Where do we go from here? Studying the Middle East in Times of a Breakdown of Democratic Institutions and International Law
Language: English ・ By invitation only
Info
We are living through two mutually reinforcing crises: the war between Hamas and Israel, and the rise of far-right movements on both sides of the Atlantic. In response, historians and scholars of the modern Middle East joined colleagues from other disciplines from the United States, Germany, Israel, and Palestine for a one-day symposium at the University of Maryland. The gathering explored how the present moment is being instrumentalized—on both continents—to set (academic) communities against each other, to deploy accusations of antisemitism in ways that silence entire groups of stakeholders, and to pursue troubling agendas directed at those whose work engages the region.
Over the past two years, longstanding scholarly networks have fractured. The participants therefore represented a range of discourse communities, united by their commitment to sustaining dialogue grounded in free expression, academic freedom, and respect for human dignity.
The symposium’s contributions addressed a broad set of topics: the AAUP/MESA vs. Rubio court victory; the expanding securitization of university campuses; internal academic boycotts; the cancellation of scholarly events and appointments; and the difficulties of teaching Israel/Palestine and Jewish–Muslim themed classes in a time of war.
The symposium was organized by 2025 Thomas Mann Fellow and Islamic Studies scholar Sonja Hegazy and Peter Wien, historian of the Middle East at UMD.
Participants
Sonja Hegasy is Deputy Director of the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient in Berlin. She studied Arabic and Islamic Studies at Columbia University and completed her doctorate in political science at FU Berlin. In 2019–2021, she held the professorship for Postcolonial Studies at the Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin. In 2023, she was a Senior Fellow at the M.S. Merian – R. Tagore International Centre of Advanced Studies “Metamorphoses of the Political” in Delhi.
Peter Wien is Professor for the History of the Modern Middle East at the University of Maryland in College Park. He received his PhD in 2003 from the University of Bonn, Germany, and Master degrees from the Universities of Oxford and Heidelberg. He taught at Al-Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco, and was a fellow of the ZMO (Centre for Modern Oriental Studies) in Berlin. He is the author of the books Arab Nationalism: The Politics of History and Culture in the Modern Middle East (London: Routledge, 2017) and Iraqi Arab Nationalism: Authoritarian, Totalitarian and Pro-Fascist Inclinations, 1932-1941 (London: Routledge, 2006).
Partner
This event is co-organized with the University of Maryland
