Department of Middle East

Department of Middle East
Name	Department of Middle East
Established	19XX
Type	Department
Location	City, Country
Parent	University / Institute

Department of Middle East The Department of Middle East is an academic and policy-oriented unit specializing in the study of Middle East regional affairs, comparative studies, and area-focused research. It engages with scholarship on Ottoman Empire, Persian Gulf, Levant, Maghreb, Anatolia, and Mesopotamia through interdisciplinary teaching and public programs. The department maintains ties with regional archives, research centers, and international organizations such as the United Nations and the European Union.

History

Founded amid postwar area studies expansion, the Department developed from legacies of the Oriental Institute, School of Oriental and African Studies, and Cold War-era centers like the Foreign Policy Research Institute. Early faculty included scholars influenced by work on the Sykes–Picot Agreement, the Treaty of Sèvres, and debates following the Iranian Revolution. During the late 20th century the Department expanded research on Arab–Israeli conflict, Palestine Liberation Organization, and the Iran–Iraq War, while establishing archives linked to the British Museum, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, and the Library of Congress. In the 21st century it broadened ties to organizations addressing the aftermath of the Arab Spring, the Syrian Civil War, and issues surrounding the Gulf Cooperation Council and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

Mission and Responsibilities

The Department's mission emphasizes rigorous scholarship on political history tied to figures and events such as Atatürk, Reza Shah Pahlavi, Gamal Abdel Nasser, T.E. Lawrence, and the Young Turk Revolution. Responsibilities include producing policy-relevant analysis for bodies like the NATO, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund on post-conflict reconstruction in contexts shaped by accords like the Camp David Accords and the Taif Agreement. It curates collections related to treaties including the Treaty of Lausanne, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, and documents from the League of Nations mandates. The Department also advises cultural institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Pergamon Museum, and the David Collection on provenance issues.

Organizational Structure

The Department is organized into thematic programs reflecting historical and contemporary subregions: Levant Studies Program, Gulf Studies Program, and North Africa Program, each led by chairs associated with centers such as the Middle East Institute, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and the Chatham House. Administrative oversight links to university units including the Humanities Division, the School of International Service, and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Research affiliates hold joint appointments with institutions like Columbia University, the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, Harvard University, and the London School of Economics. The Department maintains liaison roles with funding bodies such as the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation.

Academic and Research Activities

Teaching covers languages and literatures including Classical Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic, Persian language, Turkish language, and Hebrew language alongside seminars on the works of Ibn Khaldun, Rumi, Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, and modern writers like Naguib Mahfouz, Orhan Pamuk, and Hanan al-Shaykh. Research projects examine episodes including the Six-Day War, the Yom Kippur War, the Lebanese Civil War, and the Gulf War (1990–1991), as well as studies on movements like Wahhabism, Ba'ath Party, and Muslim Brotherhood. Faculty publish in journals associated with the American Historical Review, the International Affairs (Chatham House), and the Journal of Near Eastern Studies, and produce monographs on topics related to the Sykes–Picot Agreement, Balfour Declaration, and the San Remo Conference.

Programs and Initiatives

The Department runs graduate and undergraduate programs including a Master of Arts linked to the School of Oriental and African Studies model, joint degrees with the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, and certificate programs in collaboration with the U.S. Institute of Peace and the European Council on Foreign Relations. Public initiatives include lecture series featuring speakers from the Arab League, the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and delegations associated with the United Arab Emirates and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It hosts conferences on heritage preservation with partners such as UNESCO, the International Council on Monuments and Sites, and the World Monuments Fund.

Partnerships and Collaborations

The Department maintains research collaborations with regional universities like American University of Beirut, Ain Shams University, Cairo University, University of Tehran, Ankara University, University of Jordan, and Al-Azhar University. It engages policy partners including the Brookings Institution, the RAND Corporation, and the International Crisis Group, and supports fieldwork through memoranda with museums such as the Istanbul Archaeology Museums and archival networks like the Middle East Documentation Center. Student exchanges operate with institutions including Tel Aviv University, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, University of Tunis El Manar, and American University in Cairo.

Notable Staff and Alumni

Notable faculty and alumni include scholars and practitioners connected to the Sultanate of Oman diplomacy, former diplomats who served with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, policymakers who advised on the Iran nuclear deal framework, and academics who contributed to studies of figures like Edward Said, Bernard Lewis, W. B. Fisher, Ehsan Yarshater, and Fawwaz Traboulsi. Alumni hold positions at institutions such as the U.S. Department of State, the British Foreign Office, Amnesty International, the Human Rights Watch, and international media outlets including the BBC, Al Jazeera, and The New York Times.

Category:Middle East studies departments