From ancient to modern: the current state of research on iraq
THE tarii research conference
October 2021 (Virtual)
The Academic Research Institute in Iraq (TARII) was pleased to welcome you to the virtual research conference. Scholars and colleagues from across Iraq and internationally discussed the various research being conducted in and on Iraq – from ancient to modern. Due to continued health concerns, the conference was held virtually in 2021.
The 2022 conference, hosted and co-sponsored by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art, will be held on November 3 - 4, 2022 with an evening reception. Space will be limited so registration will be required.
virtual 2021 program
Each session included presentations from scholars followed by a discussion. Questions were taken from the audience as well. Presentations in each session are not listed in the order in which they were given.
Recordings of the sessions along with abstracts and speaker biographies can be accessed by clicking on the title of the session.
opening remarks
Welcoming and opening remarks were made on 6 October at 10 am EST / 5:00 pm AST by:
Dr. Peter Wien, President, The Academic Research Institute in Iraq; Professor of Modern Middle East History, University of Maryland in College Park
Dr. Chase Robinson, Dame Jillian Sackler Director of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution
Wednesday, 6 October
Cultural Heritage Preservation Projects: 10:30am - 12:00 pm EST / 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm AST
Dr. Darren Ashby, University of Pennsylvania: The Iraq Heritage Stabilization Program: 2018-2021
Dr. Katharyn Hanson, Smithsonian Institution: The Nimrud Rescue Project
Moderator: Dr. Mark Altaweel
Archaeology Projects: 12:30 pm - 2:30 pm EST / 7:30pm - 9:30 pm AST
Dr. Badir Albadran, University of Basrah: The limits of Holocene Marine Transgression into Southern Mesopotamia
Dr. Holly Pittman, Pennsylvania University Museum: Returning to Lagash: New excavations building on previous campaigns
Dr. Glenn Schwartz, Johns Hopkins University: Excavations at Kurd Qaburstan: Recent Results at a Second Millennium BC Urban Site on the Erbil Plain
Dr. Tracy Spurrier, University of Toronto: Introducing Hama: The Discovery of a Lost Neo-Assyrian Queen Laid to Rest amongst a Curious Cache of Bronze Coffins in the Nimrud Tombs
Dr. Jason Ur, Harvard University: The Erbil Plain Archaeological Survey, Kurdistan Region of Iraq
Moderator: Dr. Jean Evans
Thursday, 7 October
Art and Visual Studies: 11 am - 12:30 pm EST / 6 pm - 7:30 pm AST
Dr. Huma Gupta, Massachusetts Institute of Technology: From Sumer to Shakriya: The Antediluvian Legacy of Ṣarīfa Architecture in Iraq
Dr. Alyaa Naser, University of Baghdad: Theater of Violence: A Reality and Its Double in Hassabballah Plays
Moderator: Dr. Nada Shabout
Friday, 8 October
Archival Research: 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm EST / 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm AST
Michael Brill, Princeton University: After the Exodus: The History of Iraq's Last Jews
Mélisande Genat, Stanford University: State Law and Tribal Justice in Iraq: the TCCDR files (1918-1958)
Dr. Samuel Helfont, Naval War College: Ba'thist Iraq at the End of History
Dr. Alissa Walter, Seattle Pacific University: Gender Norms, Sex Work, and the Law in Sanctions-Era Iraq
Moderator: Dr. Elizabeth Bishop
Check back for updates or keep up with TARII by joining our mailing list.
TARII wishes to thank the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad for providing full funding to several Iraqi scholars who will travel and present at the conference in Washington, D.C. in 2022.
