IAS Professor Samer Shehata Publishes New Edited Volume, The Struggle to Reshape the Middle East in the 21st Century
Read: Shehata's interview with Jadaliyya about the book
Watch: Shehata's video interview/book discussion with Security in Context
The Center for Middle East Studies at the Univeristy of Oklahoma is the leading hub for Middle East and North Africa programming, research, student learning, and community engagement in Oklahoma. Housed in the College of International Studies, the Center fosters dialogue, cultural exchange, and academic excellence in collaboration with scholars and students across seven departments. The University of Oklahoma offers language programs in Arabic, Hebrew, and Persian as well as degrees in Middle East Studies, Arabic Studies, Judaic Studies, and Iranian Studies. The Center brings distinguished speakers to the University, sponsors informal Brown Bag Lunches, and supports Middle East events on campus.
The Center for Middle East Studies is a part of vibrant and growing resources in Middle East and North Africa studies at the University of Oklahoma.
Joshua Landis, PhD
Co-Director, Center for Middle East Studies
Sandra Mackey Chair and Full Professor in Middle East Studies
Waleed Mahdi, PhD
Co-Director, Center for Middle East Studies
Associate Professor of US-Arab Cultural Politics
Middle East Studies Academic Coordinator
Associate Professor of Arabic Language and Linguistics
Marjan Seirafi-Pour
Center Administrator, Center for Middle East Studies
Farzaneh Family Persian Language Instructor
Mohammad Almasri, PhD
ConocoPhilips Associate Professor of Arabic Language, Literature and Culture
Manata Hashemi, PhD
Farzaneh Family Associate Professor of Iranian Studies
Afshin Marashi, PhD
Professor and Farzaneh Family Chair of Iranian Studies
Kayhan Nejad, PhD
Farzaneh Family Assistant Professor of Iranian Studies
Samer Shehata, PhD
Associate Professor of Middle East Studies
Khosrow Bozorgi, Professor of Architecture and Urban Design
Architecture, Gould Hall, rm 270
Phone: (405) 325-4408; Email
Ph.D. from University of Pennsylvania; Islamic architecture history/theory; Middle Eastern architecture
Firat Demir, Associate Professor
Economics, Cate Center, Room 436
Phone: (405) 325-5844; Email
Ph.D. from University of Notre Dame; international finance, and economic development
Alan Levenson, Professor and Schusterman/Josey Chair in Judaic History, Department of History
Office: DAHT 305; Email
Ph.D from The Ohio State University; Jewish Intellectual, Literary, and Religious History
Rhona Seidelman, Associate Professor and Schusterman Chair in Modern Israel Studies, Department of History
Office: DAHT 409D; Email
Ph.D. from Ben Gurion University of the Negev; history of immigration, the history of medicine and public health and Israel.
Shmuel Shepkaru, Associate Professor
Schusterman Professor of Jewish Intellectual and Religious History
History, DAHT, rm 305F
Phone: (405) 325-5608; Email
Ph.D. from New York University; Late Antiquity and Medieval Jewish History, Hebrew
David R. Vishanoff, Associate Professor
Religious Studies, Robertson Hall 146
Phone: (405) 325-1150; Email
Ph.D. from Emory University; Islamic theology, law, and religion; Muslim-non-Muslim interaction; comparative sacred texts; religious interaction in South Asia; introduction to religious studies; Abrahamic religions; Arabic language.
Panel Discussion: Syria and the United States After Assad
Thursday, December 11th, 11:00 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Zoom Webinar - Register Here
For over 13 years, the Syrian civil war raged on until Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia over the weekend. By 2018, the Assad regime appeared to have secured its survival.
In a stunning turn of events, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led by Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani, advanced from its stronghold in Idlib to seize Damascus. Although HTS is designated a terrorist organization by the U.S., Jawlani claims to embrace modern governance and reject extremism. Many Syrians are celebrating the end of Assad’s brutal rule, but the future remains uncertain.
