Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Review Essay: The Islamic Moses And Muslim-Jewish Relations, Kareem Rosshandler

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Festival Diplomacy (Ceremony Diplomacy) As A Lesser-Known Form Of Cultural Diplomacy By Emerging Non-State Actors: The Newroz Legacy Of The Kurdish Regional Resistance In Iraq And Syria, Khaled Sheykholeslami

The Journal of Social Encounters

Kurds as the second largest ethnic groups in Iraq and Syria are the only nation in these two major-Arab countries that celebrate Newroz every year. However, as a minority community divided among different Middle Eastern countries, the arrival of the new year and the celebration of Newroz seem to have taken on a political significance beyond merely celebrating spring and the end of winter. This essay argues that Newroz has evolved from a cultural celebration into a strategic instrument of non-state cultural diplomacy used by Kurdish actors in Iraq and Syria to resist centralizing state power and project transnational identity. …

Islamic Relief As A Transnational Advocacy Network In Building Global Solidarity For Gaza, Nura Alanda Nabila, Zhafirah Fatin Azzah, Nuraeni -, R. Dudy Heryadi

The Journal of Social Encounters

This article examines the role of Islamic Relief in supporting Palestine from the perspective of the Transnational Advocacy Network. The conflict in Palestine, particularly in Gaza, raises the central question of how non-governmental actors contribute to global advocacy efforts amid the large-scale civilian suffering. The article is based on qualitative research, utilizing a literature review as a data collection technique, with constructivism as the theoretical framework. This study positions Islamic Relief as a transnational humanitarian organization whose work is shaped and rooted in Islamic values. The findings showed that the efforts to address the crisis in Gaza are carried out …

Food, Faith, And Sustainability: Rethinking Ramadan Consumption Practices In Qatar, Tamim Raihan

The Journal of Social Encounters

This essay examines the paradox that Ramadan’s ethical horizon of restraint and moral accountability often coincides, in contemporary Qatar, with heightened provisioning and recurrent food waste. Bringing Émile Durkheim’s sacred–profane distinction into dialogue with Nancy Ammerman’s “lived religion,” the analysis treats commensality as a privileged site where religious meaning is socially produced, renewed, and contested through embodied practice. It further mobilizes Benjamin Smith’s critique of Market Orientalism to caution against culturalizing narratives that frame Gulf “excess” as moral deficiency while obscuring political-economic conditions, labor arrangements, and infrastructures that normalize surplus. Methodologically, the article is a theory-driven, interpretive conceptual essay grounded …

United States Middle East Policy In The Age Of Donald Trump, Gary Prevost

The Journal of Social Encounters

This essay on the foreign policy of the United States in the Middle East in the middle of the second Trump administration and the continuing conflict in Gaza and the West Bank makes the case for decades of consistency in US policy but also some nuances from the current US administration. The author makes the case that there have been three constants in US policy since the era of the Second World War. First, is the guarantee the flow of reasonably priced oil to the United States and its allies.  Second, the maintenance of the state of Israel as a …

Geopolitical Transformation In The Post-October 7 Middle East (2023–2025): Power Shifts Vs. Structural Shifts, Nael Shama

The Journal of Social Encounters

This essay investigates the geopolitical shifts that unfolded in the Middle East from October 2023 to the end of 2025, stimulated by the surprise attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent events it triggered. These included military confrontations between Israel and each of Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran, the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, and Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. The essay demonstrates that these developments have reshaped power positions and alliances in the Middle East, leading to a more complex and unpredictable geopolitical landscape. It sketches out the new regional balance of …

Countering Social Encounters: Darwish’S “Speech Of The Red Indian”, J. Kristen Urban

