middle East studies pedagogy Initiative

MESPI is a curated interactive platform for Middle East Studies resources, specifically tailored for the needs of teachers, researchers, and students. It is a one-stop-shop for course design on the macro level, lesson planning on the micro level, and for scholarship vis-a-vis specific topics, countries, and disciplines. The MESPI project strives to reorient the way educators and students research, learn, and teach the Middle East.

In Cooperation with The Middle East Studies Program at George Mason University (GMU), The Center For Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University, The Asfari Institute For Civil Society And Citizenship at the American University in Beirut, the Center for Global Islamic Studies at GMU, we are launching he Middle East Studies Pedagogy Initiative (MESPI) to provide critical, user-friendly, and informative pedagogical material and instruction to educators in the field and beyond. MESPI will build on at least four counts: a) create and grow a community/network of educators; b) make available to them and to researchers, journalists, and students a wide array of resources; c) provide in good time a robust syllabus-building tool; and, finally, and most critically, d) MESPI will build partnerships with research centers, organizations, and projects that will constitute its evolving decision-making body.