Past events

2016 Gulf Conference

The Gulf and the Wider Middle East: Transnational Dynamics in Historical and Contemporary Perspectives

A 2 day-conference was convened by Marc Valeri, Enrica Fei, Niklas Haller and Gertjan Hoetjes.

The full conference programme is now available here.

Ecologies of Violence and Genealogies of Terror: Assembling the Biosocial and its Histories in the GCC (18 May 2015)

With the increased visibility and mapping of the global financial positionality of the GCC and its distinct patterns of capitalist accumulation, this symposium asked how we might go beyond fixed notions of power, history and the body in order to probe violence in the context of re-generation and hyper-capitalism?

Red Sea VII Conference – The Red Sea and the Gulf (26-30 May 2015)

The Centre for Gulf Studies, through the MARES Project, supported the Red Sea VII conference, which was hosted by the University of Naples "l'Orientale" on the island of Procida (in the Bay of Naples).

The theme of the conference was: "The Red Sea and the Gulf: Two Alternative Maritime Routes in the Development of Global Economy, from Late Prehistory to Modern Times."
This was the first time that the conference proposed a comparison between the Red Sea and the Gulf maritime corridors in their economic and cultural interaction with the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean.

Themes included:

• Recent and ongoing research
• The Red Sea and the Gulf in the Global Economy
• Naval technologies and maritime knowledge in the Red Sea and the Gulf
• Campania, the Mediterranean and the Red Sea
• People, ideas, technologies and religions between the Red Sea and the Gulf
• Africa, Arabia, Persia: linguistic transitions
• Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Maritime Trade to the East

More information.

2014 Gulf Conference

The Heritage Boom in the Gulf; Critical and Interdisciplinary Perspectives, Exeter, 1-2 September 2014

The Call for Papers for the 2014 Conference is now closed.

The full conference programme is now available here.

International workshop on State-Business Relations in the GCC (12-13 September 2013)

A 2-day workshop was held in Exeter in presence of world specialists of the topic. This workshop, organized under the umbrella of the “Re-negotiating the Social Contract in the Gulf Cooperation Council” research project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, was the first step towards the establishment of a strong trans-national network of expertise on the state-business relations in the GCC.

Full programme available here  

Transgressing the Gulf: Dissidence, Resistance and Potentiality in the GCC States (9-10 September 2013)

What do we talk of, when we speak of ‘transgression’ in the Gulf today? Are ideas of dissidence, dissonance and difference most easily cast in the light of the events of the Arab Spring and political transformations in the MENA region, or more appropriately set within the context of wider forms of transgressive potentiality in the Gulf?

This two-day symposium held at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies brought together scholars from both the social sciences and the humanities; from fields such as political economy and international relations, in which Gulf Studies is well-developed, to anthropology, history, gender and sexuality and media studies, amongst others, which have received less attention in Gulf Studies, to engender an inter-disciplinary approach to the contemporary Gulf.  

The full programme is available here.

Red Sea VI Conference – Past, Present and Future Challenges (17-20 March 2013)

The Red Sea VI Conference was held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from Sunday 17th to Wednesday 20th March 2013 followed by a two-day field trip. HRH Prince Sultan bin Salman, President of Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, inaugurated the conference.

The conference and field trip were convened and organised by the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) and the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter, The MARES 2 Project.

The focus of the conference was on topics that stimulate new thought and discourse about different human adaptations to and interactions with the environment of the Red Sea, both past and present. The study of past methods of adaptation to and interaction with the marine environment can suggest solutions to present environmental problems. Equally, current scientific and ethnographic research can help us better interpret the past of Red Sea communities. A number of scholars were invited to present papers leading to discussions on how the past can help in better understanding the present and vice versa.

More information.

Friends of Soqotra Conference: Soqotra in a Time of Change (25-26 September 2010)

The Centre for Gulf Studies hosted Friends of Soqotra conference: Soqotra in a Time of Change – the only conference dedicated to research into all aspects of the Soqotra Archipelago.

After a very successful conference held in Tübingen, Germany in 2009, the Friends of Soqotra, in conjunction with the MARES Project, brought the Friends of Soqotra conference to Exeter. The focus of this event was on the changing nature of the Soqotra Archipelago, looking at past and current issues that have affected the ecology, environment and people of Soqotra Archipelago.

More information.

Red Sea V Conference – Navigated Spaces, Connected Places (16-19 September 2010)

The Centre for Gulf Studies hosted the premier forum for the archaeology, anthropology, history, and languages of the Red Sea region. Previous conferences have been held at the British Museum and the University of Southampton.

After a focus at the 2008 conference on the Red Sea’s terrestrial hinterlands, Red Sea V brought the conference back to the sea itself, and to the theme of life lived on and from the marine environment in all periods.

More information.