MER Article Middle East Studies in the Arab World Salim Nasr, a Lebanese sociologist, is a Ford Foundation program officer in the Middle East and North Africa office in Cairo. He spoke with Lisa Hajjar in New York City on May 29, 1997. How would you assess Middle East studies as it is undertaken by scholars based in the region? Salim Nasr • 8 min read
MER Article What is Political Islam? Over the last few decades, Islam has become a central point of reference for a wide range of political activities, arguments and opposition movements. The term “political Islam” has been adopted by many scholars in order to identify this seemingly unprecedented irruption of Islamic religion into the Charles Hirschkind • 4 min read
MER Article Following the Flag In a recent volume, The Cold War and the University, the prominent biologist R. C. Lewontin argued that the Cold War was the “high road to professional prosperity for the great majority.” [1] He is referring to those academics who prospered from extraordinary government largesse in a period when the irene gendzier • 7 min read
MER Article (Re)Made in the USA Over the last two decades, a number of presidents of the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) have used their platform at annual meetings to express concern about decline in the field. [1] One is reminded of the Ottomans who, according to many (now discredited) accounts, were also in perpetual dec Lisa Hajjar, Steve Niva • 21 min read
MER Article From the Editor (Winter 1997) Our intent with this issue is simple: to present a critical evaluation of the current state of the field of Middle East studies. We focus centrally on the United States but also look at Middle East studies in other parts of the world, highlighting some of the important issues that have shaped the fi (Author not identified) • 2 min read
