UNC-Chapel Hill, in partnership with Duke University, will host the conference “ReOrienting the Veil” Feb. 22-23 in the Nelson Mandela Auditorium at the FedEx Global Education Center.
Muslim women’s relationship to their veils incorporates both spiritual and cultural values, something often stereotyped and misunderstood. The conference and other supporting events are intended to expand the dialogue about the tradition of wearing the veil and the meaning of the headscarf for Muslim women.
Scholars and artists will deliver 30-minute presentations on Muslim women’s veiling, each followed by a response from a local faculty and a Q&A session.
Presenters include, Elizabeth M. Bucar, associate professor of philosophy and religion at Northeastern University; Todd Drake, artist in residence at the UNC Center for Global Initiatives; Maryam Eskandari, architect, designer and founder of MIIM Designs LLC; Homa Hoodfar, professor of anthropology at Concordia University; Carla Jones, associate professor of anthropology at the University of Colorado in Boulder; Typhaine Leservot, associate professor in the Romance Languages and Literature Department at Wesleyan University, and Marilia Marchetti, professor of French and Francophone Literature at the University of Catania, Italy.
Participants can view an exhibition of Todd Drake’s “Self Portraits of Muslim-Americans” as well as take a guided tour of a study gallery devoted to veiling practices at the Ackland Art Museum.
North Carolina K-12 teachers are eligible to earn one CEU through attendance as well as pre- and post-conference activities.
The conference is free and open to the public. Registration is required by Feb. 15.
Published February 11, 2013.