About MESA Global Academy

What is MESA Global Academy?
The Middle East Studies Association (MESA) Global Academy is an interdisciplinary initiative that sustains essential research collaborations and knowledge production among scholars in the humanities and social sciences from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and their counterparts outside the region.
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WHO DOES THE GLOBAL ACADEMY FUND?
The Global Academy supports displaced scholars in the humanities and social sciences whose work falls within Middle East Studies, broadly defined. The Global Academy invites scholars to apply from comparative literature, history, and Islamic studies to political science, anthropology, economics, and beyond.
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How do I apply?
Scholarships have been awarded for the 2024-2025 academic year. Please check back in the spring of 2025 for the next funding cycle. The Global Academy awards scholars in the field of Middle East Studies $5,000 grants to further their research and collaboration with MENA-focused scholars in North America.
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The MESA Global Academy Fellows Panel meets virtually in 2020.
Global Academy Scholar Issam Eido presents his research.

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MESA Global Academy Scholars

Scholarship Eligibility Information

Competitive fellowships are available for displaced scholars from the MENA region, primarily those currently located in North America, whose work is broadly focused on Middle East Studies. Eligibility criteria are: 1) a PhD or equivalent in a field in the social sciences or humanities (graduate students will not be considered); 2) a primary institutional affiliation in the MENA region prior to displacement; and 3) a publication record indicating scholarly productivity (in English, French, a native MENA language, or principal research language of the field).

Trajectories of Resistance in the Middle East

On Wednesday, October 30, 2024, the Middle East and Islamic Studies Program at George Mason University hosted MESA Global Academy Fellows Dr. Nijmeh Ali and Dr. Begum Burak for this online panel.

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Sustaining Higher Education in Gaza

On Wednesday, October 23, 2024, the Global Academy, in partnership with the Arab Studies Institute, BRISMES, NSMES, the Scholars at Risk Network, and the New University in Exile Consortium, hosted six scholars from Gaza who spoke about their efforts to sustain higher education in the face of genocide and scholasticide.

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Gaza Scholars Speak Out on Scholasticide

On October 11, 2024, Jadaliyya hosted four MESA Global Academy scholars from Gaza -- Drs. Ahmad Abu Shaban, Yousef Algherbawi, and Mohab Sawali of Al-Azhar University and Dr. Mohammed Hamdona of the Islamic University of Gaza -- for a discussion on scholasticide in their home context.

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Recent and Upcoming Events from MESA Global Academy