The MES program seeks to foster student, faculty and public engagement with the history, politics, religions, economies and cultures of the Middle East. Broad in geographical and temporal scope and drawing on expertise from across UBC, the program trains the next generation of global citizens and leaders to understand one of the most misunderstood regions in the world.
In addition to examining the local, national and regional, MES situates the Middle East in a global context, allowing for study of Middle Eastern migrants, refugees and diasporic cultures, global manifestations of Middle Eastern faiths and faith-based communities, and the spread of problematic representations of Middle Eastern peoples and cultures. In doing so, the program acknowledges the Middle East’s long and enduring connections with Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, aiding students in understanding how the region intersects with their lives and of others.
MES students learn to…
…challenge paradigms and complicate widely held beliefs about the Middle East’s peoples and cultures.
…examine the roots, impacts, and complexities of topical subjects such as the Syrian Civil War, the Israel-Palestine Conflict, petroleum politics, and many others.
…look beyond conflict and gain awareness of the ME’s rich diversity, historically and contemporaneously
…discover local and global Middle Easts and contest the region’s traditional boundaries
History
The MES program at UBC is the first of its kind in British Columbia and a credit to the power and potential of faculty-student collaboration. The student-led Middle East Engagement Collective (MEEC) and Dr. Pheroze Unwalla (History) worked in tandem to develop, promote and gain consensus on the prospective program. Receiving strong support from students, faculty and staff throughout the Faculty of Arts, MES was officially established in 2020.
Vision
Growing MES and advancing the study of the Middle East at UBC and beyond are of paramount importance. At present, we are choosing to focus on the following areas:
- Faculty-Student Collaboration – The vibrant faculty-student collaboration that helped established MES will continue to inform its trajectory. In due course, we aim to trial and model faculty-student partnerships in course co-development, community engagement, and other areas. UBC students are encouraged to contact the Program Chair with ideas on how they might contribute to growing MES.
- Curricular Development – We are committed to developing further MES courses and creating new partnerships with departments and programs at UBC. Our goal is to provide students with greater course options as well as a more comprehensive education on the Middle East. Students are also encouraged to approach the Program Chair and/or other MES-affiliated faculty with requests for directed reading courses or student-directed seminars on MES topics that might not currently be covered at UBC.
- Community and Public Engagement – MES students delve into a fraught field of study and, at times, examine some of the most contentious and provocative subject matter in all of academia. Given these circumstances as well as the harmful stereotypes about the Middle East that pervade our societies, it is imperative that we engage and inform diverse publics at UBC and beyond about the Middle East, its peoples, politics and cultures. Faculty and students will work together on these endeavors.