Middle Eastern Studies

Middle Eastern Studies

episodes

Interviews with scholars of the Middle East about their new books.

Stephanie Chasin, "British Jews and Imperial Service: Nationalism, Pan-Islamism and Zionism in Mandate Palestine and Colonial India" (I. B. Tauris, 2023)

March 17, 2024

British Jews and Imperial Service

Stephanie Chasin
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

In the wake of the devastating WWI, three Jews headed the most valuable territory in the British Empire in addition to a strategically important new a…

Julie Kalman, "The Kings of Algiers: How Two Jewish Families Shaped the Mediterranean World During the Napoleonic Wars and Beyond" (Princeton UP, 2023)

March 14, 2024

The Kings of Algiers

Julie Kalman
Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

On July 27th, 1827, the dey of Algiers struck the French consul over his country’s refusal to pay back its debts–specifically, to two Jewish merchant …

Sofia Rehman, "Gendering the Hadith Tradition: Recentering the Authority of Aisha, Mother of the Believers" (Oxford UP, 2024)

March 12, 2024

Gendering the Hadith Tradition

Sofia Rehman
Hosted by Tugrul Mende

Gendering the Hadith Tradition: Recentering the Authority of Aisha, Mother of the Believers (Oxford UP, 2024) presents for the first time a partial tr…

On America’s Blind Spot Towards the Palestinians: A Discussion with author Khaled Elgindy

March 9, 2024

On America’s Blind Spot Towards the Palestinians

Khaled Elgindy
Hosted by Paul Starobin

In their handling of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process over the decades, U.S. officials have displayed a “systemic blind spot” by alleviating pres…

Alexander Christie-Miller, "To the City: Life and Death Along the Ancient Walls of Istanbul" (Pegasus Books, 2024)

March 8, 2024

To the City

Alexander Christie-Miller
Hosted by Reuben Silverman

Walking along the crumbling defensive walls of Istanbul and talking to those he passes, Alexander Christie-Miller finds a distillation of the country’…

Jonathan A. C. Brown, "Slavery and Islam" (Oneworld Academic, 2019)

February 21, 2024

Slavery and Islam

Jonathan A. C. Brown
Hosted by SherAli Tareen

In his majestic and encyclopedic new book Slavery and Islam (Oneworld Academic, 2019), Jonathan A. C. Brown presents a sweeping analysis of Muslim int…

Christiane Gruber, “The Praiseworthy One: The Prophet Muhammad in Islamic Texts and Images" (Indiana UP, 2019)

February 18, 2024

The Praiseworthy One

Christiane Gruber

In our most recent public memory, images of the Prophet Muhammad have caused a great deal of controversy, such as satirical cartoons of Muhammad in Fr…

Daphna Sharfman, "Jerusalem in the Second World War" (Routledge, 2024)

February 18, 2024

Jerusalem in the Second World War

Daphna Sharfman
Hosted by Ari Barbalat

Daphna Sharfman's book Jerusalem in the Second World War (Routledge, 2024) is the first to present the unique story of the city of Jerusalem during th…

The Future of Afghanistan: A Discussion with Kate Clark

February 17, 2024

The Future of Afghanistan

Kate Clark

Ever since the Taliban victory in 2021 there has been very little prospect of significant change in Afghanistan. There is no rival to the Taliban and …

Adam Bursi, "Traces of the Prophets: Relics and Sacred Spaces in Early Islam" (Edinburgh UP, 2024)

February 17, 2024

Traces of the Prophets

Adam Bursi
Hosted by Shobhana Xavier

Adam Bursi’s Traces of the Prophets: Relics and Sacred Spaces in Early Islam (Edinburg University Press, 2024) uses writings by early Muslims to map a…

Hamza Hamouchene and Katie Sandwell, "Dismantling Green Colonialism: Energy and Climate Justice in the Arab Region" (Pluto Press, 2023)

February 16, 2024

Dismantling Green Colonialism

Hamza Hamouchene and Katie Sandwell

Just in Time - the urgent need for a just transition in the Arab region. The newly published book Dismantling Green Colonialism: Energy and Climate ju…

Sarah El-Kazaz, "Politics in the Crevices: Urban Design and the Making of Property Markets in Cairo and Istanbul" (Duke UP, 2023)

February 15, 2024

Politics in the Crevices

Sarah El-Kazaz
Hosted by Lamis Abdelaaty

In Politics in the Crevices: Urban Design and the Making of Property Markets in Cairo and Istanbul (Duke UP, 2023), Sarah El-Kazaz takes readers into …

Jewish War Ethics, Ancient to Contemporary: A Conversation with Rabbi Shlomo Brody

February 13, 2024

Jewish War Ethics, Ancient to Contemporary

Shlomo Brody
Hosted by Annika Nordquist

How should we think about violent accounts in the Bible? Why did Gandhi urge the Jews to turn a blind eye to anti-Semitism during World War II? What i…

Amira Mittermaier, "Giving to God: Islamic Charity in Revolutionary Times" (U California Press, 2019)

February 12, 2024

Giving to God

Amira Mittermaier
Hosted by SherAli Tareen

In her stunning new book, Giving to God: Islamic Charity in Revolutionary Times (University of California Press, 2019), Amira Mittermaier, Associate P…

Alp Yenen and Erik-Jan Zürcher, "A Hundred Years of Republican Turkey: A History in a Hundred Fragments" (Leiden UP, 2023)

February 5, 2024

A Hundred Years of Republican Turkey

Alp Yenen and Erik-Jan Zürcher
Hosted by Reuben Silverman

The Republic of Turkey was founded a hundred years ago on 29 October 1923. Turkey holds a unique position between Europe and the Middle East. It conti…

Refqa Abu-Remaileh, "Country of Words: A Transnational Atlas for Palestinian Literature" (Stanford UP, 2023)

February 4, 2024

Country of Words

Refqa Abu-Remaileh
Hosted by Roberto Mazza

Country of Words: A Transnational Atlas for Palestinian Literature (Stanford UP, 2023) is a digital-born project that retraces and remaps the global s…

Bedross Der Matossian, "The Armenian Social Democrat Hnchakian Party: Politics, Ideology and Transnational History" (Bloomsbury, 2023)

February 3, 2024

The Armenian Social Democrat Hnchakian Party

Bedross Der Matossian
Hosted by Roberto Mazza

Bedross Der Matossian's The Armenian Social Democrat Hnchakian Party: Politics, Ideology and Transnational History (Bloomsbury, 2023), based on new re…

Adrian Goldsworthy, "Rome and Persia: The Seven Hundred Year Rivalry" (Basic Books, 2023)

January 25, 2024

Rome and Persia

Adrian Goldsworthy
Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

For almost seven centuries, two powers dominated the region we now call the Middle East: Rome and Persia. From the west: The Roman Republic, later the…

Nicholas Morton, "The Crusader States and their Neighbours: A Military History, 1099-1187" (Oxford UP, 2020)

January 22, 2024

The Crusader States and their Neighbours

Nicholas Morton
Hosted by Maggie Freeman

Nicholas Morton’s The Crusader States and their Neighbours: A Military History, 1099-1187 (Oxford UP, 2020) explores the military history of the medie…

Yitzhak Teutsch, "The Cyprus Detention Camps: The Essential Research Guide" (Cambridge Scholars, 2019)

January 18, 2024

The Cyprus Detention Camps

Yitzhak Teutsch
Hosted by Ari Barbalat

Beginning in August 1946, stateless and visaless Jews, most of them survivors of the Nazi death camps, who sought to immigrate to the Land of Israel w…