Thematic Approach
GIRES, the Global Institute for Research Education & Scholarship and the Greenwood African American Studies Center (GAASC) wish to explore the modern history of Afghanistan and the impact of armed conflicts in the social, economic, and political life of the country and its citizens. 

Afghanistan is at the crossroad of Central and South Asia; an area with a long and rich history. In the modern public sphere the country is identified as an armed conflict zone: British, Soviet, American and NATO forces have been deployed the last 50 decades along with the Taliban regime that has ruled the country with an iron fist for long. The withdrawal of American (and NATO) forces from the country indicated the end of the longest war in United States history and set a focal point for both American and Afghanistan history. This historical moment left the country in a mayhem despite the long presence of Western forces. Why the country has not stabilized? What are the historical factors that do not allow Afghanistan to prosper? What is the role of extremism and how does this affect local society?

We seek to explore the interconnected aspects that shaped the modern Afghan identity and society and we hope that the interdisciplinary approaches will reveal the complex yet fascinating history of Afghanistan. 

GIRES, dedicated to interdisciplinarity, invites scholars from diverse fields including but not limited to philosophy, religion, theology, sociology, anthropology, history, literature, art, economics, geography, cultural and political studies along with representatives from think-tanks and organizations to contribute to the discussion and to debate these issues.

Proposed Topics
-Foreign Policy
-Taliban Regime
-Religion and Society
-Afghan Traditions and Cultural Aspects
-Soviet-Afghan War
-Americans in Afganistan
-Nato involvement and European Forces
–Taliban Resurgence
-Ethnicity and Languages
-Religion and Society
–Human Rights
–The War on Drugs and Opium production
-Arts, Architecture and Literature
–International Media and Public Opinion
–American Presidencies and War in Afghanistan
-Foreign Aid
–Humanitarian Organizations
–Gender Equality
-Extremism and Social Reality
–Afghan views on American presence

Proposed Formats (Lingua franca: English)
-Individual papers (GIRES will included it in a panel)
-Panels (up to 4 presentations-chaired by one of the presenters or appointed by GIRES)
-Roundtable presentations (chaired by one of the presenters or appointed by GIRES)
-Poster presentations
-Student presentations (one paper presented by up to 3 young scholars)
-Keynote speech (depending on the time availability)
-Pre-recorder presentation (s) (Asynchronous Platform)
-Pre-recorder presentation (s) (Synchronous-live- Sessions: live participation of presenter (s) during the Q&A sessions)

Publication Opportunity 
The Organizing Committee and GIRES Press will publish the most powerful and dynamic presentations of the conference and include them
in a collective volume in the form of short articles and/or long essays. For more information please contact us

Live Sessions & Recording
All speakers are offered up to 30 minutes to present their work. All speakers have the option to have their presentations recorded (during live sessions) in HD quality.
The recordings will be uploaded to GIRES media for unlimited access and dissemination.

Asynchronous Options
All participants have the option to have their presentations (video/audio/text) uploaded to our Virtual Platform. All  registered participants will have access to the material for 5 days.

Our proposed topics & formats are not restrictive and we invite additional germane ideas
Due to the restrictions of Corona Crisis our event (for the time being) will take place VIRTUALLY