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.
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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.
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Letter to the leadership of Columbia University urging it to reject the Trump administration’s ultimatum of 13 March 2025 and stand firm in defense of academic freedom & the university’s independence
Our letter expressing outrage about the letter dated 13 March 2025 that was sent to you by three Trump administration officials, and to urge you to respond in a principled and forceful manner to the unprecedented, unacceptable and extreme demands that it sets forth
Letter to the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture regarding its cancellation of a planned special journal issue on Palestine
Our letter expressing concern about the decision of the Board of Directors of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture to cancel a planned issue of the Journal of Architectural Education (JAE) focused on Palestine. We are equally disturbed by the board’s termination of JAE Interim Executive Editor McLain Clutter for protesting this decision.
Letter to NY Governor Hochul and leaders of the City University of New York regarding the Palestinian Studies position at Hunter College
Our letter expressing grave concern about Governor Hochul’s unprecedented demand that Hunter College of the City University of New York (CUNY) take down a posted advertisement for a new open-rank position in the field of Palestinian Studies
Visiting Assistant in History of the Mediterranean World
Hampden-Sydney College
The Department of History invites applications for a one-year visiting assistant professor in the history of the Mediterranean World.
Letter to MIT expressing concern about the decision not to allow Professor Michel DeGraff to teach a course relating to Palestine in Fall 2024
Our letter expressing concern about the decision of MIT’s Department of Linguistics and Philosophy to deny Professor Michel DeGraff permission to offer a proposed course on language, linguistics and decolonization in Israel/Palestine
Letter to Emory University regarding the suspension of Umaymah Mohammad for exercising her right to free speech
Our letter expressing concern about the suspension of Umaymah Mohammad, a student from the Emory University School of Medicine, for a statement that she made during a media interview that was deemed in violation of the student code of conduct.
Letter to the Columbia University Senate calling on it to investigate the Office of Institutional Equity’s treatment of Professor Katherine Franke
Our letter expressing concern about the flawed disciplinary proceedings involving Dr. Katherine Franke and the circumstances surrounding her “retirement.”
Call for Applications: MESA/ACSS/OIB Summer 2025 Workshop
MESA
The Middle East Studies Association, the Arab Council for the Social Sciences, the Orient Institute in Beirut are organizing a five-day workshop at the American University of Cairo, June 29-July 3. The workshop, which is co-sponsored by AUC, will bring together a select group of doctoral students from North American, German, and Arab universities to discuss the possibilities, critical approaches, epistemological, and practical challenges of undertaking archival and/or ethnographic research in the Arab region.
Letter to New York University regarding its arbitrary repressive actions toward faculty and students
Our letter expressing concern about recent actions that have exacerbated the climate of repression on campus
Response from Cornell to our 26 November letter
The Committee on Academic Freedom received a response from the Interim President of Cornell University in response to our 26 November letter regarding a course proposal developed by Dr. Eric Cheyfitz
Mellon Academic Freedom Initiative Coordinator, MESA
The Middle East Studies Association is seeking a full-time, remote employee to coordinate the new Academic Freedom Initiative and to support the related research of the MESA Task Force on Civil and Human Rights. The expected duration of this position is for two years and it is funded by a grant from the Mellon Foundation.
Letter to the Interim President of Cornell University regarding his criticism of an approved course proposal
Our letter expressing concern about the negative comments recently made regarding a course proposal developed by Dr. Eric Cheyfitz
Letter to MIT expressing concern about its disciplinary action against Prahlad Iyengar
Our letter expressing concern about the recent disciplinary action by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) against one of its doctoral students, Prahlad Iyengar.
Letter to Swarthmore College expressing concern about its flawed disciplinary process
Our letter expressing concern about the flawed disciplinary proceedings involving a number of its students that Swarthmore College is currently conducting
Letter to the University of Minnesota protesting the barring of students from campus without due process
Our letter expressing concern about the decision of the University of Minnesota administration to indefinitely suspend eight students who participated in an occupation of a university building
Letter to Harvard University regarding the suspension of library access for students and faculty for exercising their right to free speech
Our letter expressing concern about Harvard University’s decision to ban a number of undergraduate students, law students and faculty from entering Harvard University’s libraries
Letter to the leaders of the Claremont colleges regarding their repression of academic freedom and freedom of speech and assembly
Our letter expressing concern about the general atmosphere of repression on Claremont campuses as well as specific instances of repression at Harvey Mudd College, Pomona College, and Scripps College.
Mellon Academic Freedom Initiative Public Affairs Associate, MESA
The Middle East Studies Association (MESA) is seeking a part-time Washington-DC-based contractor supporting the MESA Task Force on Civil and Human Rights, specifically the Academic Freedom Initiative, which is supported by a two-year grant from the Mellon Foundation.
MESA Announces new Academic Freedom Initiative
MESA’s Academic Freedom Initiative will support data collection and analysis as well as dissemination of findings regarding academic freedom in the context of scholarship and teaching in Middle East studies.
Response from Wake Forest in Response to our 30 September letter
The Committee on Academic Freedom received a response from the Provost of Wake Forest University in response to our 30 September letter regarding the decision to cancel a scheduled lecture by Professor Rabab Abdelhadi
Letter to Michigan State University expressing concern about the university’s censorship of an exhibition at the Broad Art Museum
Our letter expressing concern over the decision of the Michigan State University administration to cancel the public opening event for “Diasporic Collage: Puerto Rico and the Survival of a People,” and then to impose a significant change to the exhibit itself
Response from Muhlenberg College to our 26 September Letter
The Committee on Academic Freedom received a response from the President Muhlenberg College in response to our 26 September letter regarding Dr. Maura Finkelstein.
Letter to Wake Forest University concerning the cancellation of a lecture by Professor Rabab Abdelhadi
Our letter expressing concern about Wake Forest University’s decision to cancel a scheduled lecture by Professor Rabab Abdelhadi, who is currently director of San Francisco State University’s Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas Initiative.