Late Professor Melhem Chaoul, who passed away earlier this year. (Credit: Courtesy of the Chaoul family)
BEIRUT — As a tribute to the late Professor Melhem Chaoul, a prominent sociologist and someone active in the academic and cultural fields who passed away prematurely earlier this year, the Institute of Political Science at Saint Joseph University will organize a symposium on Friday, Oct. 28, titled, "The thawra (revolution) three years later: Hope or disillusion?"
The symposium will include three panels:
The first panel will dissect ‘The political phenomenon of the thawra,” and will be moderated by Ambassador Nawaf Salam, with the participation of MP Melhem Khalaf, former Director of the Institute of Political Science at USJ Karim-Emile Bitar, Director of the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center and Joseph Maila, a professor and former dean of the Catholic Institute in Paris.
The second panel will address “Change in a Segmented and Polarized Society.” It will be moderated by Karim-Emile Bitar, with the participation of Ziad Majed, a professor at the American University of Paris, investigative journalist and 2022 parliamentary candidate Jad Ghosn, Managing Director of Kulluna Irada Diana Menhem, and Pierre Issa, the secretary general of the National Bloc Party.
The third panel will explore the “Future prospects for the thawra.” It will be moderated by Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Law and Political Science Marie-Claude Najm, with the participation of former minister Ziyad Baroud, Michel Helou, the former executive director of L’Orient-Le Jour, Nada Moghaizel-Nasr, the honorary dean of the Faculty of Educational Sciences at Saint Joseph University, and Alexandre Najjar, a lawyer and director of L’Orient Littéraire. Nada Nassar-Chaoul will conclude the symposium with a few personal words about Melhem Chaoul. This symposium is open to all those who wish to attend and will be held at Saint Joseph University on Oct. 28, from 3 p.m. until 8 p.m.
The symposium is organized on the initiative of Bitar, with the support of the President of Saint Joseph University, Salim Daccache s.j., the Institute’s new Director, Sami Nader, and Najm, with the collaboration of Ambassador Salam and Nassar-Chaoul.