The Center for Middle Eastern Studies is active both on and off campus in its goal of enhancing public knowledge of the Middle East and Islamic world. The Public Education Project manages all outreach programs and cooperates with cultural and religious organizations, diplomatic circles, businesses, the media and educational institutions.

Speaker's Bureau

Graduate students are available to speak about the Middle East and Islamic world. Presentations may be tailored on demand. For more information, and if you are interested in having a speaker come to your organization, please contact Rasheed Hosein at cmesoutreach@uchicago.edu

The Center for Middle Eastern Studies actively communicates with the print and broadcast media to assure that a balanced and factual view is presented in response to matters concerning the Middle East and Islamic world. Professors regularly make guest appearances on television and radio. Please contact Professor John E. Woods for more information (773) 702-8343 j-woods@uchicago.edu

The Middle East Music Ensemble explores a variety of classical, neo-classical, and popular forms of music from throughout the Middle East, encompassing compositional and improvisational techniques unique to non-Western musical culture. Live musical performances are given every quarter. For more information, please contact Issa Boulos at (773) 702-8778 or iboulos@uchicago.edu.

CMES regularly co-sponsors Middle Eastern film festivals with the Film Center of the Art Institute of Chicago. For details, please see our news and events page.

Lecture Series

CMES offers public lectures every week. Please see our news and events page for information about the CMES Lecture Series, the Middle East History and Theory Workshop (MEHTW) and other on-campus activities.

MESSA

The Middle East Studies Student Association is the student organized and run body that organizes and/or contributes to events, festivals, speakers, and concerts that bring Middle Eastern culture, language, history, religion, and current events to campus and the Chicago area. Additionally, it acts as a social network and support group for students of different years - with returning students introducing newcomers to life in Chicago and offering workshops on various summer language programs, scholarships and funding possibilities, and job opportunities after completing the Master's. Every quarter, MESSA sponsors a Cultural Night, which focuses on the cuisine, art, poetry, and traditions of a particular region in the Middle East. It also organizes a social outing where students and faculty have a chance to relax, chat, and mingle at bowling.

MEHAT

The Middle East History and Theory Workshop serves as a multidisciplinary platform where University students and faculty in the Humanities and Social Sciences can discuss as wide array of academic questions related to the history, societies, culture, and politics of the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia, extending from the advent of Islam to the present. One of the workshop's main concerns is to bridge the existing gap between factual and theoretical approaches to studies of the Middle East, including Middle Eastern Studies, History, Art History, Ethnomusicology, Anthropology, Political Science, Literary Studies, and Religious Studies.

The workshop also holds a major graduate student conference held at the University of Chicago annually. The conference is organized in collaboration with the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Chicago.