a key goal she’d harbored for years.

The Middle East Center and The Student Life Cinema at Florida State University are pleased to announce that they are bringing you the Middle East Film Festival! The festival brings a wide range of award-winning movies spanning across different parts of the Middle East in order to celebrate the region’s cultures, diversity, and strengths. 

Congratulations to Kelly Baker (Middle Eastern Studies) and Micah Friedman (Religion) both of whom were accepted to receive a fully-funded intensive Arabic language scholarship from the Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center (SQCC) to study in Oman under the SALAM 2017: Summer Arabic Language and Media Program. Micah and Kelly will be in Oman from June 30 until August 10, 2017. 

Florida State University graduate Jesse Marks has been awarded the highly competitive Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship, which provides recent college and graduate school alumni with funding and the opportunity to work with senior-level policy experts.

Marks is one of three spring 2017 Scoville Fellows chosen from among 124 applicants from 81 universities. He will spend six to nine months working at the Stimson Center, a nonprofit, nonpartisan institution in Washington, D.C., devoted to enhancing international peace and security through a combination of analysis and outreach.

Jayda Craig, a Middle East Studies major student is one of over 250 American undergraduate students from 154 colleges and universities across the U.S. selected to receive the prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs to study or intern abroad during the Summer 2017 Early Application cycle. Jayda will study abroad in Morocco.

The Middle East Center and The Student Life Cinema at Florida State University are pleased to announce that they are bringing you the 2017 Middle East Film Festival which will be held between February 19th and February 22nd. The festival brings a wide range of award-winning movies spanning across different parts of the Middle East in order to celebrate the region’s cultures, diversity, and strengths. 

The MEC is hosting a number of exciting events this spring on campus. Please click on the attached PDF for more information and make sure not to miss these great opportunities.   

FSU’s Middle East Librarian, Mohamed Berray, has been named a 2017 American Library Association (ALA) Emerging Leader. A native of Egypt, he came to Florida State University from the Pennsylvania State University where he was resident Social Sciences Librarian and subject specialist for political science, law, and international affairs.

On Tuesday, February 9, the Intercultural Program Series at the Center for Global Engagement will proudly feature Lebanon! Please join the Lebanese Social Organization to learn about the culture and history of Lebanon through music, dance, and food! 

Festivities began at 7 p.m. in the Globe Auditorium.

Arab Women Film Festival

The Arabic Division of the Modern Languages Department is thrilled to announce their upcoming Arab Women Film Festival! Over the course of three weeks, the festival will feature four titles, showcasing Arab women in leading roles. Films will be screened at Askew Student Life Cinema on the evenings of Jan. 25, Feb. 1, and Feb. 8, and showings are free and open to the public. 

The program is as follows: