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Middle East Studies Center Theses and Dissertations

Theses/dissertations from 2024 2024.

Investment Strategies of GCC Sovereign Wealth Funds: Aligning National Development and Geopolitical Goals , Roy Conners

Lebanon needs food, water, medicine and social media , Elisabeth Croese

Which Tools Can Aid the Management of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Community Based Heritage Organizations in Cairo? A Case Study of Shubra’s Archive , Mienke Zwemstra

Theses/Dissertations from 2023 2023

Repress or Defect: Military Defections in Syria in 1982 and 2011 , Namat Abulebada

Determinants of Democratic Regression: The Case of Tunisia , Bassant Ahmed

Theses/Dissertations from 2022 2022

Waqf in Transition: Tracing Local Institutional Change during the British Mandate in Palestine , Zachary Murray

“No masses without Muslims’ approval” The Crisis of Building and Restoring Churches in Egypt: Three Case Studies from El-Minya Governorate , Sara Shaltout

Theses/Dissertations from 2021 2021

Beirut/The Other side of the City: The Impact of Visual Texture Production of the Lebanese Postmemory Generation, 1989 - Present , Mohamed Moustafa Gameel Ebada

Vision Redux: Power and Policy in Saudi Arabia , Ross Douglas Kimm

The Social Effect of the IMF Policies Post Arab-Spring in the Middle East , Noha Nafie

Theses/Dissertations from 2020 2020

Created vulnerabilities: political economy of tourism development in Sharm El Sheikh , Catherine Meaghan Walsh

Theses/Dissertations from 2019 2019

Cross-Mediterranean Egyptian migrants: a discursive analysis , Sara Hussein

The Druze-Maronite sectarian clash in the War of the Mountain (1983-1984): The resilience of mid-nineteenth century Maronite-Druze enmities in the Druze collective memory and its impact on the dynamics and consequences of Harb Al Jabal , Lara Moenes Mikhail

Surviving ISIS:Life Stories of Yezidi Women , Marian Mounir Rizkalla

Nonviolent jihad: an immanent critique , John Roedel

Theses/Dissertations from 2018 2018

Negotiation of Space in Garden City: Urban Securitization, Gender, Everydayness and Affective Encounters. , Diana Magdy

Egypt's desert paradoxes, promises, and possibilities: A study of land reclamation policies along Cairo-Alexandria desert road , Salwa Yehia Salman

The politics of burden-sharing in the refugee regime: The refugee as point of reference , Mark van de Fliert

Theses/Dissertations from 2017 2017

From the young Turks to Kemalists: Links and discontinuities , Erica Dunham

Birth control in context: A case study of urban Egyptian women , Farida Ezzat

Fashion in Amman new camp: An ethnographical study of consumption in a Palestinian refugee camp , Ashley Fortner-Dominguez

Islamophobia in South Korea with a focus on Muslim migrants , Sang Yong Han

Between accumulation and (in)security: The real estate industry and the housing crisis in Egypt , Norhan Sherif Mokhtar

The other Copts: Between sectarianism, nationalism and catholic Coptic activism in Minya. , Ana Carol Torres Gutiérrez

Theses/Dissertations from 2016 2016

The Turkish Olympics: Festival into the Gulen movement , Sean David Hobbs

Resurrecting Eden: inaugural British narration and policy of Iraq , Timothy Kennett

Theses/Dissertations from 2015 2015

The discourse of drug use in Egypt: an interdisciplinary exploratory study , Alejandro Gutierrez

Theses/Dissertations from 2014 2014

Nubians and development: 1960-2014 , Samantha Allen

Quotas in Egypt: Understanding the Implementation and Discourse about Introducing Quotas for Women in the People’s Assembly between Women’s Groups, Members of Parliament and Political Parties from 2005-2012 , Kristen Anne Belle-Isle

The sisters of the Muslim Brotherhood: Islamic activism for better or for worse , Amira Elserafy

Learning to be Lebanese: socializations of citizenship and subjecthood in Beiruti primary schools , Jade Lansing

From the Forefront to the Sidelines: Youth in Post-Revolution Egypt , Khadiga Omar

Power politics and sexual harassment in Downtown Cairo , Cally Walker

Theses/Dissertations from 2013 2013

Ethnicity homegrown: how the Lebanese-Argentines in Buenos Aires construct ethnicity , Bianca Kemp

Urban geographies of romance: meeting and mating in Cairo , Elaine van Dalen

Forgotten in the diaspora: the Palestinian refugees in Egypt, 1948-2011 , Lubna Yassin

Theses/Dissertations from 2012 2012

Media darlings: the Egyptian revolution and American media coverage , Rebecca Fox

Thank you, merci, shukran! private education and language in Egypt , Ericka Galegher

Charity and Nationalism: The Case of ‘Abd Allah al-Nadim’s Islamic Philanthropic Society , Mohamed Amr Gamal-Eldin

Gender and identity in contemporary Coptic society , Hazel Haddon

Seeking a place in a nation: the exodus of the Tunisian Jewish population 1954-1967 , Sean Haley

Going international: the development and operations of al QaÃida in the Islamic Maghreb , Sarah Faye Mangrem

Musical protest and revolutionary media: capital transformation among artists, activists, and journalists during the 14 January Revolution , Nathanael Mannone

Playing against the rhythm: the intersection of gender and performative space in Iran , Leila Rafei

Building nations, dividing peoples: Israel, Syria and the struggle for the Druze , Daniel W. Stoker

Theses/Dissertations from 2011 2011

Al Jazeera as a political tool within the contradictions of Qatar , Munehiro Anzawa

