MESA Advocacy Resource Center
MESA's Task Force has created a new advocacy resource center for our members to consult in response to the repression of rights on campuses across North America and beyond.
Pinned Story
Mission Statement
The Middle East Studies Association (MESA) is a non-profit association that fosters the study of the Middle East, promotes high standards of scholarship and teaching, and encourages public understanding of the region and its peoples through programs, publications and services that enhance education, further intellectual exchange, recognize professional distinction, and defend academic freedom in accordance with its status as a 501(c)(3) scientific, educational, literary, and charitable organization.
Annual Meeting
The Middle East Studies Association’s 59th annual meeting will be held in Washington DC from November 22-25, 2025.
The MESA 2025 Call for Papers is now closed. Decisions will be announced by May 1. The hotel room block is now open for reservations.
Advocacy
The Middle East Studies Association (MESA) advocates on behalf of its members on issues that are central to its mission.
This includes statements and letters from MESA's Board of Directors, MESA's Committee on Academic Freedom, the Task Force on Civil and Human Rights, and the MESA Global Academy.
Become a Member
Be a part of a community of scholars who are passionate about the pursuit of academic knowledge on the MENA region. Help MESA defend academic freedoms. Share your research at the annual meeting. Access the best, cutting-edge scholarship in person at the conference or online in our journals.
Join or renew today!
Member Announcements
Advisory from the Task Force on Civil and Human Rights regarding U.S. Travel
MESA's Task Force on Civil and Human Rights has issued an advisory regarding new travel restrictions enacted by the Trump Administration.
MESA 2025 Hotel Reservations
To book your room, please see here.
Issues of IJMES, RoMES, and IMES available
To access, select the Publications tab in your myMESA account then click the publication image. 
Security Alerts for Researchers and Students
There are two active security alerts issued by MESA’s Board of Directors for those embarking on research in Egypt and UAE.
Campus Climate Resources
MESA has created a new Campus Climate resource page for our members in response to academic freedom-related developments on campuses across North America and beyond.
Pinned Story
Filling the Power Vacuum? China’s Engagement with the Middle East
National University of Singapore
The Middle East Institute invites people to a Book Talk by Dr. Zhang Chuchu on her new book China’s Changing Role in the Middle East: Filling a Power Vacuum? held via Zoom.
Begins May 21, 2025
Federal Court Says First Amendment Bars Government From Deporting Students and Faculty on Basis of Political Viewpoint, Says Challenge to Trump Policy Can Go Forward
A federal judge has ruled that the case of AAUP v. Rubio can move forward. The lawsuit alleges that the administration’s ideological-deportation policy violates the First Amendment by targeting constitutionally protected speech that Americans have a right to hear and engage with.
Letter to the University of Notre Dame expressing concern over the cancellation of a keynote lecture by Professor Eman Abdelhadi
Our letter condemning the last-minute cancellation of a keynote lecture that was to be given by Professor Eman Abdelhadi, purportedly on grounds of security.
CFP: NAAIMS Webinar Conference on “Islam and AI” (Nov. 20, 2025; abstracts due July 11)
North American Association of Islamic and Muslim Studies
NAAIMS invites abstract submissions for a fall conference on "Islam and AI: Challenges and Opportunities." The conference will be held online on Nov. 20th.
Visiting Faculty Position in Arabic Studies
Williams College
The Arabic Studies Department seeks to appoint a Visiting Assistant Professor of Arabic Studies for the 2025-2026 academic year, beginning in the fall of 2025 and running through May 2026.
Letter to the University of Colorado-Boulder expressing concern about the university’s failure to respond adequately to a physical assault against students
Our letter expressing concern about the University of Colorado-Boulder’s apparent failure to meaningfully respond to a physical assault committed on campus against students advocating for Palestinian rights
Letter regarding treatment of students and scholars protesting the pretrial imprisonment of Istanbul Mayor İmamoğlu
Our letter regarding the use of violence by the police, as well as disciplinary and criminal proceedings against students, academics, and related institutions participating in protests against the pretrial imprisonment of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu following the annulment of his bachelor’s degree.
