About US
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.
Our Modules
MESPI’s community based projects include the following modules and databases in complete form and in progress:
MESPI’s modules in progress:
Our Modules
MESPI’s community based projects include the following modules and databases in complete form and in progress:
Essential Readings
Peer-Reviewed Articles Review
New Texts Out Now
Engaging Books
Language Programs Database
Degree Programs Database
MESPI’s modules in progress:
Syllabus Building Tool
Syllabus Library
Teaching the Intro/Survey Course
Secondary Education Module
Books Review Database
Textbooks Corrections Project
Wiki-Like Input Interface
Community Discussion List
Archives Module
Maps and Documents Module
Module on Teaching Methods
Modules on Essential Topics and Themes
Novels in the Classroom
Films in the Classroom
THE MESPI BOARD
MESPI BOARD
Adam Hanieh, SOAS
Ahmad Dallal, Georgetown Qatar
Akram Khater, NC State University
Amaney Jamal, Princeton
Arang Keshavarzian, NYU
Asef Bayat, University of Illinois
Asli Bali, UCLA
Beth Baron, CUNY
Fida Adely, Georgetown
Huseyin Yilmaz, George Mason University
Ilham Khuri-Makdisi, Northeastern
Jessica Winegar, Northwestern
Jillian Schwedler, Hunter College
John Willis, University of Colorado, Boulder
Khalid Medani, McGill University
Lara Deeb, Scripps College
Lila Abu Lughod, Columbia University
Lisa Wedeen, University of Chicago
Marc Lynch, George Washington University
Maria Dakake, George Mason University
Max Weiss, Princeton University
Melani Cammett, Harvard University
Muriam Haleh Davis, UCSC
Nadya Sbaiti, American University in Beirut
Nathalie Peutz, NYU AD
Pete Moore, Case Western
Peter Mandaville, George Mason University
Rochelle Davis, Georgetown University
Rosie Bsheer, Harvard University
Samah Selim, Rutgers University
Sara Scalenghe, Loyola University
Sarah Shields, UNC Chapel Hill
Sherene Seikaly, UCSB
Shira Robinson, George Washington University
Suad Joseph, UC Davis
Susan Douglass, Georgetown
Zachary Lockman, NYU
Ziad Abu Rish, Ohio University
THE MESPI TEAM
MESPI TEAM
Bassam Haddad, Co-Director
Ziad Abu-Rish, Co-Director
Nadya Sbaiti, NEWTON Editor
Rosie Bsheer, MESPI Editor
Sherene Seikaly, MESPI Editor
Rochelle Davis, MESPI Editor
Huseyin Yilmaz, MESPI Editor
Mekarem Eljamal, MESPI Associate Editor
Jacob Bessen, Essential Readings Editor
Shakeela Omar, Peer-Review Articles Review (PRAR) Editor
Claire Christensen, PRAR Co-Coordinator
Maddie Vagadori, MESPI Website Editor
Jonathan Adler, Engaging Texts and Essential Readings Editor
Willa Hart, PRAR Co-Coordinator
Kylie Broderick, ASI Liaison