Middle East Studies Program - UW Madison

Karpat Center Grants Program for UW–Madison Graduate Students and Faculty now open! Click here for more information:

Karpat Center Grants Program for UW–Madison Graduate Students and Faculty Applications for grants to support UW–Madison scholars working in any area of Turkish/Ottoman Studies, deadline: October 1, 2026

All are invited to an exciting summer Institute for K-14 educators that contextualizes the current U.S.-Israel war on Iran. Attendance is free, and anyone is encouraged to register, even if they are unable to attend all sessions and days.

The Center for Contemporary Arab Studies Summer Teacher Institute 2026:

"Contextualizing the U.S.-Israel War on Iran in History and the SWANA Region"

Monday, July 20th to Wednesday, July 22nd | 10am to 3pm EST | Zoom

Thursday, July 23rd | 11am to 2pm EST | Hybrid

Click here to register by July 5th: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScHrN6eaFvkAzUseQSvw06YjGUmTr_eHhpiyrkgd_wYneGUBQ/viewform?pli=1

Presentation topics include Iranian history and culture, women.& gender in Iran, contemporary and historical U.S. policy towards Iran, media literacy, the effect of the war on the broader SWANA region, and representations of Iran in K-12 curricula.

Speakers include:

Dr. Joel Beinin
Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History and Professor of Middle East History, Emeritus | Stanford University

Dr. Julie Ellison-Speight
Academic Autonomy Program Manager | Middle East Studies Association

Dr. Negar Razavi
Associate Research Scholar, Center for Iran and Persian Gulf Studies | Princeton University

Mobashra Tazamal
Associate Director, Bridge Initiative | Georgetown University

Dr. Niki Akhavan
Associate Professor, Department of Global Studies | Catholic University of America

Dr. Melani McAlister
Professor of American Studies and International Affairs | George Washington University

Dr. Shana Marshall
Assistant Research Professor of International Affairs & Associate Director of the Institute for Middle East Studies | George Washington University

Dr. Kamran Aghaie
Associate Professor, Department of Middle East Studies | University of Texas, Austin

Click the speakers' names for more information on their work.

The institute will be held on Zoom from July 20th to July 22nd, with a hybrid screening and discussion of an Iranian film held at Georgetown University (CCAS Boardroom, ICC 241) on July 23rd. A lunch will be served for in-person attendees at the screening. Attendees will receive 20 hours of professional development for institute participation and preparation. Material for preparation will be sent to registrants by July 1.

Contact Chloe Daikh ([email protected]) with any questions.

Here's an article about our annual conference last week:

iris.wisc.edu

Our annual Middle East Studies conference last Friday was a great success! Wonderful crowd, fascinating speaker presentations, and delicious food for both breakfast and lunch! Thanks so much for all who participated. For the full lineup of speakers: https://shorturl.at/yqUrK Stay tuned for our fall lecture series!

📣 Join us for a Teach-In: Roots and Realities of the War in the Middle East
🗓 Friday, April 24 | ⏰ 4:00–5:30 PM
📍 Rm 1125, DeLuca Biochem Bldg (420 Henry Mall)

Hear from expert scholars on Israel/Palestine, Iran, diaspora politics, human rights, and more.

🎤 Featuring: Lisa Bhungalia, Marwa Shalaby, Asef Bayat, Sara Ostad Rahimi, Ervand Abrahamian, Kathy Kelly & Alexandra Huneeus

🍪 Free cookies, coffee & lemonade!
🔗 RSVP: https://forms.gle/jP9MYx9DMvvk9MgN6

Co-sponsored by Havens-Wright Center, Middle East Studies Program & Human Rights Program

MESP CONFERENCE SPEAKER SPOTLIGHT:

People Smuggling in the Sahara-Sahel and the Maghreb" with Ilyssa Yahmi, Assistant Professor (American University of Paris)

How do migration policies reshape the balance of power between national security forces and foreign military cooperation? This talk explores the criminalization of human smuggling in the Sahara-Sahel, focusing on Mauritania and Senegal. Ilyssa Yahmi argues that externally-sponsored migration controls have created a “rent-seeking” economy for smugglers and entrepreneurs of insecurity. By analyzing fieldwork from the region, she examines how “transit” states strengthen military units to meet international expectations regarding the migration-terrorism nexus, often at the expense of citizens’ rights and traditional mobility.

For more information about our annual conference on April 17, including the speaker lineup and to register, go to: https://shorturl.at/cpDPl

Experience a truly one-of-a-kind immigrant story at the Wisconsin Film Festival! Join us for a special screening of “Bouchra,” a visually stunning and emotionally raw film that defies traditional genre boundaries.

The film captures the complex tension of long-distance family dynamics and the creative breakthroughs that happen when we finally pour our anxieties onto the page.

Event Details
Date: Tuesday, April 14, 2026 | 8:45 PM – 10:15 PM
Location: Flix Brewhouse (85 E Towne Way, Madison, WI 53704)

Click here for more information: https://mideast.wisc.edu/upcoming-events/

This film is presented as part of the Wisconsin Film Festival and is proudly supported by the Middle East Studies Program (MESP).

MESP CONFERENCE SPEAKER SPOTLIGHT:

"Libyan Student Activism in the United States: A History of Competing Visions for Libya" with David Wight, Historian (University of North Carolina at Greensboro)

In just a few decades, Libyan enrollment at American universities surged from a handful to several thousand, transforming U.S. campuses into a primary battleground for Libya’s future. This talk examines the escalating rivalry between students promoting Gaddafi’s “Arab Jamahiriya” and those utilizing their residency to organize against the dictatorship. David Wight argues that these diaspora networks were not merely students, but pivotal actors in international relations whose activism and subsequent violence during the 1970s and 80s reshaped both modern Libyan history and the American collegiate landscape.

For more information about our annual conference on April 17, including the speaker lineup and to register, go to: https://shorturl.at/cpDPl