Factors influencing an increase in the U.S. study abroad poplulation in the Middle East/North Africa , Cara Kathleen Lane

The policies of the state and targeting the poor in Egypt: Egypt's transition to a welfare state? , Catherine Isaac Van Bebber

Theses/Dissertations from 2010 2010

Quaker activity in Ramallah: 1869 -1914 , Catherine C. B. Baylin

Till' death (or conversion) do us part - Coptic divorces in Egyptian courts and their implications , Barbara Viktoria Bishay

Manufacturing consent: Italy, the Mutamassirun, Egypt, and the invasion of Libya , Andrew Heiss

Arabism and the Syrian Intelligentsia in Cairo: 1900-1918 , Justin Hoyle

Theses/Dissertations from 2009 2009

The Constitutive role of torture in the modern Egyptian state , John M G Brown III

Economic liberalization and female labor force participation in Egypt: Women empowerment or feminization trap? , Dahlia Hassanien

Negotiations for the first land-based oil concession in Qatar , Ivan Rosales-Montes

Theses/Dissertations from 2008 2008

Kurds in the Mosul province 1918-1932 , Kristen Alff

Rote learning in the Egyptian national education system: possible roots and consequences , Deena Mahmoud Sami Douara

Regional integration, capital investment and the cultural content of Egyptian TV: the case of MBC and OTV , Sahra Gemeinder

Holocaust education in Egyptian secondary schools , Marisa Jones

Saudi Arabia: remodeling authoritarianism for the 21 st century , Kira D Jumet

Gendering labor contestation in Egypt , Francesca Mara Ricciardone

From Brothers to Partners: The Evolution of China's Foreign Policy to the Middle East (1949-2008) , Shuang Wen

Theses/Dissertations from 2007 2007

The politics of the response to HIV/AIDS in Egypt and Sudan: Analysis of NGO, state and donor involvement , Lenka Benova

War in Iraq and Lebanon: Egyptian public opinion, civil society and foreign policy , Anne Silke Czichos

Modernized and updated Turkish conservatism , Battal Dogan

New imaginings: Hizballah, Iran, and the dynamics of articulation , Hebah Farrag

The construction of a national identity in exile: Palestinians in Egypt , Wael Mohamed Ismail

Theses/Dissertations from 2006 2006

Egypt: A State of Emergency, A State of Mind , Diana Elassy

Dam development and human security: The Iraqi water situation , Amy L. Rue

Theses/Dissertations from 2005 2005

Refugee and Migration trends in Jerusalem: The Shufat Refugee Camp and Ar Ram Commercial Town - The Contested Status of Jerusalemites , Riman Barakat

Contemporary Alevi Politics: The Case of Corum , Hande Bayrak

Institutionalization and Reform: the Case of the National Democratic Party in Egypt , Safinaz El Tarouty

Theses/Dissertations from 2004 2004

Secular and Islamic feminist voices in Egypt louder if together , Hoda Osman

Theses/Dissertations from 2003 2003

Defying secularization , Sean W Anthony

Civil society and faith-inspired social action in the Middle East , Samuel Rizk

Theses/Dissertations from 2002 2002

The impact of migration on Sudanese labor migrants and the problems of integration of their families in the society of the United Arab Emirates , Sarra El Tayeb El Harith

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• ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global This link opens in a new window ProQuest database providing the electronic equivalent of Dissertation Abstracts International. Beginning with the first U.S. dissertation in 1861, represents the work of authors from North American and European universities on a full range of academic subjects. Indexes and provides access to Georgetown-authored theses and dissertations. more... less... Includes abstracts for doctoral dissertations beginning July 1980 and for Master's theses beginning Spring 1988. Citations for dissertations published from 1980 forward include 350-word abstracts. Citations for Master's theses from 1988 forward include 150-word abstracts. Most dissertations published since 1997, and some from prior years, are available for free download; others may be requested via Interlibrary Loan.
• Dissertations & Theses (Georgetown-authored) The Georgetown institutional repository includes thousands of graduate and undergraduate dissertations and thesis as well as faculty and staff research.
• Australasian Digital Theses Program This link opens in a new window Indexes theses produced at Australian and New Zealand universities. Includes access to 150,000 theses, with over 5,000 available full-text online. Provides links to home institutions for access to non-digitized theses.
• EThoS: Electronic Theses Online This link opens in a new window The British Library's database of digitized theses from UK higher education institutions. Free registration and login is required.
• Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations This link opens in a new window Presents a searchable and browsable collection of electronic theses and dissertations. Includes masters- and doctoral-level theses and dissertations from about 70 institutions, U.S. and international. Particularly useful as masters' level theses are not often available in other collections
• Theses Canada Portal This link opens in a new window Index of Canadian masters theses and doctoral dissertations from 1965-present. Full text available from 1998 through August 31, 2002; those after 2002 may be available in Dissertations and Theses
• Theses.fr This link opens in a new window Provides access to more than 5000 theses on all subjects submitted in French to universities around the world, since 2006. Most are digitized and available in full text.
• Open Access Theses and Dissertations The number of electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) openly available via institutional repositories has grown dramatically in recent years, increasing the need for a centralized service to search for this unique material. Open Access Theses and Dissertations (OATD), launched in early 2013, is on the path to fulfill that need. Not as large as the commercial subscription service ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Database, distinguishes itself by providing access to more than 1.6 million open-access theses and dissertations freely available from over 800 institutions worldwide. The simplified interface allows searching across all fields or, in advanced search, by specific field (Title, Author Name, Abstract, University/Publisher, or Subject/Keywords). In addition, users may limit searches to a specific language or date range. Search results may be sorted by relevance, author, university, or date more... less... Depending on the search, results may be further limited by date, university, department, degree, level (e.g., doctoral vs. master's), or language. The number of hits for entries under each limit is conveniently displayed in the left column. Links to the full text residing on the home institution's site are provided for each record. In many instances, several pages of the thesis or dissertation are available for viewing. Though other sites cover similar material, e.g., PQDT Open http://pqdtopen.proquest.com and Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations, OATD focuses exclusively on open-access ETDs, and serves as an excellent resource for students and researchers. Its usefulness will continue to increase as more ETDs are made freely available
• Reviews of Dissertations on... Founded in 2010, Dissertation Reviews is a new site that features overviews of recently defended, unpublished doctoral dissertations in a wide variety of disciplines across the Humanities and Social Sciences. Our goal is to offer readers a glimpse of each discipline’s immediate present by focusing on the window of time between dissertation defense and first book publication.
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St Andrews has a long standing tradition of Middle Eastern Studies extending back into the nineteenth century. The Department of Middle Eastern Studies offers a range of degree programmes and other study opportunities for undergraduate and postgraduate students.

For more information please visit the School of History home page.

This material is presented to ensure timely dissemination of scholarly and technical work. Copyright and all rights therein are retained by authors or by other copyright holders. All persons copying this information are expected to adhere to the terms and constraints invoked by each author's copyright. In most cases, these works may not be reposted without the explicit permission of the copyright holder.

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The qarāmiṭa of baḥrayn and their relationship with the ʿabbāsid caliphate (ah 273–375 / 886–985 ce) , the topkapı sarayı müzesi qurʾān manuscript h.s. 32 : its history, text, and variants , iran's role in afghanistan in the modern era : leveraging influence for regional supremacy , the iconography of the palace : court and court culture in madînat al-zahra during the 'golden' age of umayyad al-andalus , domestic slavery in syria and egypt, 1200-1500 .

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All CMES AM degree candidates have the option to write a thesis under the guidance of and in close consultation with the Director and/or thesis adviser. The minimum thesis standards for the CMES AM degree are:

• The thesis should demonstrate original research and fresh interpretation of a subject.
• The thesis should employ a significant degree of original sources in one or more Middle East languages.
• The thesis should demonstrate the candidate's familiarity with previous scholarship related to the subject matter.
• The thesis should follow the appropriate scholarly format and include proper scholarly apparatus, including footnotes and bibliography (see The Form of the PhD Dissertation on the Harvard Griffin GSAS website).
• The typical thesis is approximately 50 to 60 pages in length (with Times New Roman font size 12, double spacing, and standard margins as required by Harvard Griffin GSAS) or of a length deemed appropriate by the student’s thesis adviser.

The AM thesis often begins as a seminar paper. Since a thesis is substantially longer than most seminar papers, seminar papers usually need to be significantly developed if they are to meet the CMES Steering Committee's requirements for a thesis. Students are encouraged to think about their thesis topic as early as possible and to discuss their choice of topic with the Graduate Program Administrator. Students should certainly have a clear idea about their thesis topics at the beginning of their second year.

All students are expected to observe the Committee's specified deadline for completion of the thesis. Note that this deadline is different than the FAS dissertation submission date. Students are required to submit to the CMES Graduate Program Administrator one hard copy and one PDF of the completed thesis. Late submission of a thesis will result in a delay in graduation.

All AM theses are evaluated by at least two faculty readers. The first reader is the thesis adviser. The Committee designates the second reader, normally another faculty member with academic interests close to those of the thesis topic; students are welcome to make suggestions to the Committee on the designation of their second reader. Eligibility for the degree depends on the final acceptance of the thesis by the two faculty readers.

The final version of the thesis will be submitted by the deadline to the CMES Graduate Program Administrator.

Outstanding theses may be nominated by their readers for the Best Thesis Prize, an annual prize given by the Committee for the best AM thesis or theses. The CMES AM thesis is a part of the academic record and as such is deposited in the Harvard Archive.

See our list of recent AM thesis titles for a snapshot of the areas of interest to recent grads.

CMES Thesis Prize

CMES awards a thesis prize of $300 for the best master's thesis in Middle Eastern Studies as determined by a faculty committee. The thesis prize is awarded annually at the end of the spring semester.

Writing Resources

All AM students are strongly encouraged to make use of the Fellowships and Writing Center and to explore the Harvard Griffin GSAS  web page for graduate student writing resources.

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Researching the Middle East

Cultural, conceptual, theoretical and practical issues.

• Lorraine Charles , Ilan Pappé and Monica Ronchi
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Please login or register with De Gruyter to order this product.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
• Copyright year: 2021
• Audience: College/higher education;
• Main content: 248
• Other: 4 B/W illustrations
• Keywords: Islamic Studies
• Published: April 5, 2022
• ISBN: 9781474440325

MES4590 – Master Thesis in Middle East Studies

Course description, course content, learning outcome, admission to the course, examination, schedule, syllabus and examination date.

• Autumn 2024
• Spring 2024
• Autumn 2023
• Spring 2023
• Autumn 2022
• Spring 2022
• Autumn 2021
• Spring 2021
• Autumn 2020
• Spring 2020
• Autumn 2019
• Spring 2019
• Autumn 2018
• Spring 2018
• Autumn 2017
• Spring 2017
• Autumn 2016
• Spring 2016

The master thesis should be a scientific investigation of a theoretical or empirical kind; it represents an independent piece of research, carried out under supervision. The research question should be precisely defined, the method well founded, and the argumentation systematically presented. The subject and research topic for the thesis may be chosen from a wide range of topics associated with Middle East society and politics, history, language or literature, and is chosen in cooperation with the supervisor. Supervision is compulsory. Sources in Middle East languages should constitute at least 1/5 of the source material used.

This course is combined with one of the following options:

• AMS4900 – International Project Term in Asia and the Middle East or
• MES4610 – Voices from the Middle East: How to Communicate Research Results and MES4020 – Fieldwork in the Middle East or
• Semester abroad .

In addition to supervision, students must attend thesis seminars led by members of the academic staff. The seminar gives students opportunities to present and discuss drafts and sketches, as well as training in commenting on the drafts and sketches of other students.

• The writing of the thesis provides students with training in developing research projects from original idea to fully completed research report in the form of a master’s thesis.
• An aim of the thesis work is also to develop the students’ ability to critically and independently assess source material in accordance with relevant theories.

Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb .

If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures .

Admission to the programme option Middle East Studies under the programme for Asia and Middle East Studies.

Formal prerequisite knowledge

• MES4000 – Theory, Methodology and Project Description in Middle East- and South Asia Studies
• MES4010 – Critical Literature Review in Middle East Studies
• MES4110 – Readings of Middle Eastern Texts

The teaching is given as seminars throughout the semester. Academic supervision of the master’s thesis is compulsory. Up to 8 hours of individual supervision will be given. 

Compulsory activities

• Participation in 4 thesis seminars led by members of the academic staff.
• At least 2 oral presentations of sections of your thesis.
• Be a discussant at least two times for students who are presenting.
• Prepare a table of contents of your thesis.
• Academic supervision

Absence from compulsory activities

• Here you will find information about compulsory activities at the Department of Cultural Studies and Oriental Languages.

It is important that you familiarize yourself with the rules regarding absence from compulsory activities, to prevent being excluded from teaching and losing your eligibility to take the exam.

The master`s thesis is to be submitted by 1 December in the autumn semester and 1 June in the spring semester.

The thesis must be 35 to 50 pages (2300 characters per page, excluding spaces, excluding list of references). You must submit your thesis in Inspera - see guides for digital exams .

You must fulfil the requirement of the compulsory activities in order to submit your master's thesis.

Guidelines for submission of a Master's Thesis at IKOS.

Language of examination

The thesis is normally written in English, alternatively in a Scandinavian language.

Grading scale

Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system .

More about examinations at UiO

• Use of sources and citations
• Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
• Withdrawal from an exam
• Illness at exams / postponed exams
• Explanation of grades and appeals
• Resitting an exam
• Cheating/attempted cheating

You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO .

Facts about this course

Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages

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Home > Dissertations, Theses & Capstones Projects by Program > Middle Eastern Studies Master's Theses

Middle Eastern Studies Master's Theses

Theses from 2024 2024.

A Comparison of the Islamophobic Experiences of the Female Convert and Immigrant Muslims in America , Aliaa Dawoud

Language Play and Racial Dysphemism in the Marrakchi Language Space , Spencer Fausel

Theses from 2023 2023

Writing as Liberation: Challenging Yemeni Patriarchal Practices , Sheema Alamari

A Critical Study of Contemporary Palestinian Musical Culture , Karl H. Hausmann

Changing Homelands: The Election of Menachem Begin and The Diplomatic Campaign to Bring Ethiopian Jews to Israel , Abraham Silberstein

Theses from 2022 2022

“The People are Tired, and Just Want to Have Fun”: Mahraganat Music and the Struggle for Sonic Presence in Post-2013 Egypt , Mohammed Elfeky

Theses from 2021 2021

When Saeed Betrays Fuad: Laughing at the Mechanized Occupation , Ezgi Demirors

Between Kurdistan and Damascus: Kurdish Nationalism and Arab State Formation in Syria , Alexander K. McKeever

Theses from 2020 2020

Mandated to Report: The Role of the Nationalist Press in Reporting Zionist Land Expropriation and Labor Conquest in Palestine During the 1930s , Walaa AlGhussein

Did the Muslim Ban Cause Islamophobia? Institutional versus Individual Prejudice , Emma Handte

The Truman Administration and Zionist Legitimation Strategies to Achieve Statehood , Gianna Meier

An Analysis of Women and Terrorism: Perpetrators, Victims, Both? , Elizabeth Lauren Miller

Closing the Chasm: Al-Fārābī on Islam and Politics , Onur F. Muftugil

The Piety Movement in an American Suburb: The Experiences of Women of the Islamic Circle of North America on Staten Island , Aisha Raheel

Paper House: The Revolution, the Disappeared, and the Historicity of Lebanon , Elsa Saade

Devotional Literature of the Prophet Muhammad in South Asia , Zahra F. Syed

Theses from 2019 2019

Death of the Caliphate: Reconfiguring Ali Abd al-Raziq’s Ideas and Legacy , Arooj Alam

The Difficulties of Filming Syrian Refugee Populations Living in Jordan: Obstacles to Objectivity and Accuracy in Reporting , Thaddeus E. DeCaprio

Conceptions of Modern Egyptian Childhood During the Period of the “Liberal Experiment” in Egypt, 1922–1952: A Comparative Study of Taha Hussein’s, “An Egyptian Childhood,” and Sayyid Qutb’s, “A Child from the Village” , Nora Elgabalawy

The Room with a View: Fatwas, Space, and Ritual in Contemporary Mecca , Nesrien Hamid

Comparative Analysis of Al-Ard by ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sharqawi and the Film by Youssef Chahine: Prison Literature and Collective Memory , Rana Hassan

The Forgotten Comrades: Leftist Women, Palestinians, and the Jordanian Communist Party, 1936–1957 , Fadi H. Kafeety

Remaking of a Modern Islamic Turkey , Ayҫa Korkutan

Theses from 2018 2018

The New Veil: A Fundamentally Modern Phenomenon , Hassan Mortada

Theses from 2017 2017

Leftist Militant Songs and War of Position in Lebanon (1975-1977) , Mohamad J. Hodeib

Is There a Secular Tradition? On Treason, Government, and Truth , Ali M. Uğurlu

Theses from 2016 2016

Perspectives on Iraq's Past, Present, and Future in the Works of Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr and Yusuf Salman Yusuf , Amnah Almukhtar

The Modernity of Tradition: Abraham Shalom Yahuda on Freud's "Moses and Monotheism" , Ilan M. Benattar

Mobilizing for Capitalism: How Islamic Civil Society Makes a Market Economy Possible in Turkey , Dean G. Schafer

Theses from 2015 2015

Corruptions, Imitations, and Innovations: Tropes of Ibn Taymiyya's Polemics , Faris Al Ahmad

Adonis' Poetics of Vision and Modernity , Rasha Arabi

Luti Masculinity in Iranian Modernity, 1785-1941: Marginalization and the Anxieties of Proper Masculine Comportment , Robert Joseph Bell

The Spark That Lit the Flame: The Creation, Deployment, and Deconstruction of the Story of Mohammed Bouazizi and the Arab Spring , Elizabeth Ann Cummings

The World Bank, Amartya Sen and Cultural Heritage as Development in Jordan , Mark Guarnaccia

"Young Men of the Stones": Gendering the First Palestinian Intifada , Karen Lauria

Poetry And The Arab Spring , George A. Simon

Theses from 2014 2014

Latinas Converting to Islam in New York: Habitus’ influence in modern identity formation , Amalia Alonzo

The Role of Water in the Rise, Prominence, and Decline of Nabataean Petra , Dennis Cummins

Integration or Interrogation? Franco-Maghrebi Rap and Hip-Hop Culture in Marseille , Jenna Catherine Daley

Saudi Aramco and the Politics of Cultural Heritage , Anahid Hanounik Huth

Performing Modernity in Turkey: Conflicts of Masculinity, Sexuality, and the Köçek Dancer , Brittany Giselle Haynes

Finance and Empire: 'Gentlemanly Capitalism' in Britain's Occupation of Egypt , Jared Paul Iacolucci

From Backlash To Mobilization: Muslim American Prayer Spaces In Post-9/11 New York , George E. Melissinos

An Examination of Western Representation of the Muslim Brotherhood Through Various Media Outlets, Popular Literature and How has Recent History and Outside Influences Affected the Viewpoint Presented to the Public? , Lynn Andrew Perkins

Sentiment and Geopolitics in the formulation and realization of the Balfour Declaration , Janko Scepanovic

Brothers in Motion: Religious Practice, Political Action, and the Mobilization of the Early Muslim Brotherhood , Ian Henry VanderMeulen

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Middle East and North Africa: Important Topics of Interest

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Organizations

The following websites will help you find additional resources on the Middle East.

• Middle East Studies Association The professional organization for Middle East scholars
• Africa & Middle Eastern Reading Room at the Library of Congress Library of Congress collections of Middle East resources
• World Bank Middle East and North Africa Regional and Country Reports and Data
• United Nations News Center -- Middle East
• ArchNet It is an international online community for architects, planners, urban designers, landscape architects, conservationists, and scholars, with a focus on Muslim cultures and civilisations.
• Athar Project: Facebook's Black Market in Antiquities The ATHAR Project’s report covers nearly two-years of investigative research and incorporates a case study on Groups based in Syria.
• The Cost of Afghanistan War Costs of the Afghanistan war, in lives and dollars- AP News.
• Delivering Democracy “Delivering Democracy” 5th CIHRS’ annual report on the human rights situation in the Arab world.
• Human Rights in the Occupied Territories Publications- Open Access Journal.
• Updates on the Middle East Recent Reports, Proceedings, Analyses and Papers from the Internet on the Middle East & Africa, Islam and Related Issues.
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• Last Updated: Aug 2, 2024 5:31 PM
• URL: https://libguides.gwu.edu/MENA

Everything begins with an idea!

Middle East Research Paper Topics

The hardest part of writing a dissertation or research paper about the Middle East is to decide which topic to give your essay. You need to be creative but also unique, ensuring you come up with a topic that has never been used previously. You must as well understand the subject matter and ensure you use ideas and content that has not been discussed in other essays.

Choose a topic you find interesting and easy to express your views on. Basing the subject of your Middle East research paper on a topic you love and enjoy will ease the way you communicate your ideas as well as amplify your idea base. Likewise, you won’t spend so much time researching the topic and content since you’ll already have an idea on what you are writing. The Middle East has a history that’s so complex and expansive to describe in a single paper. And so there are so many topics and issues you can base your essay writing on, including religion, culture, social values, and social ideas. Here is an expansive range of Middle East research paper topics that university and college students can use in their essay assignments.

