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PORTLAND - An international conference May 12-15 at Portland State University will explore the lives of Berbers and other North African cultural minorities.

The conference, which is free and open to the public, is called "The Berbers and Other Minorities in North Africa: A Cultural Reappraisal." It is a collaborative effort between the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at Oregon State University and PSU's Middle East Studies Center.

The event, which will be at the Smith Memorial Student Union on the PSU campus, will explore the rich diversity of North African cultures, according to Nabil Boudraa, an assistant professor of foreign languages and literatures at OSU and organizer of the conference.

"This Mediterranean region, which has been conquered and dominated for centuries, is still misunderstood today," Boudraa said. "It is an intensely rich meeting point for the mixing of cultures and the conference will place the multiple layers of North African colonization into a framework that transcends nationalism and present-day political agendas."

The conference will include a number of topical sessions and two prominent speakers. Kamal Salhi, a professor of French from Leeds University in England, will give a lecture titled "Essentials on Rethinking Postcolonial Cultures: The Problematic Minoritizing in North Africa." It will begin at 6 p.m. on Friday, May 13, in Smith Memorial Student Union Room 338.

Jane Goodman, an assistant professor of communication and culture from Indiana University, will present "Local Songs, Global Circuits: Berber Culture on a World Stage." It begins at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 14, in Smith Memorial Student Union Room 228.

Conference presentations will be given in English and French and discuss the region geographically from Egypt to the Canary Islands, and historically from early history through successive colonial periods to the present. Topics include Judeo-Berber culture, and North African minority gender and identity, politics, literature, linguistics and education.

Activities include a workshop on North African minority cultures aimed at K-12 teachers, a Berber art and photography exhibit, a Berber movie with English subtitles, and an English documentary on Berber culture. More information on the conference is located on the web at: http://oregonstate.edu/dept/foreign_lang/berbers/berbers_conference.htm