The Center for American Studies and Research (CASAR) at American University of Beirut will host its fourth international conference on January 11-14, 2012, in Beirut, Lebanon. Within a context of profound political, environmental, and social transformations in America and the Middle East/North Africa (MENA), this international conference invites scholarly papers on the theme, “shifting borders.” With this provocative title we aim to think of shifting borders in two primary ways. First, we want to conceive of scholarship that “shifts” the borders of scholarly and disciplinary ways of thinking; and second, we want to think about the ways that borders of all kinds are malleable, socially constructed, and historically contingent.

Potential participants should consult the CASAR website for submission guidelines and a downloadable submission form (http://www.aub.edu.lb/FAS/CASAR/CONFERENCES/IV/Pages/index.aspx). Please send abstracts (300 words or less), along with the submission form and a short CV, to casar@aub.edu.lb by June 1, 2011. All presenters will be partially subsidized. CASAR is an independent academic center that seeks to promote better understanding between the people of United States and those of the Middle East through teaching, research, and outreach efforts.