2019 MESA, New Orleans (November 14-17)

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• Special Session: Politics and Prospects for Peace and Reconstruction in Yemen.

Organized by Stacey Philbrick Yadav,Hobart and William Smith Colleges.

Participants: Jillian Schwedler, Stacey Philbrick Yadav, Salwa Dammaj, Danny Postel, Waleed Mahdi, Adam Hanieh

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• From al-Hadi ila al-Haqq to Husayn al-Huthi: The Zaydi Phenomenon in Yemen


--- "Making an Imam: The Rebellion of Yahya b. ‘Abd Allah in Zaydi Historiography"
 Najam Haider, Barnard College

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--- "Rasulid Sultans and Zaydi Imams: War (Mostly) and Peace (a Little) in Yemen during the 13th-15th centuries"
Daniel Martin Varisco, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton

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--- "The Ahl al-Bayt’s Return to Power: The Legitimation of Religious Rule in the Speeches of Husayn al-Huthi in the Context of the Current Crisis" in Yemen
Alexander Weissenburger, Institute for Social Anthropology, Austrian Academy of Sciences

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--- Discussant: Brinkley Messick, Columbia University

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2018 MESA, San Antonio (November)

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• Anthropology in War-Torn Yemen: Challenges, Dilemmas, and Alternative Methodologies.
Organizers: Susanne Dahlgren and Marina de Regt
Chair: Stacey Philbrick Yadav, Hobart & William Smith Colleges.

--- "Finding Ways to Work on Yemen: A Plea for Engaged Scholarship"

Marina de Regt, Vrije Universiteit-Amsterdam

--- "Securitized Yemen: Studying a Popular Revolution in the Shadow of War, Drones and Terrorism"

Susanne Dahlgren, U of Tampere/National U of Singapore

--- "Fieldwork in a Yemeni “Village” Displaced and Constituted by War"

Nathalie Peutz, NYU-Abu Dhabi

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• The Indian Ocean without Boundaries: A Historical Perspective. Organizer: Daniel Martin Varisco
Chair: Roxani Margariti, MESAS Department, Emory
--- "The Slave Trade in the Indian Ocean before 1500: Evidence and Interpretive Challenges"

Craig Perry, U of Cincinnati

--- "Local Knowledge in Pre-Colonial Maritime Interactions"

Andre Gingrich, Austrian Academy of Sciences

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--- "Managing Monsoons: Mamluk-Era Voyaging East"

Marina Tolmacheva, Washington State U

--- "Sailing with and against the Winds: Navigation in the Red Sea Indian Ocean Network in the Ayyubid, Rasulid and Mamluk Eras"

Daniel Martin Varisco, American Institute for Yemeni Studies

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2017 MESA, Washington D.C. (November)

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• Updating the Yemen Crisis.

Participants include:

--- Nadwa Aldawsari  ((Project on Middle East Democracy)

--- H.E. Amat al-Alim Alsoswa  (Former Minister of Human Rights, Yemen)

--- Sheila Carapico  (University of Richmond)

--- Walid Mahdi (University of Oklahoma)

--- Daniel Martin Varisco (President, AIYS)

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• The South in the Yemeni Conflict

Organizer: Charles Schmitz

--- “Regionalism and Nationalism in South Yemen”
Elisabeth Kendall, Oxford University

• “What Does Eastern Yemen Want and What Is It Doing About It? The Voice of al-Mahra”
Thanos Petouris, Independent Scholar)

---“Southern Yemen after the Saudi Intervention: Political and Social Change”
Charles P. Schmitz, Towson University)

--- “Salafism in the South”

--- Noel Brehony,  Menas Associates

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2016 MESA, Boston (November 14-17)

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• The Destruction of Cultural Heritage in Yemen and Current Preservation Efforts

Organizer: Daniel Mahoney
Participants: McGuire Gibson, David B. Hollenberg, Krista Lewis, Lamya Khalidi

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• Yemen: From Zaydi Revivalism to Huthi Expansionism
Organizer: Marieke Brandt
Chair: Daniel Martin Varisco
--- "The Curriculum and Channels of Knowledge for Contemporary Zaydi ‘Ulama’ in the Yemeni Highlands."

David B. Hollenberg

--- "Itineraries of expansion: The Sa‘dah Wars"

Marieke Brandt

--- "Antiauthoritarianism, Outreach and Misdirection: Unpacking the Houthis’ March to Sana’a"

Peter Salisbury

--- "Strategic Implications of Huthi Expansionism, Perpetual Insecurity and Internal War in Yemen"

Adam Seitz

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2015 MESA, Denver (November)

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• Turmoil and Tolerance: Unpacking the Current Crisis in Yemen

--- "Yemen and the Culture of Tolerance"

Mohammed Sharafuddin

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--- "Mediating Social Hierarchies in Yemen’s Highlands" Najwa Adra

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--- "Huthis and Tribes: Prospects for Tribalism in Huthi-Controlled Areas"

Marieke Brandt

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--- "U.S. Drones–Houthi Responses: A Critical Reading of Ansarullah’s Resistance Politics in Yemen"

Waleed Mahdi

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--- "A New Era for Language Diversity in Yemen: Mahri and Socotri in the new Yemeni Constitution"

Sam Liebhaber

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• What’s Happening In Yemen

Talk by H.E. Ambassador Amat al-Alim Alsoswa on the current situation in Yemen and discussion by Dan Varisco and Sheila Carapico.