Cyprus is an island shaped by crossroads. Situated between Europe and the Middle East, its location has long made it a natural harbor, lookout, and relay point for sailors, merchants, armies, and empires moving between regions.
Politically, Cyprus embodies the tensions of a borderland. It is European in its institutions, Middle Eastern in its proximity, and Mediterranean in its temperament. The island’s modern history is marked by partition, peacekeeping forces, and unresolved borders which mirror broader regional frictions. Cyprus is not merely affected by geopolitics; it concentrates them.
The Middle Eastern Studies Program at the UCF Office of Global Perspectives & International Initiatives (GPII) invites you to a timely discussion that critically examines these dynamics and the ongoing security situation in the Middle East.
Moderated by: Dr. Hakan Ozoglu, Director of UCF Middle Eastern Studies
3:00 – 4:30 PM EST
This event is free and open to the public.
You can download the University Map, here.
Advanced Registration is REQUIRED. Please REGISTER HERE.
We look forward to seeing you there!
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Speaker: Rashit Ismail, historical documentarian and screen writer.
Rashit Ismail, the son of a United Nations diplomat, considers himself a citizen of the world, having grown up across Cyprus, Turkey, Europe, and the Middle East before settling in the United States. After a 25-year career as a marketing executive with multinational companies, he transitioned into film production. He is now focused on adapting major historical novels for the screen, bringing a global perspective to culturally rich storytelling.
Moderator: Dr. Hakan Ozoglu, Director of UCF Middle Eastern Studies
Hakan Özoğlu is currently the Director of Middle Eastern Studies at University of Central Florida. His research interests include Kurdish identity and nationalism, emergence of Modern Turkey, Turkish-American relations during and after World War I, and power struggle in the early Turkish Republic. He is author of three monographs: Kurdish Notables and the Ottoman State (SUNY Press, 2004), From Caliphate to Secular State (Praeger, 2011) and The Decline of the Ottoman Empire and the Rise of the Turkish Republic: Observations of an American Diplomat (Edinburgh University Press, 2021). His publications were translated in five languages. In addition, his interviews and essays have appeared in many international media outlets including, New York Times, Orlando Sentinel, Chicago Tribune, WTTW PBS Chicago. He is the recipient of the 2017-18 Fulbright Core Fellowship.
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