The American Academic Research Institute in Iraq (TAARII) co-sponsored a conference entitled “Iraq: Notions of Self and the Other since the Late Ottoman Era” in Amman, Jordan, January 5-7, 2005. Dr. Hala Fattah, TAARII Resident Director and Scholar in Residence, organized the conference for the Jordanian Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies, with additional sponsorship from the Japan Foundation and the Goethe Institute.

The conference convened nine Iraqi scholars, representing several universities and institutions of research in Iraq, with 25 scholars from universities in Europe, the U.S., Canada, the Arab world and Japan. Papers delivered spanned topics ranging from the unity of culture in ancient Iraq to the “Ottomanization” of Iraq and the roles of religious minorities and movements in Iraq in the 20th century. Separate panels addressed literature, women’s issues, music and art in Iraq and Kurdish history in the region.

At the conclusion of the conference, participants agreed on the need to form an International Association of Iraqi Studies. TAARII emerged with a plan to undertake an oral history of Iraq in the 20th century, to be conducted in Amman, Baghdad and in diaspora communities in Beirut, London, and the United States.