Middle East Studies Association

Middle East Studies Association

Abbreviation	MESA
Formation	1966
Type	Learned society
Location	Tucson, Arizona
President	Eve Troutt Powell
Website	mesana.org

Middle East Studies Association (often referred to as MESA) is a learned society, and according to its website, "a non-profit association that fosters the study of the Middle East, promotes high standards of scholarship and teaching, and encourages public understanding of the region and its peoples through programs, publications and services that enhance education, further intellectual exchange, recognize professional distinction, and defend academic freedom".

Critics have accused MESA of politicization and being dominated by academics critical of Israel and of America. In 2007, the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa was founded as an ideological counterweight to MESA.

History

MESA was founded in 1966 with 51 original members. Its current membership exceeds 2,700 and it "serves as an umbrella organization for more than fifty institutional members and thirty-six affiliated organizations". It is a constituent society of the American Council of Learned Societies and the National Council of Area Studies Associations, and a member of the National Humanities Alliance.

Activities

The current president is Eve Troutt Powell, University of Pennsylvania.

Publications

The International Journal of Middle East Studies (IJMES) is a quarterly journal published by Cambridge University Press under the auspices of MESA. The editor is Joel Gordon of University of Arkansas.

The Review of Middle East Studies (RoMES) is MESA's journal of review. MESA policy has established the focus of RoMES as the state of the craft in all fields of Middle East studies. The Editor is Heather Ferguson and the journal is based at Claremont McKenna College.

MESA has a very active Committee on Academic Freedom (CAF) that has two wings: CAFMENA (Middle East and North Africa, established in 1990) and CAFNA (North America, established in 2005). Through CAF, MESA monitors infringements on academic freedom on the Middle East and North Africa worldwide.

Controversies

In 2007, Bernard Lewis and Fouad Ajami started Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa (ASMEA) as a rival to MESA, as they saw MESA as "dominated by academics who have been critical of Israel and of America's role in the Middle East."

In mid-March 2022, MESA voted by a margin of 787 to 167 to join the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement to hold Israel to account for alleged human rights abuses against the Palestinians. MESA's decision was criticised by the Academic Engagement Network, the AMCHA Initiative, and ASMEA.

Awards

Albert Hourani Book Award

Since 1991 MESA has awarded the Albert Hourani Book Award to recognize "the very best in Middle East studies scholarship". The prize is named after Albert Hourani, "to recognize his long and distinguished career as teacher and mentor".

Malcolm Kerr Award

The MESA Dissertation Awards were established in 1982 to recognize exceptional achievement in research and writing for/of dissertations in Middle East studies. In 1984 the award was named for Malcolm H. Kerr to honor his significant contributions to Middle East studies. Awards are given in two categories: Social Sciences and Humanities.

Jere L. Bacharach Service Award

Since 1997 Jere L. Bacharach Service Award has recognized the contributions of individuals through their outstanding service to MESA or the profession. Service is defined broadly to include work in diverse areas, including but not limited to outreach, librarianship, and film.

List of Recipients

Year	Recipient	Institution
1997	Ellen-Fairbanks D. Bodman I. William Zartman	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Johns Hopkins University
1998	Richard L. Chambers	University of Chicago
1999	George N. Atiyeh	Library of Congress
2000	Louisa Moffitt	Marist School
2001	Elizabeth W. Fernea	University of Texas at Austin
2002	Jeanne Jeffers Mrad	Center for Maghrib Studies in Tunisia
2004	Jere L. Bacharach	University of Washington
2005	Ernest N. McCarus	University of Michigan
2006	Howard A. Reed	University of Connecticut
2008	Fred McGraw Donner	University of Chicago
2009	Mary Ellen Lane	Council of American Overseas Research Centers
2010	McGuire Gibson	University of Chicago
2011	Bruce Craig Michael C. Hudson	University of Chicago National University of Singapore
2012	Erika H. Gilson	Princeton University
2014	Günter Meyer	University of Mainz
2015	Virginia H. Aksan	McMaster University
2016	Ann Mosely Lesch	American University in Cairo
2017	Bassam Haddad	George Mason University
2018	James A. Miller
2019	Suad Joseph	University of California, Davis
2020	James F. Goode, Dale F. Eickelmann

Former presidents

The following persons have been presidents of the association: