Staff Reporter
The Area Studies Centre for Africa, North and South America at Quaid-i-Azam University and the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad co-hosted a two-day virtual conference on “American Studies in Pakistan: Challenges and Way Forward.”
Conference participants discussed ways to promote American Studies in Pakistan and analyzed the importance of such academic activities in promoting people-to-people contacts and strengthening U.S.-Pakistan bilateral relations.
The Vice-Chancellor of Quaid-i-Azam University, Professor Dr. Muhammad Ali, lauded the U.S. Embassy’s efforts to promote rich academic culture through such engagements with universities in Pakistan.
US Embassy Chargé d’affaires Lesslie Viguerie added, “I am confident that our bilateral ties will grow, in part, because of events such as the American Studies Conference.
The principal guest, Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mehmood, acknowledged in his opening remarks the efforts of the U.S. government in promoting academic excellence for Pakistanis.
“This is a very important conference because we have a long bilateral relationship with the United States, and it is important for our students to engage with the U.S. through such efforts,” he said.
Scholars from both Pakistan and the United States attended the conference, which included six sessions addressing various aspects of the discipline of American Studies: U.S. Socio-Economic Strategies in Pakistan; American Government and Politics: Patterns for Pakistan; American Historical Experiences and Lessons for Pakistan; Literature, Culture, and American Studies in Pakistan; U.S. Foreign and Security Policy in South Asia: Analysing Pakistan’s Perspective; and American Studies in Pakistan: Present Status, Challenges, and the Way Forward.
