{ NESSA } Near Eastern Studies Student Association

Spring 2008 Events: Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May

February 9th
4:30 PM | Shattuck Cinemas
Film: Persepolis
Please join NESSA members for the 4:50 pm showing of "Persepolis" at Shattuck Cinemas (2230 Shattuck Ave.). We will meet outside the theatre at around 4:20 pm, or you are welcome to find us inside if arriving later (one anonymous group mate shall don a red beret for identification purposes...). Discussion about the film can take place over dinner immediately following the film at Sam’s Café Kabob on 2101 Milvia Street. (Cal students get a discount!)

February 13th
5:30 PM | 254 Barrows
Valentine Film
Valentine's Day is coming up, and as this is a (mature?) college community, NESSA would very much like to screen Pier Paolo Pasolini's adult "Il fiore delle mille e una notte," or "The Arabian Nights" from 1974. It will be shown on Wednesday, February 13th at 5:30 pm sharp in 254 Barrows. Pasolini roots this magic-carpet fantasy in the kind of realism that he consistently drew from landscapes (here, in Yemen, Ehtiopia, Iran, and Nepal) and the faces of his largely nonprofessional, native casts. The tale follows the adventures of a slave girl as she rises to power over a great city. Around her revolve the stories of magic and lust, mystery and fantasy that derive from three cultures (Persia, Egypt and India) and range from the ninth century to the Renaissance. The tales are marbled throughout with the good-natured sexuality and unabashed nuditiy with which Pasolini approaches the Arab proverb, "To the pure, all things are pure." Music by Ennio Morricone, Italian with English subtitles. 133 minutes.

February 21st
5:00 PM | 254 Barrows
Lecture: "Status of Trade and Trade of Status: International Exchange in LBA Eastern Mediterranean"
Please attend a fascinating lecture this week sponsored by the Near Eastern Studies Department on "Status of Trade and Trade of Status: International Exchange in LBA Eastern Mediterranean" The lecture will be given by Dr. Caroline Sauvage, visiting scholar, UCB, and Post-doctoral Fellow, Maison de l'Orient et de la Mediterranee, Lyon.

February 24th
2:30 PM | 20 Barrows
Lecture: "The Satellite Survey of Western Thebes: A Horus-Eye View of Theban Tombs"
For those Egyptology fans out there, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies is sponsoring a lecture on "The Satellite Survey of Western Thebes: A Horus-Eye View of Theban Tombs" by Dr. Peter Piccioni, Associate Professor of Comparative Ancient History, University of Charleston. Talk will be at 2:30 pm on Sunday, February 24th in 20 Barrows Hall (take the stairs or elevator down upon entering the main building).

February 25th
6:00 PM | 254 Barrows
Lecture: "In Praise of the Good Waters: the Perpetuation and Purpose of Lay Zoroastrian Rituals"
And do come back for a lecture on "In Praise of the Good Waters: the Perpetuation and Purpose of Lay Zoroastrian Rituals" given by Dr. Jennifer Rose, Associate Professor at the School of Religion, Claremont Graduate University on Monday, February 25th. Lecture sponsored by the Near Eastern Studies and Center for Middle Eastern Studies.

April 12th
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM | Sproul Plaza
Cal Day
Please stop by the NESSA booth on Sproul at Cal Day and meet some of the group's members and learn about its upcoming projects.