Brown Bag Lectures Throughout the year, the Middle East Studies Program complements its academic courses with a series of Brown Bag lectures bringing in a wide variety of Arab and Israeli scholars, politicians and journalists to discuss and debate a broad range of issues which enlighten students on Middle East issues in a more relaxed environment. For a list of past Brown Bag lectures please click here. Guest Class Lecturers Our faculty frequently invites guest speakers to his classes who have an intimate knowledge of the Middle East and offer a unique perspective on the topic. They have included: - Farid Ghadry, the president of the Syrian Reform Party
- Jamil Mroue, editor and publisher of the Beirut Daily Star newspaper
- Colonel H.R. McMaster, author of Dereliction of Duty who led the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment in Tall Afar, Iraq
Winter Trips The SAIS Middle East Studies Program has a history of running student-led trips to the Middle East each year over winter recess. In the last couple of years these trips have been sponsored and paid for by the governments of the countries that we visit. Generally speaking, the host countries cover all major expenses. Middle East Studies Students Tour the Gulf
By Jeremy Reyes
SAIS Observer, February 2011 Falling in Love with Saudi Arabia
By Daniel Balson
SAIS Observer, March 2010 Taking on the Gulf: Second Year Middle East Students Travel to the Persian Gulf
By Nate Rosenblatt
SAIS Observer, February 2009 A Week in the Kingdom: A Male SAISer's perspective
By Nadav Davidai
SAIS Observer, April 2008 A Week in the Kingdom: A Female SAISer's perspective
By Tania Nour Hamod
SAIS Observer, April 2008 A Diplomatic Offensive in the Middle East
By Melissa Dalton
SAIS Observer, February 2007 Student Activities Student activities are an integral part of the SAIS experience. Every semester the program's student social chair coordinates events within the program for students to get to know one another better and build stronger networks. These activities vary depending on the interests of the students and have included anything from culturally-themed dinners, movie nights, and student-led presentations on their research and travels in the region. In Pictures | Summer 2009 | Academic Year 2008-2009 | 
