International Conference:
The Arab East and the Bedouin Component: Features and Tensions from Late Antiquity to the Present

29.11.-01.12.2012

International conference organized by the CRC 586 "Difference & Integration" (A3) and the Orient-Institut Beirut.

Venue: Orient-Institut Beirut (Libanon)
Datⲉ: November 29 - December 1, 2012

Convenors: Stefan Leder and Johann Büssow

Contact: buessow@orient-institut.org

PDF FileDetailed Call for Papers


Call For Papers

The presence of Bedouin groups – nomadic and sedentary – has been a pervasive feature of Arab societies since Late Antiquity and some have played a central role in the history of the Arab lands. Nevertheless, Bedouin are often considered to be marginal groups with little influence on broader trends in society and of mainly folkloristic interest. They are thus ‘intimate strangers’, always present but largely ignored. This conference aims to bring together historians and anthropologists in order to find formulas that will enable a better description of the specific fluidity that surrounds Bedouin agency in history and the Bedouin impact on the region’s culture.

Orient-Institut Beirut in collaboration with the Collaborative Research Centre “Difference and Integration” (SFB 586) in Halle and Leipzig invite scholars to propose papers along the following broad themes:

  • The Bedouin and the Arab East in history,
  • Identity claims and assignments,
  • Conflict management and violence.


The deadline for the submission of abstracts (300 words maximum) is 15 July 2012. Your abstract, together with a short biographical note, should be sent to Johann Büssow (buessow@orient-institut.org).