• How The Authoritarian Rule Aided Spread of Democracy in the Middle East
• Reasons Turkey Wasn’t Affected by World War II
• A Research Paper on the Raise of Middle East Populace
• The Effects of the Escalating Middle East Populace
• Dreadful Ways the Middle East Was Affected by War
• Fascinating Ways Religious Heritage Affected the Middle East
• Exciting Reasons Saudi Arabia Wasn’t Gravely Affected by World War II
• The Main Triggers of Most Middle-East Political Disputes
• Argumentative Essay on Why Saudi Arabia Grew to Become A Middle East Pacesetter
• The Triggers of Age-Old Issues in the Middle East
• How the Middle East Was Gravely Affected by War
• Research Paper on the Effects of Growing Refugee in the Middle East
• Fascinating Reasons America Gets More Interested in the Middle East Every Day
• Funny Reasons Why Turkey Adopted the Islamic and Western Basics
• How did Turkey adopt Islamic and Western Basics?
• The Indirect Ways Australian Forces Triggered the Palestine-Israel Conflict
• Why Did Jews Choose to Settle In Palestine
• A Research Paper on Middle Eastern Women
• What Historical Problems Originated from the East?
• How Oil Discovery In The Middle East Changed Its Economy?
• How India’s Increasing Need for Oil Changed Its Geo-Politics?
• Why The Egyptian Great Pyramid Remained Unchanged for Over a Century?
• Common Middle East Border Clashes and What Caused Them
• A Research Paper on Computer Exportation to South Arabia
• How The Changing India-China Dynamic Relationship Impacted the World
• Rarely Known Facts On Why India-Sri Lanka Relationship Triggered Both Love and Hate
• How Foreign Countries Stimulated The Current Conflict in the Middle East
• A Research Paper on Software CDs and Music Marketing in South Arabia
• Ways The Ottoman’s Found the Way Out of The Middle East
• Common Historical Problems Originating From the Middle East

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* Zotero Group Library on “how to write a dissertation” and other topics of interest to graduate students: *Grab your research with a single click. *A personal research assistant. *Store anything.

• Writing and Presenting Your Dissertation or Thesis : detailed outline of proposal, writing and thesis presentation.
• How to Organise Your Thesis : a succinct coverage of the postgraduate thesis process.
• How to Write a PhD Thesis : practical advice on the problems of getting started, getting organized and dividing the task into less formidable pieces.
• Writing Your Dissertation? - Academic Dissertation Help
• The modern researcher / Barzun, Jacques, 1907-2012. New York, Harcourt, Brace [1957]
• The craft of research / Booth, Wayne C., autho. Chicago : The University of Chicago Press, 2016.
• Doing qualitative research   / Silverman, David, 1943- authorLondon ; Thousand Oaks, California ; New Delhi ; Singapore : SAGE Publications Ltd, [2013]

Middle East & Islam Theses

• Dissertation Abstracts Recent Dissertations related to the Middle East, the Arab World and Islam.
• Islamic Studies Theses via EthOS (UK) Full-Text Doctoral Dissertations on Middle East and Islamic Studies Available Free. Free download of theses after registering (free). "Almost all UK universities make their theses available through the Service."  [ Digital islam: Theses on EThOS Selected doctoral theses (860) in Islamic Studies from UK Higher Education Institutes.]

Supreme Council of Universities (Egypt). Egyptian Universities’ Libraries Consortium . Theses & "Draft Theses"

Masters and PhD of Egyptian researchers

Theses under study in Egyptian universities

Osmanlı Edebiyatı Bibliyografyası Veritabanı - The Online Bibliography of Ottoman-Turkish Literature , a free and extensive database of references to theses, books, articles, papers and projects relating to research into Ottoman-Turkish culture. Please visit the Turkish version of this site if your first language is Turkish. 

Bibliography of Doctoral Dissertations in English on Arabic-Western Literary Relations, 1902-1997

THESES & DISSERTATIONS MIDDLE EAST STUDIES (University of Utah Marriott Library) Circulating copies of the theses and dissertations listed below are available in the University of Utah Marriott Library. Non-circulating copies of all Middle East Studies theses and dissertations, dating back to 1972, are available for review at the Middle East Center.

Morocco - Toubk@l In French. "catalogue national des thèses et mémoires" Database of citations. Includes abstracts but not full text of the theses. Theses are from Moroccan universities and universities outside Morocco.Produced by the Institut Marocain de l'lnformation Scientifique et Technique (IMIST)." http://toubkal.imist.ma/

Al Manhal "Al manhal database (online theses) aims at promoting the consultation and downloading of theses, dissertations defended by members of the juries from different countries. Thanks to the services offered by the different cyber-theses and thesaurus of many universities, we put at the disposal of the researchers a huge number of considerable documents without geographically being limited to the Arab World and Turkey." [The Faculty of Human and Social Sciences of Tunis. University of Tunis; The Cairo faculty of Letters; Cairo University. King Saoud University(KSA); King Abdu Aziz University (KSA)].

Laura Bier Dissertations in Middle East Studies from 2000-2007

Dissertations on al-Ghazali

General Guides to Dissertations & Theses

• ProQuest Dissertations and Theses With more than 2 million entries, PQD&T is the single, central, authoritative resource for information about doctoral dissertations and master's theses. Dissertations published from 1980 forward include 350-word abstracts written by the author. Master's theses published from 1988 forward include 150-word abstracts. UMI offers over 1.8 million titles for purchase in microfilm or paper formats. More than 600,000 are available in native or image PDF formats for immediate free download. Coverage begin in 1861 to the present.
• Foreign Doctoral Dissertations --Center for Research Libraries NO LONGER UPDATED. The collection includes doctoral dissertations submitted to institutions outside the U.S. and Canada. The range of years includes mid-19th century through the present, with the greatest concentration in the late 19th, early 20th c.
• Find Open Access Dissertations and Theses

Other aggregations of open access dissertations:

• EThOS - Electronic Theses Online Service
• DART-Europe E-theses Portal
• List of sources of the scientific search engine BASE
• List of Institutional Repositories
• UNESCO Clearinghouse of Electronic Theses and Dissertations "A database of institutions (universities, libraries, computing centers, publishing houses, etc. with ETD [ electronic theses and dissertations ] projects ), experts in the field of ETD, and technical and educational materials availabe on the Web to support and disseminate ETD." http://www.eduserver.de/unesco/
• UNESCO Guide for Electronic Theses and Dissertations For institutions interested in producing e-theses. "a resource for graduate students who are writing theses or dissertations, for graduate faculty who want to mentor ETD authors, for graduate deans who want to initiate ETD programs, and for IT administrators at universities." http://etdguide.org/
• Center for Research Libraries. Foreign Doctoral Dissertations Database CRL, in Chicago, has more than 750,000 foreign doctoral dissertations (from the U.K., France, Sweden, Germany, Netherlands, South Africa, etc. ). Members may borrow dissertations. Description of program Use the Keyword (or Author, Institution, Title, etc.) search. http://www-apps.crl.edu/catalog/dissertationSearch.asp
• Database of African Theses and Dissertations "The DATAD database contains citations and abstracts for theses and dissertations completed in African universities. The launching database includes works from all subject areas in ten leading universities and include abstracts written by the authors." Register to see selected brief citations. Full access requires a subscription. Participating universities are from Cameroun, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe. On the web site of the Association of African Universities based in Accra, Ghana. http://www.aau.org/?q=datad
• Memoire Online . In French. Full text of Memoires completed at African and French universities. Some examples follow. Based in Paris, France. http://www.memoireonline.com/
• Fichier Central des Thèses Database of doctoral theses in progress in French universities and higher educational establishments. "More than 80 institutions are partners of the Fichier central des theses which records approximately 9000 annually subjects of doctoral theses. The database is continually being updated. The Fichier central des thèses is of vital importance to postgraduate students both in choosing their research topic and in discovering work being done on related topics." Disciplines covered: Humanities and Arts, Languages and Cultural Studies, Anthropology, History, Geography, Linguistics, Psychology, Cognitive Science, Education, Sociology, Theology and Religious Studies, Law, Political Studies, Politics and International Relations, Business and Economics." Maintained by Université Paris X Nanterre, France. http://fct.u-paris10.fr/
• Dissertation Reviews Founded in 2010, Dissertation Reviews is a site that features overviews of recently defended, unpublished doctoral dissertations in a wide variety of disciplines across the Humanities and Social Sciences. Offers readers a glimpse of each discipline’s immediate present by focusing on the window of time between dissertation defense and first book publication. Each review provides a summary of the author’s main arguments, the historiographic genealogy in which the author operates, and the main source bases for his or her research. The reviews are also anticipatory, making educated assessments of how the research will advance or challenge our understanding of major issues in the field when it is revised and published in the future. Dissertation Reviews also features reviews of and guides to archives, libraries, databases, and other collections where such dissertation research was conducted, to help scholars improve their ability to undertake current and future research.
• Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) International organization dedicated to promoting the adoption, creation, use, dissemination, and preservation of electronic theses and dissertations. The website provides topics: how to find, create, and preserve ETDs; how to set up an ETD program; legal and technical questions; and the latest news and research in the ETD community.
• Google Scholar  Provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature. From one place, you can search across many disciplines and sources: articles, theses, books, abstracts and court opinions, from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities and other web sites.
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The Top 15 Most Interesting Dissertation Topics On The Middle East

Coming up with dissertation topics is likely the hardest part of the entire process. This is mostly because it has some key features that need to make sure that it possess is difficult. It has to be unique. You need to add to the overall knowledge of the subject so you have to write it on a topic that has not already been discussed. You should also need to make sure that you write it on a topic that you find interesting. That will help you write a better paper. Mostly because if you are writing about a topic that interests you, it will be easier to write. Also, you will have to spend a lot of time on the issue so it should be something that you enjoy.

• Security in the region: change in the state’s iron hand
• Authoritarian rule in the Middle East: why has it proven resistant to the spread of democracy
• Difficulties trying to achieve peace: urgency in geopolitics
• Revolution and social media: using these sites to ignite for oppositionists to bring down Authoritarian regimes
• Comparative social movement: new organizations and movements are emerging every day in the Middle East
• Islamist movement in new regimes
• Dealing with ISIS: methods and measures
• Young politics: oppositionists in Egypt rise up and will shape future politics
• Theoretical tools used to assess the role of media and culture on politics
• Comparative research on cultural beliefs: Middle East and United States
• Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations
• Conflict Transformation and resolution in the Middle East
• Essentialism versus Epochalism: Case study
• Rise of Arab nationalism
• Developing methods for the translation movement in Islam

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Once you have an interesting topic to write about, you are on your way to writing an exciting dissertation. You will have to get your topic approved by the board so it is important to make sure that you find solid evidence in your resources and work to show how they directly prove the points that you are making. You can’t just give a summary of the piece, you have to show how it specifically relates to your topic.

You need to make a plan to make sure that you give yourself enough time to complete the assignment, so work to get your topic approved early.

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Fears of Iranian attack on Israel keep tension high in Middle East

It’s unclear how many middle eastern countries will be willing to help this time, according to a u.s. official. some don’t want to be seen as aiding israel because of the war in gaza..

WASHINGTON – Tensions remained high between Israel and Iran Monday as the Pentagon rushed submarines, planes, warships and a top military officer to the region to head off a major conflict, according to U.S. officials.

