Jordan
Middle East Conflict and Cooperation
June 8-15, 2008
Itinerary
This 8-day seminar begins and ends in Amman, Jordan and includes a 3-day excursion to Jerusalem.
Seminar Fee
CIEE Member: $2,550 Non-Member: $2,750
Add-on Tour: Petra & Wadi Rum
June 15-17, 2008
Fee: $650
There is an optional 3-day excursion to the ancient ruins of Petra, the Nabataean capital city carved into rock, and the biblical valley, Wadi Rum, with its spectacular sandstone formations, rock art, stone-age shelters, and home to semi-nomadic Bedouins.
Academic Content (please note this is tentative and subject to change)
Lectures
- An Historical Overview of Conflict in the Middle East
- Political Reform and Democratization in the Middle East
- Water, Security and Cooperation
- Prospects for Environmental Restoration: Red-Dead Canal
- Peace and Economic Development
- Role of USAID in Fostering Regional Cooperation
- Women’s Role in the Peace Movement
- Building Inter-Faith Dialogue
Co-curricular Site Visits & Field Trips
- Qualified Industrial Zones, Irbid, Jordan
- United Nations University International Leadership Institute
- Dead Sea, Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature Reserve Sites
- Church of the Holy Sepulcher, as an example of on-going conflict management
- Royal Institute for Interfaith Studies
- Israel-Palestine Center for Research and Information
- Seeds of Peace Center for Coexistence
Rationale
The association between the Middle East and Conflict is known. It is hard to imagine a day in recent history when the news from the region was not filled with stories of on-going violence, political intransigence and diplomatic deadlock. What grabs fewer headlines are the countless examples of cooperation that take place everyday on an individual, national and regional level. This seminar approaches the Middle East from the unusual perspective that cooperation not only exists but in many areas is rapidly becoming the regional norm. Participants receive an historic overview of the major sources of conflict in the region. Then the seminar shifts gears to reviewing real life examples of how conflict management has evolved into ongoing cooperation in areas such as environmental protection, education, economic development and inter-faith dialogue.
Host Institution
The Jordan Institute of Diplomacy (JID) is part of Jordan’s vision that quality education, technical competence, personal intellectual awareness, responsibility, independence, self-discipline and confidence are key elements in promoting closer cooperation and better relations among nations in an increasingly globally interdependent world.
Seminar Leadership
Allison Hodgkins has more than 10 years experience in the Middle East, and whose research interests focus on Peace and Conflict in the region. Allison has lectured in departments of Political Science and International Studies, and previously served as Academic Director for a Peace and Conflict study abroad program in Palestine and Jordan. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate (ABD) in The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and holds Master’s Degrees in Public Affairs (Lyndon Baines Johnson School), Middle Eastern Studies (University of Texas at Austin), and a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science (Bates).
Dr. Mohammad Mommani is an Assistant Dean at Yarmouk University and Director of Training for the Jordan Institute of Diplomacy, where he instructs Jordanian Foreign Service officers on international relations and regional politics. A core faculty member for CIEE’s Study Center at the University of Jordan since 2004, Dr. Mommani is also a consultant on different projects related to democratization and governance. Dr. Mommani received his PhD from the University of North Texas and served as an adjunct faculty member in Political Science at Rice University. He has written extensively on civil society, political development, and economic reform in Jordan.
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