The Journal of Social Encounters

In June 2025 the Washington D.C. Arab Center held a conference at the National Press Club titled, “A Historic Juncture: Israel’s Destruction of Gaza and the Palestinian Future.”  The discussion sparked an incisive question: Would such a future follow a Palestinian-owned trajectory?  Incisive, because Palestinians have not owned their trajectory since the 1915 Sykes-Picot Agreement, have consistently been defined in negative terms, and have lived with the ambiguity of existing while remaining unrecognized.  Growing up within Israel, Palestine’s national poet, Mahmoud Darwish (1941-2008), experienced this paradox firsthand, and explored it directly in “Speech of the Red Indian,” a poem written …

Gender Justice Lessons From North-East Syria Amidst Patriarchal Perpetuation In The New Syrian Arab Republic?, Theresa Wagner

The Journal of Social Encounters

The overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, whose family had ruled Syria for over sixty years, and his government by Hai’at Tahrir asch-Scham (HTS) signified for many the beginning of a new era of democracy and freedom after thirteen years of civil war. People in the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES), a self-governing region that had not been ruled by the Syrian state since 2012, joined in with the celebrating crowds. However, they remained skeptical of HTS, which originated as a branch of al-Qaeda, known back then as Jabhat al-Nusra. Since taking on government responsibilities in the new …

Introduction: The Arab World And Middle East In An Age Of Dynamism And Change, Eslam Elbahlawan, Mawa Mohamed, Ron Pagnucco

The Journal of Social Encounters

On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel began a massive joint military attack against the Islamic Republic of Iran to which Iran has responded. At the time of the publication of this issue, the fighting continues and could become more widespread; the ultimate outcome of the conflict is unknown.  This conflict highlights the importance of a deeper understanding of the region.

In the shadow of these events, people of the Middle East once again find their lives reordered by decisions taken far above their heads and far beyond their borders. The current war not only devastates cities, infrastructure, …

Bio-Based Textiles: From Waste To Runway, Leah L. Mella Mrs., Laziza S. Shamansurova, Kory Lynn Abramowitz Ms

SPARK Symposium Presentations

Have you ever wondered what it’s like wearing fabric made from orange peels? What about mushrooms? Sustainable bio textiles are defined as “a broad category of fabrics made from renewable, natural biomass—including plants, animals, algae, or bacteria.” The purpose of this study is to explore various bio based textiles such as orange peel fabric, algae fabric, and bacterial cellulose fabric. Given that the world is currently experiencing a severe climate crisis driven by pollution and carbon emissions, we need sustainable solutions now more than ever. To prevent further damage to our planet, we need to adopt more sustainable practices, and …

Student Senate Meeting Minutes March 18, 2026, Student Senate-Winona State University

Student Senate Meeting Minutes

This document is the official Winona State University Student Senate Minutes for March 18, 2026.

Circular Textiles: How You Can Bamboo It, Corley Ballard, Sophie Ellyson, Hannah Berg, Brennan Werner

SPARK Symposium Presentations

“Circular Fashion” and “sustainability” are loosely thrown around in today’s culture, both online and in-person, but circular fashion goes far beyond common sustainability practices. It is a completely waste-free, closed-loop system of textile production and manufacturing. This presentation will focus on circular fashion, a system of reusing and recycling textiles to eliminate waste. We will take a look at its place in the fashion industry and how it interacts within the world of textile production, and give clarity on what we can do about it. We are exploring sustainability, manufacturing, and the processes by which fibers are recycled or blended. …

026.021-Ossawbaw, Morehead State University History Department (Morehead, Ky)

Guarding Ossabaw Island: History and Archaeology of the 47th N.Y.V.I. Camp

3 ring Minie ball with mold seam

026.023-Ossabaw, Morehead State University History Department (Morehead, Ky)

Guarding Ossabaw Island: History and Archaeology of the 47th N.Y.V.I. Camp

3 ring Minie ball with mold seam

026.035-Ossabaw, Morehead State University History Department (Morehead, Ky)

Guarding Ossabaw Island: History and Archaeology of the 47th N.Y.V.I. Camp

Spent 4 flange percussion cap

026.063-Ossabaw, Morehead State University History Department (Morehead, Ky)

