Texas A&M University at Qatar hosted an international liberal arts conference recently at Education City’s Hamad Bin Khalifa University Student Center.
The conference’s theme, ‘Ethical Engagement with Globalization, Citizenship and Multiculturalism: Multidisciplinary Perspectives’ (EGCM 2013), was geared toward raising awareness about the relationship and complexities that exist between the notions of citizenship within a globalized world and the means by which universalistic and particularistic ethical systems and structures fit into a multicultural globe.
The event, sponsored by Qatar Petroleum and organised by the university’s liberal arts programme, was presented in collaboration with The Initiative in Professional Ethics (TIPE), an umbrella organisation for ethics-related activities at Texas A&M.
Dr Mark H Weichold, Texas A&M at Qatar dean and CEO, said, “This conference’s focus on Ethical Engagement with Globalization, Citizenship and Multiculturalism is an excellent example of what we are trying to achieve in our programmes. We are grateful to everybody who has travelled from near and far to be part of the conference, and a special thanks to Qatar Petroleum for its leadership and generosity that made this conference possible.”
The two-day event featured lectures and panels for students, faculty and staff of educational institutions and research centres in Qatar.
Dr Hassan Bashir, assistant professor of Liberal Arts at Texas A&M at Qatar and director and co-founder of TIPE, said, “This conference was, by all accounts, a resounding success. The event not only had more world-class speakers than any previous liberal arts event in Qatar, but it also had more students and younger people in attendance. Presentations and discussions in the conference covered an exceptionally broad range of disciplines and seeded new ideas that will give rise to innovative new projects in various academic fields.”
The conference was attended by more than 50 leading scholars representing 35 universities from 17 countries. Keynote speakers at the event were Dr Francis Robinson and Dr Patrick Linke. Dr Robinson is professor of the history of South Asia at the Royal Holloway University of London, a Sultan of Oman Fellow, and has served as president of the Royal Asiatic Society. In his address, he discussed the characteristics of the modern nation state and its implications for citizenship, multiculturalism and globalisation.
The Peninsula
