THE INFORMATION REVOLUTION IN THE ARAB WORLD (April 20-21, 1995)

Twentieth Annual Symposium Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Georgetown University
April 20-21, 1995 Washington, DC

OPENING REMARKS

LEO J. O’DONOVAN, S.J.
President, Georgetown University

BARBARA STOWASSER
Director, Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Georgetown University

NEMIR A. KIRDAR
President and CEO, INVESTCORP
Chairman, CCAS Board of Advisors, Georgetown University

MICHAEL C. HUDSON
Seif Ghobash Professor of Arab Studies and Symposium Chairman,
Center for Contemporary Arab Studies,
Georgetown University

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PANEL I: “ERASING BORDERS: DIMENSIONS OF THE INFORMATION REVOLUTION”
Chair: Wilson P. Dizard, Jr.
Senior Associate, Center for Strategic and International Studies

“An Overview of the Middle East Information Revolution”
JERROLD D. GREEN
Corporate Research Manager and Head, International Policy Department, RAND Corporation

“The Middle East Meets the Internet”
C. BRYAN GABBARD
Director, Center for Information Revolution Analysis, RAND Corporation

“Anybody? Anybody! The Contribution of Wireless Technologies”
FARID YASSIN
Baya Incorporated

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PANEL II: “THE MASS MEDIA IN THE NEW INFORMATION AGE”
Chair: MARVIN KALB
Visiting Professor of Press and Public Policy, George Washington University/Harvard University

“The Media Explosion in the Arab World: New Satellite Technologies”
S. ABDALLAH SCHLEIFER
Director, Adham Center for Television Journalism, American University in Cairo

“Who’s Watching What?”
HUSSEIN Y. AMIN
Associate Professor, Department of Journalism, American University in Cairo

“Consumption, Culture and Technology: Economic,Political and Cultural Considerations for the Post-War Lebanese”
MARWAN MICHEL KRAIDY
Doctoral Student in Mass Communication, Ohio University

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PANEL III: “THE MIDDLE EAST ON-LINE: A GUIDE FOR PARTICIPANTS AND RESEARCHERS”
Chair: BRENDA E. BICKETT
Arabic Materials Specialist, Lauinger Library, Georgetown University

“Virtual Communities in Middle Eastern Cyberspace”
JOSEPH W. ROBERTS
Teaching Assistant, Department of Political Science, University of Utah

“Electronic Gateways: Sharing Resources Through a Virtual Library”
ELIZABETH N. BOURI
Research Associate, Center for Near Eastern Studies, University of Texas

“Interactive Learning and Cross-Cultural Experiences Through Cyberspace”
CLEMENT M. HENRY
Professor of Government, University of Texas

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EXHIBITION: “DEMONSTRATION OF ON-LINE RESOURCES”

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Welcoming Remarks
PETER F. KROGH
Dean, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University

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PANEL IV: “THE CHANGING MASS COMMUNICATIONS BUSINESS”
Chair: DOUGLAS BOYD
University of Kentucky

“The Saudi Thrust Into Arab Mass Communications”
MOHAMED AL-BADRAWI
CEO, Arabica

“The Economics of the Information Revolution”
IBRAHIM OWEISS
Associate Professor of Economics, Georgetown University

“Satellite TV Opportunities and Costs: A Case Study of ART (Arab Radio and Television)”
WALID ARAB HASHEM
Managing Director, Arab Media Corporation

“Development of Arab Satellite TV: Why Now?”
AZIZ FAHMY FARAG
Washington Bureau Chief, Middle East Broadcasting Center

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PANEL V: “NEW INFORMATION ORDERS, NEW SOCIAL SPACES”
Chair: EVELYN EARLY
USIA

“Getting the Message Across the Border: Expressions and Perceptions of Electronic Media in the Middle East”
PATRICK D. GAFFNEY
Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, Notre Dame University

“The New Creoles of the Information Super Highway”
JON W. ANDERSON
Associate Professor of Anthropology, Catholic University of America

“Communication and Control in the Middle East: Publication and its Discontents”
DALE F. EICKELMAN
Ralph and Richard Lazarus Professor of Anthropology and Human Relations, Dartmouth College

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PANEL VI: “CULTURAL IMPACT, CRITICAL RESPONSES”
Chair: HALIM BARAKAT
Professor of Sociology, Georgetown University

“Devoured Spaces/Virgin Minds: Arabic Culture vs. the Information Revolution & Notes on the De-Formation of Culture”
KAMAL ABU DEEB
Chair of Arabic, London University

“Popular Culture in a Borderless Arab World?”
FEDWA MALTI-DOUGLAS
Chair, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures,
Indiana University
ALLEN DOUGLAS
Associate Professor of West European, Studies, History, Middle East Studies and Semiotics, Indiana University

“Islamic Perspectives on the Information Revolution”
KAMAL ABU AL-MAGD
Cairo University

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PANEL VII: “POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS”
Chair: MICHAEL C. HUDSON
Seif Ghobash Professor of Arab Studies, Georgetown University

“Issues of Censorship and Control”
HISHAM MELHEM
Washington Correspondent, As-Safir/Radio Monte Carlo

“Electronic Resistance: Modern and Post-modern Segments of Societies AgainstPre-modern Arab States”
MAMOUN FANDY
Assistant Professor, Department. of Political Science, Mt. Mercy College

“Electronic Networking Under Siege”
SALIM TAMARI
Birzeit University

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EXHIBITION: “SELECTION OF FEEDS FROM ARAB SATELLITE CHANNELS”