Summer Scholarships/Study Abroad Probably the thing that sets the SAIS Middle East Studies Program apart from most others is the encouragement we give our students to spend a summer somewhere in the Middle East so that they may conduct research for their thesis and improve their Arabic ‘in situ.’ All Middle East Majors (NB: Majors only) are entitled to apply for a summer scholarship. Award of these discretionary grants is conditional upon academic performance during the first year, reviewed jointly by the Middle East Studies Program Director and the Director of the Arabic language program. Brown Bag Lectures Throughout the year, the Middle East 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 Past Brown Bag lectures have included: Nibras Kazimi
“The Syrian-Saudi Conflict in Lebanon.” Mr. Kazimi is a visiting scholar at the Hudson Institute and columnist for the New York Sun. Flemming Rose
“Islamism and the Threats to Free Speech in a Globalized World.” Mr. Rose is the Cultural Editor of the Jyllands-Posten Newspaper in Denmark. Karim Sadjapour
"Iran's New Middle East: Pax Americana vs. the Persian Worldview." Karim Sadjapour is an associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and has recently spent two years in Iran. Dr. Camille Pecastaing
"Among the Kurds." Dr. Pecastaing spent time in the Iraqi Kurdish region during Summer 2006. Dr. Warren Bass
"Five Years Later: Reflections of the 9/11 Commission." Dr. Bass served on the 9/11 Commission, is currently the non-fiction book editor for the Washington Post, and is author of Support Any Friend: Kennedy's Middle East and the Making of the US-Israeli Alliance. Qubad Talabani
"The Future of Iraq." Mr. Talabani is the Washington, DC representative from the Kurdish regional government in Iraq. He is also the son of the current President of Iraq, Jalal Talabani. Guest Class Lecturers
Dr. Ajami 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.
Film Series Once or twice a year, to complement or academic program, the department will show a foreign language (Arabic) film. Most recently, we watched The Syrian Bride, which depicted in a humorous way the difficulties of Druze living in the Gholan Heights who have neither Israeli nor Syrian nationality. We have also collaborated with the Strategic Studies Program to watch Lawrence of Arabia, the Oscar-winning film based on T.E. Lawrence’s campaigns with the Hijazi Arabs during the First World War. Winter Trips The SAIS Middle East studies department 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. 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
| 