How will the U.S. engage with the new Syrian leadership? What will happen to the growing captagon drug trade? What are the implications for Israel, Iran, and Hezbollah? What will be the fate of the roughly 900 U.S. troops and their Kurdish partners in northeastern Syria?
Join us for a panel that discusses what the end of Assad’s rule means for Syrians and the United States featuring Joshua Landis, Quincy Institute non-resident fellow and director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, Steven Simon, senior research fellow at the Quincy Institute, and Caroline Rose, director of the Strategic Blind Spots Portfolio at the New Lines Institute. Adam Weinstein, deputy director of the Middle East program at the Quincy Institute, will moderate.
“The Dawn is Too Far” Film Screening and Q&A
Wednesday, November 13th, 4 p.m.
Gould Hall 155
Join the Center for Middle East Studies for a film screening and Q&A of “The Dawn is Too Far” directed by Persis Karim.
Persis Karim is the director of the Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies at San Francisco State University where she also teaches in the Department of Humanities and Comparative and World Literature. “The Dawn is Too Far: Stories of Iranian-American Life,” is her first film and reflects her interest in documenting and sharing the larger history and personal stories of those who are part of the global Iranian diaspora.
IAS Professor Samer Shehata Publishes New Edited Volume, The Struggle to Reshape the Middle East in the 21st Century
Read: Shehata's interview with Jadaliyya about the book
Watch: Shehata's video interview/book discussion with Security in Context
CMES Co-Director Joshua Landis Interviewed by Politico Magazine
Politico Magazine, December 9, 2024
CMES Co-Director Joshua Landis Featured on NPR Podcast
"How the fall of Assad's regime changes the geopolitics of the Middle East"
NPR, All Things Considered Podcast, December 9, 2024
CMES Co-Director Joshua Landis Featured in Articles for CNN and Al Jazeera
CNN: "Assad Banks on New ‘Global Order’ to Help His Own Rehabilitation"
Al Jazeera: "How Important Is Captagon in Al-Assad’s Return to the Arab Fold?"
Nonzero Discussion with CMES Director Joshua Landis
On November 3, 2023, the newsletter Nonzero shared a video discussion with Center for Middle East Studies Director and CIS Professor Joshua Landis, hosted by Robert Wright. The discussion, titled "Where Is the Israel-Hamas War Heading?" covers topics relating to the war, including what Iran hopes to gain, an explanation of Hezbollah, predictions for the future state of the Arab world, how China might benefir, and more.
CMES Interview with Stacey Philbrick Yadav
In April 2023, the Center for Middle East Studies hosted Stacey Philbrick Yadav, Associate Professor of International Relations at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, for a talk on Yemen. Here, you can watch her conversation with Waleed Mahdi, Associate Professor in the OU Department of International & Area Studies.
Stacey Philbrick Yadav is author of Yemen in the Shadow of Transition: Pursuing Justice Amid War. The book draws on nearly two decades of her research in Yemen and among Yemeni diaspora communities, including collaborative research conducted through international peacebuilding organizations. Her work focuses on forms of everyday peacebuilding and the diverse justice projects of Yemeni non-combatants as they navigate a protracted and internationalized civil war.
September 17, 2022: "Increased U.S. Intervention and Global Insecurity," with Joshua Landis, Director of the Center for Middle East Studies. In the session on "Insecurity in MENA," part of the inaugural Security in Context conference Landscapes of Insecurity, Landis presented his study on U.S. intervention's relationship with global insecurity. The conference was held September 16-17 at the University of Oklahoma in collaboration with the Center for Peace and Development. For more please visit www.securityincontext.com. Panel filmed by the University of Oklahoma, edited by Nick Bythrow with graphics by Owen Neuburger.
November 9, 2022: CMES, with the Farzaneh Family Center for Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies and the Institute for US-China Issues, co-sponsored a talk with Ambassador Chas Freeman, Visiting Scholar, Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, Brown University.
October 25, 2021: "Leaving Afghanistan: Fowzia Karimi on Her Family's Flight and Her Art," with Fowzi Karimi, a writer and illustrator, on her novel Above Us the Milky Way. Moderator is CMES/Farzaneh Family Center Director Joshua Landis.
August 30, 2021, "Teach-In and Discussion on Afghanistan," with Fereshta Abbasi (Human Rights Lawyer & former advisor to Afghanistan Attorney General Office), Christian Cabaniss (Retired Colonel, Marine Corps and Military Operations Analyst), Joshua Landis (Director, OU Center for Middle East Studies), Mike Boettcher (OU Gaylord College of Journalism), Mohammad Qadam Shah (Seattle Pacific University).
"Yezidis of Iraq: The Struggle Against a 21st Century Genocide," with Pari Ibrahim, Executive Director, Free Yezidi Foundation
"Reopening Muslim Minds: A Return to Reason, Freedom and Tolerance," with Mustafa Akyol, Cato Institute
To keep up with events sponsored by CMES, join our public Facebook group.
November 8, 2023: Israel & Palestine: Is It Too Late for a Two State Solution?
A panel discussion with Rhona Seidelman, OU Department of History; Husam Mohamad, Professor of Political Science, University of Central Oklahoma; Hadas Cohen, OU Department of History; Joshua Landis, OU Department of International & Area Studies
October 23, 2023: From God’s Sovereignty to Godlike States: The Nineteenth-Century Worlds of Sayyid Fad, a talk with Wilson Chacko Jacob, Concordia University, Montréal. A Center for Middle East Studies Brown Bag Lecture.
April 3, 2023: #YemenCan'tWait: Civil Actors and Justice Work in Yemen, a talk with with Stacey Philbrick Yadav, Associate Professor of International Relations, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, co-sponsored by the Center for Middle East Studies, the Center for Peace and Development and Security in Context
November 9, 2022: United States, China and Great Power Competition in the Middle East, A Zoom talk with Ambassador Chas Freeman, Visiting Scholar, Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, Brown University, co-sponsored by the Center for Middle East Studies and the Institute for US-China Issues
October 3, 2022: Jordan-United States Relations: An Enduring Friendship in the Ever-Changing Middle East, a conversation with Ambassador Dina Kawar, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to the United States of America
October 18, 2022: The Biden Administration, Human Rights, and Democracy in the Middle East, a Brownbag Lecture Series talk with with Samer Shehata, Colin Mackey and Patricia Molina de Mackey Associate Professor in Middle East Studies, OU Department of International & Area Studies
September 15, 2022: Syria and the Middle East: What is America's Mission?
CMES Brown Bag Lecture Series with Joshua Landis
November 18, 2021: Sunni-Shi'a Relations in the Middle East (PDF), a talk with IAS Professor Joshua Landis at the Washington Institute of Foreign Affairs
September 29, 2021: Global Jihad and Movements of Rage, with Glenn E. Robinson, Professor, Naval Postgraduate School
April 7, 2021: Yezidis of Iraq: The Struggle Against a 21st Century Genocide, a documentary and conversation with Pari Ibrahim, Executive Director of the Free Yezidi Foundation
October 25, 2021: Leaving Afghanistan: Fowzia Karimi on Her Family's Flight and Her Art, with author Fowzia Karimi
August 30, 2021: Teach-In and Discussion on Afghanistan, a panel discussion
March 29, 2021: Reopening Muslim Minds: A Return to Reason, Freedom, and Tolerance, with Mustafa Akyol, Senior Fellow, Cato Institute
September 10, 2020: Conversation with Joshua Landis: Update on Syria and the Middle East
February 3, 2020: Iran-US Conflict: What's Next for the Region? with Trita Parsi, Executive Director at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, IAS Associate Professor Samer Shehata, and IAS Professor Joshua Landis
November 8, 2019: Afghanistan, Iraq, and the War on Terror, with John Nash, CEO, Sporting Global Former US diplomat and US Army Special Operations Officer
October 28, 2019: The Fall of the ISIS Caliphate: The Battle for Mosul, with with James Verini, New York Times Magazine
April 25-26, 2019: IAS Symposium, The Struggle to Shape a New Middle East Regional Order
April 2, 2019: The New Turkey and the Middle East, with Mustafa Akyol, Senior Fellow, CATO Institute
November 7, 2019: Iranian Reconstruction and Development in Syria: Geopolitical Interests, Conflict-Based Drivers, and Transnational Linkages, with Eric Lob, Assistant Professor of Politics and International Relations at Florida International University
April 25, 2019: Jihadi Salafism and the Decline of Isis: What’s Next? with Cole Bunzel, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Islamic Law and Civilization, Yale Law School
February 19, 2019: The Contagion of Religious Nationalism in the Middle East, with Mark Farha, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies
April 11, 2018: Mass Atrocity in Myanmar: How the Rohingya Crisis Unfolded and the World’s Failure to Respond, with Matthew Wells, senior crisis advisor at Amnesty International
February 28, 2018: Linda Sarsour: Unapologetically Muslim, a talk with activist Linda Sarsour as part of the Muslim Student Association’s Islam Awareness Week
April 9, 2018: Strategic Orientalism: Fantasies of Literary Origins in Modern Arabic and Hebrew Literatures, with Shir Alon, Mellon Faculty Fellow, Washington and Lee University
November 3, 2017: It's Good to Be the King, or Is It? The "Refo-lutionary" Promise of teh PJD Islamists, Street Protests and Regime Control in Morocco," with Mohamed Daadaoui, Oklahoma City University
October 20, 2017: Arabic-Persian Cultural Summit: Discussion and Dinner
October 3-27, 2017: A is for Arab: Stereotypes in U.S. Popular Culture, a traveling exhibit based on New York University's Jack G. Shaheen Archive
October 23, 2017: Ottoman Tolerance and Its Legacy Today, with Yaron Ayalon, Ball State University
October 17, 2017: Muslims in the Iraq War: A Cinematic Perspective, with Dr. Kristian Petersen, University of Nebraska
November 29, 2016
Middle East Social Hour
with Chrisitan Sahner, Cambridge University
October 24, 2016
The Foreign Policies of Clinton and Trump
Roundtable Discussion with Firat Demir, Joshua Landis, Peter Gries, Robert Lifset and Alan McPherson
October 3, 2016
Christians, Muslims and the End of the Ancient World
with Dr. Jack Tannous, Princeton University
September 8, 2016
Iran and the World
Panel Discussion with Ambassador Seyed Hossein Mousavian and Professor Samer Shehata
April 11, 2016
Armies and Revolutions: The Arab Spring in Comparative Perspective
by Dr. Zoltan Barany, The University of Texas at Austin
March 24, 2016
Islam in America, What in the World Is Going on?
Student Panel Discussion: What is it like to be a Muslim in Oklahoma?
Dr. Charles Kimball, Dr. Manata Hashemi
February 29, 2016
Do Drones Have A "Blowback" Effect? Some Evidence From Pakistan's Tribal Areas
with Dr. Aqil Shah, University of Oklahoma
February 8, 2016
Israel and the Palestinian Territories in 2015 a Retrospective
by Dr. D. Gershon Lewental
October 27, 2016
Discovering Baghdad
with Lauren Camp, Poet and Performer
October 17, 2016
War and Peace in Yemen
Panel disucssion with Joshua Landis and Waleed F. Mahdi
October 14, 2016
The War Against ISIS
with Dr. Nadim Shehadi, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy Tuft University
September 30, 2016
Music from Syria and Behond
A concert with Kenan Adnawi and Tareq Rantisi
April 20, 2016
Syrian Refugee Crisis
The LEAF Project
March 30, 2016
Syrian Refugee Crisis Seminar
Learn more about the crisis and how you can help; Engage with members of the OU community about providing humanitarian relief, Get Involved
March 8, 2016
Palestine, What Will Its Future Be?
with Dr. Husam Mohamad, University of Central Oklahoma
February 11, 2016
Middle East Social Hour
Break away from your busy dan and join us for chai & chat with students and faculty who are interested in the Middle East.
