MESA Announces 2025 Award Recipients
On November 23, 2025, MESA awarded 19 individuals for excellence in scholarship, mentoring, and service.
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Letter to the University of Guelph expressing concern at its last-minute cancellation of the People’s Conference for Palestinian Solidarity
Our letter expressing concern about the University of Guelph’s last-minute decision to cancel the second annual People’s Conference for Palestinian Solidarity which was to convene on 29 November 2025
Letter regarding the detention at the Canadian border of Emeritus Professor Richard Falk
Our letter to vehemently protest the harassment of the eminent international legal scholar and emeritus professor at Princeton University, Richard Falk by the Canadian border security agency at the Toronto Pearson International Airport on 13 November 2025 as he was on his way to participate in the “Gaza Tribunal” and Canada's Responsibility” in Ottawa, Ontario (14-15 November).
Response from UT Knoxville to our November 3 letter
The Committee on Academic Freedom received a response from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville Chancellor in response to our letter regarding Professor Tamar Shirinian
Joint Letter from BRISMES, DAVO, MESA and SeSaMO about Palestine and Europe symposium
Our letter jointly issued by BRISMES, DAVO, SeSaMO and MESA regarding the cancellation of the symposium “Palestine and Europe” organized by the Chair of Contemporary History of the Arab World at the Collège de France and the CAREP (Arab Center for Research and Political Studies)
Letter to Iranian authorities regarding arrests and harassment of independent scholars
Our letter protesting the very recent arrests and summons of five independent scholars accused by the regime of threatening national security, and calling upon the government to desist from its punitive practices and the ongoing violations of citizens’ rights.
Discriminating Against Dissent: The Weaponization of Civil Rights Law to Repress Campus Speech on Palestine
New report from MESA and AAUP: “Discriminating Against Dissent: The Weaponization of Civil Rights Law to Repress Campus Speech on Palestine,” which is the first systematic empirical study of government investigations and private lawsuits against US colleges and universities alleging antisemitism under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Letter to the Chancellor of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, denouncing the suspension pending termination of Professor Tamar Shirinian
Our letter expressing concern about the capricious and hasty suspension of Assistant Professor Tamar Shirinian of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and your decision to terminate her for remarks she made on social media regarding Charlie Kirk
Conference: Mainstreaming the Margins and Marginalizing the Mainstream in Contemporary Egyptian Culture
American University in Cairo & CEDEJ
The conference invites attendees to think about repositioning Egypt, and the region more broadly, as a place of knowledge production; a place from which theory emerges, not just be applied or localised.
FAQs on Travel-Related Issues for Students and Scholars
MESA's Task Force on Civil and Human Rights has created this resource to answer frequently asked questions on travel-related issues for students and scholars
Assistant Director for Research, Middle East Initiative
Harvard Kennedy School
MEI seeks a quantitatively-oriented social scientist with deep knowledge of the Middle East to join their team as an Assistant Director for Research.
Cfp (deadline extended): Global Chinese Migration and the Belt and Road
American University of Sharjah
The workshop invites paper proposals on Chinese migration and expanding presence in the Gulf, the Middle East, and Africa.
Letter to Northwestern University expressing concern about its flawed compulsory anti-bias training and its threats against students who refuse to complete it
Our letter expressing concern about the decision to prevent students from enrolling in classes unless they complete the deeply flawed online anti-bias training that Northwestern University has mandated for all undergraduate and graduate students
Response from the Office of the Prime Minster to our September 17 letter
The Committee on Academic Freedom received a response from the Executive Correspondence Officer for the Prime Minister of Canada in response to our letter regarding visas and study permits for Palestinian scholars
Response from the University of Kentucky to our September 29 letter
The Committee on Academic Freedom received a response from the Vice President for university relations at the University of Kentucky in response to our letter regarding Professor Ramsi Woodcock
FAQs on Teaching
MESA's Task Force on Civil and Human Rights has created this resource to answer frequently asked questions on teaching.
Judge Rules on Lawsuit Regarding First Amendment Rights
Judge William G. Young today ruled that the Trump administration’s policy of arresting, detaining, and deporting noncitizen students and faculty members for their pro-Palestinian advocacy violates the First Amendment.
Letter to the University of Kentucky regarding the suspension of Professor Ramsi Woodcock for his statements about Palestine
Our letter expressing concern about the University of Kentucky’s summary suspension of Ramsi Woodcock, Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs Professor of Law, pending an investigation of statements he has made regarding Palestine
Letter regarding information about the whereabouts and circumstances of Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali
Our urgent letter to the Iranian authorities demanding information about the whereabouts and circumstances of Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali who was moved to an undisclosed location soon after Evin Prison came under Israeli attack on 23 June 2025 and has not had contact with his family since then.
Response from Claremont Colleges Library to our 15 September letter
The Committee on Academic Freedom received a response from the Dean of the Claremont Colleges Library in response to our letter regarding Bilal Nasir of Pomona College
Letter to UC Berkeley regarding the university’s submission to the Department of Education of 160 names of persons associated with allegations of antisemitism
Our letter expressing concern about the University of California, Berkeley’s decision to give the federal government the names of 160 individuals associated with allegations of antisemitism on campus without informing them of the nature of those allegations and in violation of university policies and procedures
FAQs on Visa-Related Issues for Non-Citizens, including Green Card Holders
MESA's Task Force on Civil and Human Rights has created this resource to answer frequently asked questions about visas and other related concerns for non-citizens in the United States.
Letter to Canadian officials about visas and study permits for Palestinian scholars
Our letter urging an immediate intervention to expedite the visa and study permit applications of Palestinian scholars who have secured academic placements at Canadian universities.
Letter to the Claremont Colleges library condemning the censorship of the title and abstract of Professor Bilal Nasir’s scheduled lecture in the Claremont Discourse series
Our letter expressing concern about the demand by the Claremont Colleges Library that Professor Bilal Nasir of Pomona College change the title and abstract of a lecture he had been invited to present in the library’s “Claremont Discourse” series.
Statement on Court Ruling in Favor of Harvard
MESA welcomes a court decision striking down the Trump administration’s freezing of over $2 billion in federal grants to Harvard University.