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MEICON Student Conference
About
The Middle East and Islamic Consortium of British Columbia (MEICON-BC) was founded in 2008 as a collaborative project of Simon Fraser University, the University of Victoria, and the University of British Columbia with the participation of other British Columbian universities and colleges. Its purpose is to provide an organizational basis for communication and cooperation among all British Columbian academics interested in the study of the Middle East and Muslim societies and cultures. They host an annual student conference (typically held in March of each year), where students are invited to present their papers and receive feedback and support in a lively and nurturing environment.
Please visit our events page if you wish to be added to our mailing list in order to receive news about upcoming academic events related to Middle East and Islamic studies.
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In 2026, MEICON will be hosted at the University of Victoria. Check their website for updates!
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Middle East and Islamic Consortium of British Columbia
16th Annual Student Conference
University of Victoria, March 2026
We acknowledge and respect the Ləkʷ̓ əŋən (Songhees and Xʷsepsəm/Esquimalt) Peoples on whose territory the university stands, and the Ləkʷ̓ əŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Where: University of Victoria, David Strong Building
Presented by: MEICON UVIC Committee
When: Saturday, March 21, 2026, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
The organizing committee recognizes that the conference coincides with the Nowruz festivities (Persian New Year celebrations) and is committed to creating a welcoming, community-building atmosphere with food, music, and celebration.
In keeping with the inclusive vision that Islamic Studies operates within a global context, MEICON-BC does not privilege a single theme. Instead, it welcomes original submissions that contribute meaningfully to ongoing academic conversations and broaden the scope of inquiry.
Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
- Geopolitics and Cultural Landscapes of the Middle East
- Literatures in Global Frameworks
- Art and Visual Culture in the Middle East: Local and Transcultural Perspectives
- Conceptualizations and Representations
- Gender, Identity, and Social Narratives
- Conflict, Transformation, and Historical Change
- Margins, Peripheries, and Centers of Power
- Memory, Heritage, and Practices of Memorialization
- Texts, Contexts, and Interpretive Frameworks
- Structures of Power, Authority, and Legitimacy
Submission Guidelines:
- Abstracts should be no more than 300 words and must clearly state the thesis, goals, methodology, and anticipated conclusions. Accepted papers will be presented in 15–20-minute sessions.
- Submissions should include the title of the paper and a brief bio containing your full name, major(s), university, academic year, and research interests.
- Please email your submission to uvic.meicon2026@gmail.com by January 31, 2026.
Applicants will be notified of acceptance by February 15, 2026.
We thank all who apply and look forward to your contributions!
Andrew Rippin Essay Prize
A prize of $500 will be awarded for the best paper presented at the 2026 MEICON-BC Student Conference. To be considered for the award, please submit the following to uvic.meicon2026@gmail.com by February 20, 2026:
- A brief letter of application
- A 150-word abstract
- Your essay (approximately 3,000 words)
Thank you to everyone who attended MEICON 2025 at SFU!
Take a look at all of the programming we hosted below.
Complete Schedule of Events and Panels from Friday, 14 March to Monday, 17 March 2025
Friday, 14 March - DAY ONE: SFU HARBOUR CENTRE - FIRST AND SECOND FLOORS
Registration; 9 - 9:30 am - Room 2065
Opening Remarks: Dr. Adel Iskandar; 9:30 - 10:00 am - Room 2270
Student Panel 1: Intra-Continental Entanglements in Asia; 10:05 - 11:15 am - Room 2270
Beyond the Nation State: Transnational Muslim Identities Across the Middle East and China - Zhe Xi (David) Tu (Simon Fraser University)
Between Soviet and Capitalist Modernity: Contested Meanings of Urban Space in Dushanbe - Tahmina Inoyatova (Simon Fraser University)
China and the Graveyard of Empires: Understanding Chinese Political and Economic Interests in the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan - Adam Robert Ivanovic (Simon Fraser University)
Discussant: Dr. Janice Jeong (Simon Fraser University)
Student Panel 2: Continuity and Rupture after the Iranian Revolution; 11:25 - 12:40 pm - Room 2270
Iranian Left and the Women's Issue in the 1979 Revolution - Aso Javaheri (Simon Fraser University)
Memory regimes and conflicting social imaginaries in Iran: Afterlives of a Revolution - Nastaran Saremy (Simon Fraser University)
