2023 SPRING LECTURE SERIES

“Geology and Fossils from Jordan” by Abdalla Abu Hamad and Ikhlas Alhejoj

This lecture will shed light on Jordan’s geology, including the different lithofacies (observable components) of exposed rock sequences and the ages of these rocks. Moreover, it will look at some economically important deposits. Theories of the Jordan rift formation will be explained, and the structural position of Jordan as part of the Arabian plate will be demonstrated. Seismological data related to later earthquakes in the region will be discussed. 

Some interesting vertebrate fossils from Jordan will be shown, focusing on footprints of Upper Cretaceous dinosaurs. The lecture will also feature invertebrates and other fossils, notably of Permian plants in the Umm Irna Formation. 

The lecturers will be pleased to answer questions after the presentation.

The lecture may be attended in person or via Zoom. English/Arabic translation will be available via Zoom.

Please click the link below at the time of the lecture to join us remotely:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83509929010?pwd=OU5RdGJ0UXhUS0QvbGJKOFhSYTBtUT09
Passcode: 741413

About the speakers:

Abdalla Abu Hamad is a professor in the Department of Geology of the University of Jordan. He earned his PhD in paleontology/geology in 2004 from Hamburg University and the University of Muenster in Germany. His research interests focus on Permian paleobotany and paleo-wildfires to understand the impact of fire on Late Paleozoic paleoenvironments. He has published several papers, books, and a book chapter, and he organized the 14th International Permo-Triassic Workshop, held in Jordan in March 2017.

Ikhlas Alhejoj is an associate professor at the Department of Geology of the University of Jordan. She gained her PhD in Paleontology/Geology in 2013 from the Department of Geology and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Karlsruhe University of Technology (KIT), Germany. Her research interests focus on Quaternary paleo lake deposits as applied to to paleoclimate and paleo environment studies and also on deformation meso-structures and their formation mechanisms. She is further interested in the use of floral and faunal species as bio indicators of environmental conditions. She has published several papers, books, and book chapters and has presented research papers at international and national conferences. She is a member of the European Society for Deformation Mechanisms, Rheology, and Tectonics, the Jordanian Geologists Association, the Scientific and Technical Research Association, and the Association of Jordanian Women Academics.

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“Sustainable Tourism in the Middle East: Nature and Heritage Conservation” by Lubna Qaryouti

Several European Union projects have worked tirelessly to develop a new model for ecotourism development that brings together protected areas and the tourism industry in a way that benefits nature, cultural heritage conservation, and local communities, as demonstrated by a robust sustainability-monitoring system.

The purpose of this lecture is to introduce and replicate this new ecotourism model and create a membership network for protected areas committed to embracing a new method of boosting tourism in the Middle East.

Cultural heritage is an important component of ecotourism for which the key challenges are:

•      Conservation and restoration of tangible cultural heritage;

•      Protection and valorization of intangible cultural heritage;

•      Appropriate recognition and interpretation;

•      Creation of stronger links among cultural heritage, local communities, and nature.

Jordan and other countries in the region are rich in cultural heritage sites that have the potential to be central attractions in terms of ecotourism and to create stronger links among cultural heritage, local communities, and nature.

About the speaker: Lubna Qaryouti, a national of Jordan, works with UNEP, the United Nations Environmental Program, as a national consultant for the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) Action Project. Ms. Lubna holds a master’s degree in natural resources from the University of Arizona in Tucson.

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“States of Subsistence: The Politics of Bread in Contemporary Jordan” by José Ciro Martínez

On any given day in Jordan, more than nine million residents eat approximately ten million loaves of khubz ‘arabi—the slightly leavened flatbread known to many as pita. Some rely on this bread to avoid starvation; for others it is a customary pleasure. Yet, despite its ubiquity in accounts of Middle East politics and society, rarely do we consider how bread is prepared, consumed, discussed, and circulated—and what this all represents.

Drawing on more than a year working as a baker in Amman, Martínez probes the practices that underpin subsidized bread. Following bakers and bureaucrats, he offers an immersive examination of social welfare provision. Martínez argues that the state is best understood as the product of routine practices and actions, through which it becomes a stable truth in the lives of citizens. “States of Subsistence” not only describes logics of rule in contemporary Jordan—and the place of bread within them—but also unpacks how the state endures through forms, sensations, and practices amid the seemingly unglamorous and unspectacular day-to-day.