Guarding Ossabaw Island: History and Archaeology of the 47th N.Y.V.I. Camp

Copper "T" head square cut nail

026.050-Ossawbaw, Morehead State University History Department (Morehead, Ky)

Guarding Ossabaw Island: History and Archaeology of the 47th N.Y.V.I. Camp

2 piece 16 mm Eagle button with "I" in shield, loop intact, back marked "SCOVILL MFG CO"

026.039-Ossabaw, Morehead State University History Department (Morehead, Ky)

Guarding Ossabaw Island: History and Archaeology of the 47th N.Y.V.I. Camp

Knapsack hook, 0.653" diameter button

026.060-Ossabaw, Morehead State University History Department (Morehead, Ky)

Guarding Ossabaw Island: History and Archaeology of the 47th N.Y.V.I. Camp

Hinge-broken tip of large spoon, flattened

026.045-Ossabaw, Morehead State University History Department (Morehead, Ky)

Guarding Ossabaw Island: History and Archaeology of the 47th N.Y.V.I. Camp

2 piece 19 mm Eagle button with shield, loop intact, back marked "EXTRA QUALITY", shield pushed in

026.024-Ossabaw, Morehead State University History Department (Morehead, Ky)

Guarding Ossabaw Island: History and Archaeology of the 47th N.Y.V.I. Camp

3 ring Minie ball with mold seam, conical truncated base

Let It Ring! And A Red, Red, Rose: Transcriptions Of Brian Nabors’ Orchestral And Chamber Works For Wind Band, Lawrence Williams

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The goal of this project is to create a wind band transcription of the orchestral work “Let It Ring!” and chamber work “A Red, Red, Rose” by Brian Raphael Nabors. Nabors' music has been described as music that elicits joy and draws deeply from his roots in Birmingham, Alabama, and the rich cultural tapestry of Black musical traditions such as gospel, R&B/neo-soul, funk, and marching band culture. He describes himself as a “fuser of worlds” and “boundary destroyer,” intent on crafting a space where listeners can meet themselves, reflect on deeper questions of humanity, and feel grace.^[1] His compositional …

026.013-Ossabaw, Morehead State University History Department (Morehead, Ky)

Guarding Ossabaw Island: History and Archaeology of the 47th N.Y.V.I. Camp

3 ring Minie ball with mold seam

026.064-Ossabaw, Morehead State University History Department (Morehead, Ky)

Guarding Ossabaw Island: History and Archaeology of the 47th N.Y.V.I. Camp

Copper "T" head square cut nail

026.003-Ossabaw, Morehead State University History Department (Morehead, Ky)

Guarding Ossabaw Island: History and Archaeology of the 47th N.Y.V.I. Camp

3 ring Minie ball, slightly flattened, fine parallel striations

026.038-Ossabaw, Morehead State University History Department (Morehead, Ky)

Guarding Ossabaw Island: History and Archaeology of the 47th N.Y.V.I. Camp

Knapsack hook, 0.633" diameter button

026.033-Ossabaw, Morehead State University History Department (Morehead, Ky)

Guarding Ossabaw Island: History and Archaeology of the 47th N.Y.V.I. Camp

Unspent 4 flange percussion cap

026.048-Ossabaw, Morehead State University History Department (Morehead, Ky)

Guarding Ossabaw Island: History and Archaeology of the 47th N.Y.V.I. Camp

2 piece 19mm Eagle button with shield, loop intact

026.020-Ossabaw, Morehead State University History Department (Morehead, Ky)

Guarding Ossabaw Island: History and Archaeology of the 47th N.Y.V.I. Camp

3 ring Minie ball, conical truncated base, possibly swine chewed

026.029-Ossabaw, Morehead State University History Department (Morehead, Ky)

Guarding Ossabaw Island: History and Archaeology of the 47th N.Y.V.I. Camp

Fired 52 caliber Sharp's bullet, no deformation, rifling, 426 gr