On the Iranian Teachers’ Movement - Hossein Rahmati (University of Victoria)
Discussant: Dr. Nazanin Shahrokni (Simon Fraser University)
Break; 12:40 - 1:25 pm - Room 2065
Student Panel 3: Ottoman Modernities in the Long Nineteenth Century; 1:30 - 2:40 pm - Room 2270
Civilizationism: Prescribing Modernity and Reform - Ismail Noyan (Simon Fraser University)
American Missionary Activity in the Ottoman East: Negotiations and Interactions in a Transnational Context, 1880–1920 - Hamid Incidelen (Simon Fraser University)
The Egyptian Spectacle: Understanding Egypt’s Role at the Great Exhibition of 1851 - Morgan Jennings (Simon Fraser University)
Discussant: Dr. Spyros Sofos (Simon Fraser University)
Student Panel 4: Instruments of Struggle for Palestine; 2:50 - 4:00 pm - Room 2270
The Insidious Friendly Foe: The UN’s Role in Materializing the Zionist Imagined Geography - Maisaloon Al-Ashkar (University of British Columbia)
Red-taped into silence: weaponized bureaucracy in university-Gaza protest encampment interactions - Sarah Kamal (University of British Columbia)
History to the Tune of Rocket Fire: Pedagogy and Defiance in Palestinian Resistance Music - Bassam Abun Nadi (Simon Fraser University)
Discussant: Kylie Broderick (UNC Chapel Hill)
Student Panel 5: Migration, Diaspora, and Belonging Across the Indo-Pacific; 4:10 - 5:20 pm - Room 2270
From Homelands to Hostlands: Exploring Middle Eastern Diasporic Belonging on Coast Salish Lands - Marianne El-Mikati (University of British Columbia)
Rohingya Women's Transnational Exposure to Multiple Vulnerabilities in Malaysia: Assessing Imposed Precariousness in Domestic and Public Spheres - Tanjila Afrin Sejuty (Simon Fraser University)
Expectations and Actual Experiences of Iranian Immigrants in Canada - Yaser Riki (University of Victoria)
Discussant: Dr. Maral Aguilera-Moradipour (Simon Fraser University)
Keynote Lecture: Dr. Esmat Elhalaby; 5:30 - 7 pm - Room 1400 Segal Centre
"Third World Study: Empire and the Decolonisation of Knowledge”
Iftar/Dinner; 7:15 pm - Room 1400 Segal Rooms
Saturday, 15 March - DAY TWO: SFU HARBOUR CENTRE - SEVENTH FLOOR
Registration; 9:30 - 10:00 am - Room 7400
Student Panel 6: Public Institutions, Power, and Narrative Communication; 10:05 - 11:15 - Room 7000
The Rohingya Crisis and the Representation of the Refugees: Discourse Analysis Relating to Public Communication by Major Humanitarian Organizations Working with/for Them - Firoz Mahmud (Simon Fraser University)
Cinematic Mobilization: The Role of Sacred Defense Cinema in Shaping Iran’s Regional Strategy - Mehmood Ali Khan (Philipps-Universität Marburg)
Assad falls, Syrians rise: How can the national healing process over crimes of politicide inform studies on desectarianization? - Mariam Al Barazi (UBC Okanagan)
Discussant: Dr. Daniel Ahadi (Simon Fraser University)
Student Panel 7: Intercultural Currents and Islamic Thought; 11:20 - 12:40 - Room 7000
What Lies at the End of Formulas? Repetition and Reception in Islamic New Media Art - Mélika S. Hashemi (University of Waterloo) and Yasmeen Nematt Alla (Wayne State University)
The Manifestation of Imaginal Aesthetics in Cinema: A Mystical Perception - Niusha Hatefinia (Simon Fraser University)
Mystical Parallels: Sufism, Surrealism, and Influence on Modern Design History (1924 – Present) - Shafira Rezkita Vidyamaharani (Simon Fraser University)
Mapping the idea of the dignity of humankind from the Quran to twelfth century Muslim thought and its impact on the European Renaissance - Sikeena Karmali Ahmed (Warburg Institute)
Discussant: Dr. Laura Marks (Simon Fraser University)
Break; 12:40 - 1:25 - Room 7400
Book talk with Shahrzad Mojab: Kurdish Women Through History; 1:30 - 3 pm - Room 7000
Discussant: Nastaran Saremy (Simon Fraser University)
Moderator: Aso Javaheri (Simon Fraser University)
Student Panel 8: Anti-Colonial Subjectivities; 3:10 - 4:20 - Room 7000
Racial Invention at the Terrifying Frontiers: On Black/Indigenous/Palestinian Transgressions - Devon Clifton (Brown University) and Sherena Razek (Brown University)
Gendered Orientalism and Israeli Media: Representations of Palestinian and Israeli women - Hafsa Maqsood (University of Calgary)
Dialogue between Negro-African Cultures and Islam: The role of religious syncretism in anti-colonial resistance; Black Islam against racism - Mamadou Ba (Simon Fraser University)
Discussant: Dr. Adel Iskandar (Simon Fraser University)
Combating Academic Unfreedom & State Repression: SFPIRG x Embark Sustainability Discussion Panel; 4:30 - 6 pm - Room 7000
Speakers: Sara Kishawi (Vancouver Island University), Balqees Jama (Simon Fraser University), and Dr. Zeyad el Nabolsy (York University)
Moderators: Marie Haddad (Embark Sustainability) and Noëll Cousins (SFPIRG)
Monday, 17 March - LAST DAY: SFU HARBOUR CENTRE - SEVENTH FLOOR
Echoes of Defiance - A Lecture by Dr. Shahrzad Mojab; 6 pm - 8 pm - Room 7000