The International Symposium about Death and Life at the BA
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Alexandria—For the first time in the Middle East, the BA Calligraphy Center hosts an International Symposium entitled “Dialogue on Death and Life” on 3 October 2009. The Symposium is organized by the Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, University of Tokyo, under the joint auspices of the Islamic Area Studies Program of the National Institutes for the Humanities (NIHU), Japan; the Supreme Council of Culture, Egypt; the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Cairo Research Station; and the Center for Social Researches and Studies, Faculty of Arts, Cairo University.
Death and Life Studies (DALS) seek points of connection between Medicine, Social Sciences, and Humanities, exploring a new horizon by employing not only Western advances in these fields, but also the rich Eastern cultural traditions on death and life.
Around 70 researchers and students from Japan, Egypt and the Mediterranean region will participate in the Symposium, to discuss this new academic field that was developed by the Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, University of Tokyo, since 2002.
The Symposium aims to develop comparative studies and researches about life and death; explore relevant theoretical, philosophical, ethical and traditional backgrounds; and highlight the role of humanities in contemporary practices.
Dr. Galila El Kadi will give a keynote speech. Dr. Lovay Mahmud, Dr. Khaled Azab, Prof. Akira Akiyama, and Dr. Kana Tomizawa, will speak in a session entitled "Death and Life as related to Visual Culture”. Prof. Tomoko Morikawa, Mr. Mamoru Fujisaki, Dr. Maged El-Raheb, and Prof. Faruq Mustafa, will speak in the second session entitled “Dealing with the Dead and their Bodies”. Prof. Hiroyuki Yanagihashi, Prof. Magdi Girgis, and Prof. Muhammad Kamal al-Din Imam, will tackle “Legal Aspects of Death”. Dr. Mansur Uthman will give a presentation titled “The Baghawat Cemetery”.
Part of the sessions of the “Dialogue on Death and Life” Symposium will be held in Cairo on 30 September 2009 at the Supreme Council of Culture premises.