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  • Welcome to the Middle Eastern Studies Program

    Syracuse University’s relationship with the Middle East extends back more than 60 years and spans many disciplines—from public administration and media studies to literature and religion. Today, SU provides an array of opportunities for students to learn about and visit this extraordinary region. More than 20 faculty members are experts in the Middle East, while the University offers a variety of graduate and undergraduate courses. 

    Located in the Maxwell School’s Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs, the Middle Eastern Studies Program (MESP) offers both an interdisciplinary minor and a bachelor of arts degree through The College of Arts and Sciences, as well as a graduate certificate of advanced studies through the Maxwell School. All three programs are steeped in world-class instruction and study-abroad opportunities, providing unique insights into one of today’s fastest growing regions.

  • Middle Eastern Studies News

    Khalil weighs in on Trump's Israel-UAE deal in USA Today

    President Donald Trump announced Thursday that the United Arab Emirates and Israel had agreed to formalize diplomatic relations, a potentially historic agreement and a rare foreign policy win for the president during an election year. Osamah Khalil says he views the announcement as an attempt to boost Trump and [Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu, who both face intense political headwinds over their handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and other matters. Khalil was interviewed for the USA Today article "Trump announces Israel and United Arab Emirates will formalize diplomatic ties in potentially historic deal."

     

    MES 344-M500 Politics of the Middle East (Online Maymester Course)

    This course provides an overview of the politics of the contemporary Middle East. It is divided into four modules. In the first, we examine the political history of the region, specifically the Ottoman, Colonial, and Cold War periods.

     

    Sezgin awarded NEH fellowship to study democratization of Islamic laws

    Yüksel Sezgin has received a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) fellowship, supporting research into the complex interplay between democracy and Muslim Family Laws (MFLs) in non-uslim-majority countries. He will use the $60,000 fellowship to work on a book-length comparative study of the democratization of Islamic laws in Greece, Ghana, India and Israel.

     

    Sezgin quoted in Washington Times article on Shariah law, Greek courts

    Yüksel Sezgin was interviewed for the Washington Times article "Muslim widow caught between Sharia law, Greek courts in legal drama." "For a long time, it was in the interests of the Greek government to maintain Shariah for the Turkish-speaking minority because it emphasized their religious identity more than their ethnic and linguistic [Turkish] identity,” says Sezgin.

     

    Khalil edits volume based on US and the World Workshop

    Bringing together an interdisciplinary group of experts, "United States Relations with China and Iran," edited by Osamah Khalil, examines the past, present, and future of U.S. foreign relations toward the People's Republic of China and the Islamic Republic of Iran. The volume is the product of the inaugural U.S. and the World Workshop hosted by the Maxwell School in 2017.