The Arab American Education Foundation Center for Arab Studies at the University of Houston is accepting students at both the MA and PhD levels. We would appreciate if you shared news about our program with any students seeking serious engagement with the Arab world and the histories, cultures, modern realities, concerns, and aspirations of its people.
We especially encourage History and Literature students interested in colonialism and anti-colonialism, revolutions, popular and democratic movements, labor, popular culture, gender and sexuality, political economy, and literary criticism. We enthusiastically welcome scholars from the Arab world with experience researching Arabic-language archival sources and field work.
We offer financial support for research and academic development in a strong, supportive community of dedicated faculty and students. Students find mentorship from and engagement with a variety of distinguished leaders in the field of Arab Studies whose interests are wide-ranging and diverse. Dr. Hammad is a social and cultural historian whose work focuses on working classes, gender and sexuality, childhood, and popular culture in the modern Arab World. Dr. Hosam Aboul-Ela, our inaugural holder of the Arab-American Educational Foundation Burhan and Misako Ajouz Professorship in Arab Studies, focuses on literary criticism, postcolonial studies, and translation. Dr. Cihan Yüksel, an expert of Ottoman History, is the Convener of our annual Ottoman History Lecture at UH and crafts curriculum which provides our students with strong grounding in the history of Ottoman rule in the Arab world. Students will also have access to the professional and academic guidance of Dr. Hayan Charara, the award-winning poet and literary critic; Dr. David McNally, a global historian of the political economy of race and capitalism; and Dr. Pratik Chakrabarti, the National Endowment for the Humanities Chair in History and Medicine.
The AAEF-CAS is the only academic center in Texas, and one of two in the United States, solely focusing on the Arab region. We promote sustained multidisciplinary research, teaching, publications, community engagement, and media expertise in an atmosphere that is underlined by empathetic inquiry, scholarly rigor, intellectual openness, and academic freedom.
To be accepted, students must meet the qualifications of the respective UH Department to which they are applying (History, English, etc.). We can advise students on how best to prepare their applications and maximize their chances for acceptance.
For any interested students who have any questions about applying to pursue your Masters or PhD with us, please email the Program Director Dr. Patrick Higgins at [email protected] or Dr. Hanan Hammad at [email protected].