April 15, 2015
ISIS, Is it Jihad or Terrorism? Islamic Law and International Law as They Relate to the Islamic State
by Mohammad Wattad, University of California, Irvine
April 3, 2015
Syria: The Worst Humanitarian Crisis of the Century
by Dr. Hamed Albeik, University of Aleoop
March 10, 2015
Israeli Elections Primer: Understanding and Interpreting the March 17, 2015 Elections
by D. Gersshon Lewental, Schusterman Visiting Professor of Israel Studies
April 8, 2015
Security Society in Gaza: Police Encounters Under Egyptian Rule
by Dr. Ilana Feldman, George Washington University
March 30, 2015
Measuring Freedom, An Exploration of Freedom House's Research and Analysis
with Vanessa Tucker, Vice President of Analysis at Freedom House
February 19, 2015
How Islam Saved the Jews
by David Wasserstein, Vanderbilt University
November 14, 2014
Changing Views of the Middle East (PDF)
with Professor Yasser Derwiche Djazaerly, Fitchburg State University
October 13, 2014
Beyond Sunni and Shites: Understanding the Violent Recalibration of Arab State, Sect, Tribe and Citizen (PDF)
A Brown Bag Lunch with Rami Khouri, The T.A. Hamra Practitioner-in-Residence and Director of the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policty and International Affairs at the American Unviersity of Beirut
September 08, 2014
"Syria, the Rise of the Islamic State, and US Policy" (PDF)
A Brown Bag Lunch with Joshua Landis, Director of Center for Middle East Studies
April 21, 2014
Twelve Years in Afghanistan:What Has the U.S. Military Learned? (PDF)
Discussion with Linda Robinson, senior international policy analyst at the RAND Corporation
April 18, 2014
The Iran-Iraq War of Words: Enlisting Nationalism and Religion in Combat (PDF)
with D. Gershon Lewental, PhD, Schusterman Visiting Professor of Israeli Studies
April 08, 2014
Everything You Need to Know about... The Indian/Pakistan Conflict (PDF)
A discussion with Emily Rook-Koepsel and Mariam Mufti
March 26, 2014
"The Arab Spring and Identity in a Changing Middle East" (PDF)
with Professor Franck Salameh, Assistant Professor of Near East Studies at Boston College
February 28, 2014
The Tumultuous Seventh Century: The Arab-Islamic Conquests and the Reshaping of the World (PDF)
Lecutre by D. Gershon Lewental, Shusterman visiting professor of Israel Studies
February 27, 2014
Political Crisis in Turkey: What's Next? Future of Turkish Democracy (JPG)
with Fevzi Bilgin, Executive Director of Rethink Insitute
November 10, 2014
Slave Women of ISIS, An eyewitness account & slideshow of the Islamic State's attempt to wipe out the Yazidis of Iraq and enslave over 7,000 women and girls (PDF)
A Brown Bag Lunch with Matthew Barber, Ph.D. candidate in the department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at University of Chicago
October 17, 2014
Remaking the Arab World (PDF)
A roundtable and lunch with Barak Barfi, Rami Khouri, and Joshua Landis
September 11, 2014
Confronting Militarism: Global Solidarity Against War and Oppression (PDF)
Lecture, Discussion, and Dinner with Medea Benjamin, cofounder of CODEPINK and the international human rights organization Blobal Exchange
April 18, 2014
Arab Culture Night (PDF)
Presented by The Arab Student Associaiton. Join us for Food, Music and Dancing.
April 11, 2014
"Palestinian Folk Poetry As Extemporized-Sung Rhymes" (PDF)
with Dr. Dirgham Sbait
This presentation includes an introduction of the oral poetic tradition of the Arabs; commonly performed Palestinian and Lebanese sung poetry-zajal-in modern times; and the various genres of the Palestinian improvised sung folk poetry.