MESA Board Joint Statement with the TFCHR regarding visa revocations
The MESA Board of Directors and its Task Force on Civil and Human Rights call on all U.S. universities and colleges to recognize the Trump administration’s reversal of the unlawful mass visa revocations that have terrorized international students and scholars in recent weeks. We urge campus administrations to immediately inform their communities and recent alumni that international students and scholars remain legally entitled to stay in the United States. Termination of a SEVIS record does not affect a student's lawful status inside the U.S.
CfP - A Century of Revolutions - Centennial of the Great Syrian Revolt (1925-2025)
IREMAM
The symposium invites proposal submissions in English, French or Arabic by June 15, 2025.
Jordan’s Balancing Act: Seeking Stability Amid Regional Turmoil
Middle East Institute, National University of Singapore
The Middle East Institute will host an event via Zoom on Tuesday, 13 May 2025 with two newly-minted authors and experts on Jordan.
Begins May 13, 2025
Hunter College Faculty Open Rank Palestinian Studies Cluster Hires
Hunter College
Hunter College invites applications for two open-rank, tenure-track professors in Palestinian Studies (one in social sciences, one in humanities), starting Fall 2025.
CFP: Conference on Global Iranian Diaspora Studies (May 2026)
Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Institute of Iranian Studies
The Conference on Global Iranian Diaspora Studies invite individual papers, pre-organized panels, and creative submissions that engage with the conference topics.
The Contemporary Iranian Studies Conference
University of Tehran
The Conference invite panel proposals and abstract submissions related to all major fields of Iranian studies in four general categories of politics, sociology, culture and economics are welcomed.
Assyrian Studies Symposium
Assyrian Studies Association
The Association, in partnership with Arizona State University, invite abstract submissions for the 2025 Assyrian Studies Symposium in October 24-26, 2025.
PMA PhD Dissertation Award & other grants
Persian Manuscripts Association
PMA is pleased to invite applications for its three awards recognizing excellence in dissertations, research and artistic work.
Timurid music and its transmission
Persian Manuscripts Association
PMA invites abstract submissions of papers, panels, and workshops for its second international conference, Listen to the Flute: Timurid Music and Its Transmissions Across the Persianate World.
Letter concerning the ongoing mistreatment of Egyptian scholar and translator Kholoud Said
Our third letter to Egyptian officials regarding the unjust circumstances of Egyptian researcher and translator, Kholoud Said. We call on the authorities to dismiss all charges against her and reinstate her in her job at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina.
AMEWS 2025 Book Awards
Association of Middle East Women's Studies
AMEWS invite nominations for the 2025 book awards.
Faculty Fellowship
Catholic University in Erbil
CUE invite applications for St. Thomas the Apostle Distinguished Faculty Fellowship.
MESA Board Joint Statement with the TFCHR regarding deportations
The MESA Board of Directors and its Task Force on Civil and Human Rights condemn in the strongest terms the Trump administration’s targeting of noncitizen students and researchers for their constitutionally protected speech and advocacy. We call on our members and colleagues to ask their university and college administrations to take a number of steps to ensure that they are protecting their campus communities.
Freedom of Speech, Trump and Campus Repression: The Case of Badar Khan Suri
Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (ACMCU)
Join the panel discussion on April 14 at 4pm in the HFSC Social Room at Georgetown University or virtually.
Begins April 14, 2025
Letter to Yale University regarding the termination of Dr. Helyeh Doutaghi
Our letter expressing concern about the termination of Dr. Helyeh Doutaghi, deputy director of Yale University’s Law and Political Economy Project and associate research scholar at Yale Law School, in the wake of allegations made on an obscure website whose founders and contributors are anonymous