CBRL's December 2020 news
Welcome to CBRL’s December newsletter.
 
We hope that you and your loved ones continue to stay well and we wish all of those celebrating a very Merry Christmas.

This month we are reflecting on a challenging year for CBRL. Like everyone else, we have had to adapt to an uncertain time as the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the ways in which we connect, collaborate with and learn from others.

2020 started well with our Arab Bedouin exhibition in London and the Knowledge Frontiers Symposium in Amman. But our activities quickly became restricted and all of our events moved online. Although this ended in-person connections, we were able to reach more people online than we could have imagined, with our programme of webinars bringing people together from a whole host of countries across the world.

Despite our institutes being closed for large periods of the year, our teams have been working hard on projects such as the 'Mapping digital cultural heritage in Jordan (MaDiH, مديح) 'project and working with partners to promote Bedouin women's economic empowerment in southern Jordan. We hope to build on this work in 2021, and look forward to the possibility of renewing meetings in-person in future.

We would like to thank those of you who completed our library surveys for our institutes in Amman and Jerusalem earlier in the autumn. The review of our libraries has now been completed and we are pleased to see how valued they are to so many people. We look forward to building on the results and improving our facilities in the future.

We hope you enjoy reading our December news. We wish you a very happy new year and look forward to seeing and working with many of you in 2021.
 
From all at CBRL.
Networking Partnership Awards
Our Networking Partnerships Awards provide funding for the establishment or development of research partnerships between the UK and Levant-based researchers. This is a rolling call where funds are available to support researchers undertaking initial exploratory meetings or research, with a view to preparing a later application for more funding. Find out more and apply here.
2020 master's dissertation prizes: deadline extended
The closing date for nominations for our master's dissertation prizes has been extended until 31 January 2021. We invite nominations for final year dissertations in Levantine archaeology or history, or contemporary Levantine studies. The prize winner will receive £250, a year's membership of CBRL and acknowledgement on our website. Read more here.
Our Levant journal is now on Twitter
To coincide with their publication of a special edition on Ottoman waterscapes, our journal Levant is now on Twitter. Follow them @JournalLevant to keep up-to-date on their peer-reviewed research on Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria.
New Jordan-UK El Hassan bin Talal Research Chair in Sustainability announced
CBRL is delighted to see that Professor Iain Stewart, UNESCO Chair in Geoscience and Society, and Professor of Geoscience Communication at the University of Plymouth, has been awarded the new Jordan-UK El Hassan bin Talal Research Chair in Sustainability. This Newton-Khalidi Fund initiative is a collaboration between the British Academy and Jordan's Royal Scientific Society.
LSE Middle East Centre's 10th anniversary
We congratulate our friends at the LSE Middle East Centre as they celebrate their 10th anniversary this month. To see highlights of the centre's work, read their report and take a look at their blogs and videos on regional developments over the past decade.
News from the field
New Neolithic and Early Bronze Age discoveries at Tell Koubba in northern Lebanon
In our latest research blog, Dr Kamal Badreshany and Professor Graham Philip, explore the latest archaeological discoveries at Koubba and their significance in the context of the development of Lebanese ancient societies. Read the blog here.
Upcoming events
Thursday 14 January, 4pm UK


Women's activism in the Levant


With Islah Jad (Birzeit University), Nicola Pratt (University of Warwick) and Sara Ababneh (Centre for Strategic Studies, the University of Jordan).
Tune into the latest CBRL webinars
Jabal Moussa: Archaeology and heritage in the Lebanese mountains


With Pierre Doumet (Association for the Protection of Jabal Moussa (APJM)), Joelle Barakat (APJM), Jennie Bradbury (Bryn Mawr College) and Stephen McPhillips (independent consultant).

Video:

Podcast: