Negotiating Toward Peace: Supporting Civilian Groups in Sudan and Syria

Dr. Adrienne Fricke

Adrienne Fricke is a Senior Peace Fellow at the Public International Law and Policy Group and a consultant specializing in human rights and policy-related issues in the Middle East and Africa. Her interdisciplinary scholarship draws from the fields of law, social science, and international development to address political issues in the Middle East, especially in Syria and Sudan. Since 2007, she has worked with non-governmental organizations including Refugees International, Physicians for Human Rights, and the Institute of International Education, serving as an expert on Syria and Sudan. Her past projects include policy analysis of medical and nursing education in northwest Syria; access to higher education for Syrian refugees; Sudanese rule of law and transitional justice; and Yemeni public opinion on peacebuilding and negotiations. Ms. Fricke has conducted field research in Chad, Jordan, Lebanon, Sudan, Syria, and Turkey. She holds a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, an M.A. in Near Eastern Studies from New York University, and a B.A. in African Studies from Yale University. Ms. Fricke is fluent in Arabic, French, and Spanish.

Dr. Andrea Stanton

Dr. Andrea Stanton is a Professor of Islamic Studies in the Department of Religious Studies and Senior Associate Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. She is also an affiliated faculty member at the Center for Middle East Studies at DU's Korbel School for International Studies. Dr. Stanton obtained her MA and PhD in Middle Eastern history from Columbia University, and her BA in history and in religion from Williams College. Her research agenda follows two tracks: 20th century Palestinian and Arab world history, focusing on intersections between mass media forms and national or social identities, and 21st century Islam, focusing on intersections between contemporary media forms (mass and individual), state interests, and personal piety. Her religious studies research areas are thus in digital Islam, digital religion, and lived religion. At DU, she teaches a range of Islamic studies courses, including: Introduction to Islam, Islam in the United States, Islam and Gender, Islamic Empires, and Common Figures in the Bible and Qur'an. Like her other RLGS colleagues, she also does quite a bit of community engagement and public outreach, giving numerous public talks each year.