April 02, 2014
Saudi Night by The Saudi Student Association (JPG)
A cultural flight to Saudi Arabia
March 04, 2014
Turkey and the War in Syria: Will It Bring Down Erdogan? (PDF)
with Baris Doster, Professor of Political Science and International Relations at Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey
February 26, 2014
Israel and the Challenges in the Middle East (PDF)
with Israel Ambassador Meir Shlomo, Counsul-General of Israel to the Southwest
February 20, 2014
Lawrence of Arabia Architecture of War: The Impact of Landscape on Politics (PDF)
Center for Middle Eastern Architecture & Culture hosts this screening with introductions by Joshua Landis
April 25, 2013
"Hitler's Little Helpers: Axis Agents in Palestine 1939-1945" (PDF)
A Presidential Dream Course Lecture by Dr. Bernard Wasserstein
November 13, 2012
The Light In Her Eyes (PDF)
A film about women and Islamic education. A Woman is a school. Teach her and you teach a generation.
September 27, 2012
"Inside the Afghan Taliban: Politics, Poetry and the Future of Afghanistan" (PDF)
A lunch and lecture with Alex Strick van Linschoten
October 19, 2012
"State of Syria and the Role of American Leadership" (PDF)
Panel discussion with Joshua Landis, Afshin Marashi & featuring Ambassador Kurt Volker, McCain Institute for International Leadership
April 20, 2011
"Palestinian-Israeli Impasse: A New Approach is Needed" (PDF)
Lecture and dinner with Maen Rashid Areikat, PLO Representative to the United States
March 03, 2011
"The Peace Process: Is the Age of Bilateral Talks Over?" (PDF)
with Ophir Pines-Paz, Former Israeli Minister of Interior and Minister of Science, Culture, and Sport, and former Member of the Israeli Knesset (parliament) from the Labor Party.
April 07, 2011
Riots, Unrest and Democracy in the Mediterranean (PDF)
Lectures by Robert Cox, Norman Stillman, Yaron Ayalon, Firat Demir, and Mohamed Daadaoui
February 28, 2011
"American Foreign Policy: Adjusting to a Shifting Middle East Landscape" (PDF)
with Professor Kenneth Stein, William E. Schatten Professor of Contemporary Middle Eastern History and Israeli Studies at Emory University, and the director of the Institute for the Study of Modern Israel, also at Emory.
November 18, 2010
The Arab Experience of Democracy: Between Absolutism and Imperialism (PDF)
by Eugene Rogan, Director of the Middle East Centre at St. Antony's College, University of Oxford
September 21, 2010
My America, My Islam: Muslims talk about Islam in America and the New York Islamic Center Controversy
Panel discussion, 7 pm
Regents Room, OMU
March 29, 2010
Obama's AfPak Policies: Surge or Quagmire? (PDF)
Brown Bag Lunch with Juan Cole
Noon Hester Hall, Room 170
"Can the US Avoid War with Iran?"
Public Lecture with Juan Cole
4:30 pm, Robert S. Kerr Auditorium
Sam Noble Museum of Natural History
September 27, 2010
"Modern Iran: The People, Their Lives, and What Makes Them Tick"
Public lecture and book signing with Hooman Majd
4:30 pm
Sam Noble Museum of Natural History
Robert S. Kerr Auditorium
April 5, 2010
Personal Identities in Global Conflict Zones: A Jewish Israeli Reporting from the Muslim World (PDF)
Brown Bag Lecture with Orly Halpern
Noon Ellison Hall, room 132
March 10, 2010
Contemporary Trends in North American Muslim Women's Activism (PDF)
by Leila Ahmed, Harvard Divinity School
March 1, 2010
Jesus and Mary in Islam (PDF)
with Stephanie Saldaña, author of The Bread of Angels: A Journey to Love and Faith
Fall 2009
Center for Middle East Studies Brown Bag Lunch Series (PDF)
September 15, 2009: "Natural Disasters and Confessional Boundaries in Ottoman Syria" by Yaron Ayalon
September 29, 2009: "Iran and US Foreign Plicy" by Trita Parsi
November 17, 2009: "The Muslim Songs of David" by David Vishanoff
October 8, 2009
Crunch Time in the Middle East: The Obama Administration, Iran and the Arab-Israeli Peace Process (PDF)
with Ambassador Daniel C. Kurtzer, S. Daniel Abraham Chair in Middle East Policy Studies Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University
February 25, 2009
How to Win a Cosmic War: God, Globalization, and the War on Terror (JPG)
with Reza Aslan, Fellow at the University of Southern California's Center on Public Diplomacy and Middle East Analyst for CBS News.
