Affiliated Organizations

Southeast Regional Middle East and Islamic Studies Society (SERMEISS)

The Southeast Regional Middle East and Islamic Studies Society - a professional society for specialist or non-specialist educators and other individuals whose professional activities actively engage the Middle East and Islam. The organization was founded in 1977 to provide scholars in the southeastern United States with an opportunity to meet regularly with colleagues to share research findings and teaching concerns. SERMEISS is an affiliated organization of the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA). 

The SERMEISS 10-state region includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.       

President: Annie Tracy Samuel 
Executive Director: Buket Oztas

Membership - Annual Dues
Full: $25
Associate: $20
Institutional: $200


Sudans Studies Association (SSA)

The Sudans Studies Association is the foremost academic organization of scholars and educators interested in the study of the region from all over the world. Its goal is to promote and foster the research and study of the region, facilitate communication and cooperation among its members, nature new generations of scholars and encourage the publication of matter pertaining to Sudan studies. 

The Sudans Studies Association is: 

  • An independent non-profit membership association dedicated to advancing Sudan Studies as a scientific discipline and profession
  • Sponsor and host of an annual meeting that brings scholars from North American and other parts of the world 

President: Lako Tongun
President-Elect: Bakry Elmedni
Executive Director: Souad T. Ali
Secretary: Fatima Abdelwahab

Membership - Annual Dues
Regular/Non-Profit: $50
Student: $30
Profit-making bodies: $500


Syrian Studies Association (SSA)

The Syrian Studies Association is an international association organized to encourage and promote research and scholarly understanding of Syria in all periods and in all academic disciplines. The SSA is a non-profit, non-political association affiliated with MESA (The Middle East Studies Association of North America). Their goals are to promote the highest standards of scholarship and instruction, facilitate communication among our members, and to encourage dialogue between Middle Eastern, Western and all scholars of the Middle East. They award several prizes for the best written work on Syria, publish a newsletter about the latest developments and writing in our field, invite one or more Syrian scholars to MESA each year, sponsor academic panels at scholarly conferences, and provide information about how to study Arabic in Syria.

President: Edith Szanto 

Membership - Annual Dues
Regular: $25
Student: $10
Institutional: $100


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