News

April 6, 2023

2023 Book MES Book Award

CALL FOR NOMINATIONSThe Middle East Section is pleased to solicit nominations for its bi-annual book award.This award is given to an anthropological work (single- or multi-authored, but not edited volume) that is of relevance to the field of Middle Eastern Studies. The Committee will consider the following criteria while evaluating eligible books:• Ethnographically strong.• Advances […]

November 3, 2022

MES Student Paper Award 2022

We are thrilled to announce the 2022 MES Student Paper Award winner, Stuart Ahn Sones (Indiana University), for his paper, “Conspiracies from the Unseen: Authenticating Islamic Discourse in a Neoliberal Moment.”

October 25, 2022

MES Distinguished Scholar Award 2022

We are thrilled to announce the recipient of the 2022 MES Distinguished Scholar Award: Dr. Farha Ghannam (Swarthmore College). We will be talking more about her important research and commitment to teaching and mentorship at our business meeting – please join us! The business meeting will be held on Zoom on November 4th at 3:00-4:15 […]

October 20, 2022

AAA Denounces Iran’s Brutal Crackdown On Peaceful Protests

As a scholarly and professional association of anthropologists and on behalf of our 8000 members worldwide, the AAA denounces in the strongest possible terms the Iranian government’s attacks on peaceful protests in Iran and the brutal crackdown on students and educational institutions. The most recent reports indicate that more than 200 protestors have been killed […]

August 27, 2021

MES Statement on Palestine

We stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people against ongoing settler colonialism and condemn Zionist violence against them, including forced evictions and retaliatory violence by Israeli state forces against Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza, and within the state of Israel. We condemn the recent forced evictions of Palestinian families in the […]

June 13, 2021

MES Resolution to Boycott Israeli Academic Institutions

June 13, 2021The MES section vote on the Resolution to Boycott Israeli Academic Institutions closed Friday June 11 at midnight. Our membership voted overwhelmingly in support of the resolution. The results were as follows: Yes (In favor of endorsing the resolution): 157 (93.5%)No (Not in favor of endorsing the resolution): 11 (6.5%)Abstentions: 0[Total votes tallied: […]

May 18, 2021

MES Statement on Palestine, updated 5.27.21

We stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people against ongoing settler colonialism and condemn Zionist violence against them, including forced evictions and retaliatory violence by Israeli state forces against Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza, and within the state of Israel. We condemn the recent forced evictions of Palestinian families in the […]

May 14, 2021

MES Statement on Palestine

We stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people against ongoing settler colonialism and condemn Zionist violence against them, including forced evictions and retaliatory violence by Israeli state forces against Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza, and within the state of Israel. We condemn the recent forced evictions of Palestinian families in the […]

May 4, 2021

MES Statement on the Desecration of the Remains of the Children of MOVE and the Africa Family

The Middle East Section of the American Anthropological Association strongly condemns the desecration of MOVE victims’ remains and unequivocally endorses the statement and list of demands issued by the Association of Black Anthropologists (ABA), the Society of Black Archaeologists (SBA), and the Black in Bioanthropology Collective (BiBA). MES recognizes the deep legacy of racism in […]

April 8, 2021

Call for Nominations for the 2021 MES Student Paper Award

The Middle East Section requests submissions for our Student Paper Award. Both undergraduate and graduate students are eligible. The winner will receive a prize of $500, plus a chance to summarize the award winning paper in AN (Anthropology News, a publication of the AAA that goes to all members of the association) and at the 2021 AAA meeting in Baltimore. Papers should be no longer than 10,000 words (not including notes and […]