ARAM Conference “Orientalism and Western Educational Missions in the Levant during the second half of the second millennium"
Carsten Walbiner
Please find below the announcement for the upcoming ARAM conference in Oxford (6–8 July). Speaker submissions are still being accepted, either in person or virtually.
Best wishes,
Carsten
The ARAM Society for Syro-Mesopotamian Studies is organising its Fifty-Eighth International Conference on “Orientalism and Western Educational Missions in the Levant during the second half of the second millennium,” to be held at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Oxford, from 6 to 8 July 2026.
Additional speakers and attendees are welcome to participate in the conference, either in person or virtually. The conference will begin on Monday, 6 July, at 9h.00 and conclude on Wednesday, 8 July, at 18h.00. Each presentation is allotted 35 minutes, followed by a 10-minute discussion. Interested participants should contact ar...@ames.ox.ac.uk within the next two weeks.
Although Orientalism encompasses the broader Middle East, the ARAM Society primarily focuses on the Levant. This focus does not diminish the significance of historical and cultural exchanges among countries and ethnic groups throughout the region. Foundational texts, including the Bible, the Qur'an, grammar books, and lexicons, have played a central role in Orientalist scholarship. These works transcend geographical boundaries, rendering a strict limitation to the Levant inapplicable in these contexts. Overall, cultural interactions between East and West in the Levant since the Greco-Roman period have been central to Orientalism and continue to influence Levantine civilisations.
The ARAM Society for Syro-Mesopotamian Studies, the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Oxford, Pusey Lane, Oxford OX1 2LE, UK www.aramsociety.org