Reza Aslan, an internationally acclaimed writer and scholar of religions, is a fellow at the University of Southern California's Center on Public Diplomacy and Middle East Analyst for CBS News. He is also a featured blogger for Anderson Cooper 360. Aslan's first book is the New York Times Bestselling, No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam.
November 11, 2009
"The US and Iran in the aftermath of the Iranian election crisis"
with Trita Parsi
Sam Noble Museum, 4:30 pm
October 12, 2009
"How Generation Facebook and Women are Changing Religion and Politics in the Middle East"
with Mona Eltahawi
Sam Noble Museum, 7:00 pm
October 7, 2009
The Political Future of Iraq (PDF)
with Adeed Dawish, Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Miami University
February 26, 2009
Intelligence and Torture (PDF)
with Staff Sergeant Eric Maddox, author of “Mission: Blacklist #1”
Panelists: Dr. David Edger & Dr. Christopher Howard
Moderator: Dr. John Fishel
October 14, 2008
The Islamic Other: Fundamentalism and Sufism in the Muslim World and Beyond (PDF)
with Itzchak Weismann, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Middle Eastern History at the University of Haifa
Sandra Mackey was an Oklahoma pioneer. She lived a life of the mind and adventure. After graduating from the University of Central Oklahoma, Sandra earned an advanced degree in International Studies from the University of Virginia. With her husband, Dan, an OU graduate, she moved to Saudi Arabia, where Dan served as a Doctor. Sandra began a secret life as a journalist, writing under a pseudonym to evade Saudi censors. She was a regular in The Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, and Los Angeles Times. Sandra went on to become a best-selling author, writing six superb books on the Middle East, some of which went through many editions. She interviewed heads of state from Arafat to King Hussein and traveled from China to Lebanon and everywhere in between. Sandra was also a fine photojournalist, who built up a portfolio of slides that is full of beauty and searing portraits.
Her knowledge of the Middle East and its complexities was rivaled by only the most seasoned Middle East hands. Many of her insights were prescient, none more so than that in the closing words of her book on Iraq, The Reckoning: Iraq and the Legacy of Saddam Hussein, which she completed in 2002 on the eve of the US invasion. She cautioned policy makers who were pressing for regime-change in Iraq that they should not “ignore the threat to American security that could come with Hussein’s demise.” Her prediction was as wise as it was unheeded.
Sandra Mackey’s quick wit, charm, and expertise made her a fixture on NPR and BBC, as well as the major TV networks. She was a commentator for CNN during the first Gulf War and a consultant to the US military during the early years of the occupation of Iraq.
Most of all, however, Sandra was an educator. Her first job was as a teacher in Oklahoma City. Not content to profess only to a small class in Oklahoma and itching to explore the world, Sandra propelled herself onto an international stage, where see became an educator to a much larger audience. She was the best kind of public intellectual, always keenly aware that to reach people she had to entertain as well as instruct. Sandra returned to academe periodically throughout her life, teaching political science at Georgia State and developing a course on Middle East studies for one of Atlanta’s finer magnet schools. Sandra continued to lecture across the country at universities, to foreign affairs groups, and in Washington right up to her untimely death.
Sandra is a paragon of the Oklahoma Pioneer woman. Her life and spirit serve as an example to students, teachers, and Oklahomans of every stripe.
Click thumbnails below to browse photos from the Sandra Mackey Collection.