The Middle East has been on edge since the recent assassinations of senior, Iranian-backed militant leaders in Beirut and Tehran. Iran’s top leaders have vowed to avenge the killings. Israel has not taken responsibility for the killing of a Hamas leader in Iran but acknowledges it killed the Hezbollah militant in Lebanon in an airstrike.

Gen. Erik Kurilla, who commands all U.S. forces in the Middle East, traveled to the region to shore up support among allies, according to a U.S. government official who was not authorized to speak publicly. In April, a U.S.-led coalition helped Israel thwart an attack by Iran with 300 missiles and drones.

It’s unclear how many Middle Eastern countries will be willing to help this time, the official said. Some don’t want to be seen as aiding Israel because of the war in Gaza, launched after the Hamas attack Oct. 7 attack that killed about 1,200 Israelis. Some countries have pointed to the protection of their own airspace as cover for allowing U.S. and allied forces to intercept missiles over their territory.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, met Monday afternoon with the administration’s national security team in the White House Situation Room to discuss the latest developments in the Middle East.

Earlier in the day, Biden spoke on the phone with King Abullah II of Jordan. “The leaders discussed their efforts to de-escalate regional tensions, including through an immediate ceasefire and hostage release deal,” The White House said. 

Late Friday, the Pentagon announced that it was dispatching more warships, submarines and fighter aircraft to the Middle East to support Israel and help protect the tens of thousands of U.S. troops stationed there. F-22s, the most sophisticated warplane in the Air Force arsenal, have been sent to the region.

U.S. officials had worried Friday that an attack by Iran was imminent, but that fear had subsided a bit over the weekend.

On Monday, there was no change to the threat level, according to two U.S. officials who were not authorized to speak publicly.

A wild card, however, is Iran’s proxy groups in the Middle East, said U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., and the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee. They could launch attacks on Israel without warning.

Smith told CNN Monday that Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Houthi militants in Yemen have been “turned loose” by Iran. Smith termed that “extraordinarily risky” given their fanaticism.

“It is a very nervous situation, and I think it’s a huge problem,” Smith said.

Contributing: Joey Garrison

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The Middle East braces for wider war as Iran weighs its response

After israeli strikes, america is rushing troops to the region and airlines are steering clear.

F OR A FEW hours over the weekend Israelis could enjoy an illusion of normalcy, as they watched their athletes in the Paris Olympics win three medals in a single day. Then they went back to scanning the headlines, as more foreign airlines cancelled flights to the country for fear of imminent conflict between Israel and Iran.

It seems all but inevitable that Iran will respond to a pair of Israeli assassinations carried out last month. On the night of July 30th an Israeli strike in Beirut killed Fuad Shukr, a senior commander of Hizbullah, the Lebanese Shia militia and political party. A few hours later another strike assassinated Ismail Haniyeh , the leader of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group.

Haniyeh was killed in a government guest house in Tehran, just hours after he attended the inauguration of Iran’s new president. That makes his killing impossible for Iran to ignore. In April, after Israel assassinated an Iranian general in an air strike on his country’s embassy compound in Damascus, Iran responded with a salvo of over 300 missiles and drones. After decades of using proxy militias to harass Israel, Iran set a new precedent: a direct attack on its territory would be answered in kind.

How it will answer, however, is impossible to predict. The first question is timing. In April it took Iran two weeks to retaliate. It wants to keep the Israelis on edge yet does not want to be seen as dithering. Another question is whether Iran will target only Israeli military bases, as it did in April, or attempt to hit a civilian target.

Then there is what Israeli intelligence analysts call “the blend”. Will the attack come solely from Iran, or will Hizbullah and perhaps other members of Iran’s Shia coalition, such as the Houthis in Yemen, fire as well? Since October Israel has taken fire from all directions, but Iran’s proxies have yet to unleash their full arsenals. Hizbullah, for example, has used mainly short-range rockets in its near-daily attacks on Israel. It could launch some of its larger missiles to avenge Shukr.

America has considerable forces in the region, including an aircraft-carrier strike group in the Persian Gulf and a marine expeditionary unit in the eastern Mediterranean. A squadron of F-22 stealth fighters is being rushed in; General Michael Kurilla, the head of America’s central command, has also arrived in the region. As it did in April, America is working with its Western and Arab allies to set up a defensive screen. Together with Israel’s own missile-defence capabilities, they hope to intercept most of the Iranian projectiles. Indeed, Iran itself may be waiting for this screen to be in place: that would allow them to retaliate against Israel but contain the potential fallout.

Iran and Hizbullah are not looking for all-out war. August 4th is the anniversary of the devastating explosion at Beirut’s port in 2020, which killed more than 200 people and wrecked much of the city centre. The blast was caused by a stockpile of ammonium nitrate at the port, and many Lebanese suspect Hizbullah had a hand in storing it there. The group is wary of inviting more destruction on the city.

There are voices calling for moderation in Tehran as well. Yousef Pezeshkian, son of the newly inaugurated president, wrote on his website that war with Israel is not a priority for Iran; rather, it should wage war on “poverty, corruption, discrimination, inequality and wasteful political factions”.

Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, and the hardline circle around him are unlikely to heed his call. But they will be aware that provoking further Israeli attacks, the next time perhaps on critical infrastructure, will not endear the regime to a population already suffering from frequent power cuts and water shortages. “The regime has to respond to a direct attack on Tehran,” says Raz Zimmt, an Iran watcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv. “But they fear they can’t rely on domestic support for an all-out war with Israel.”

The regime is also jittery about threats from within. Details of the explosion that killed Mr Haniyeh are murky, and Tehran is full of rumours about suspected collaborators. Iran has detained dozens of people for interrogation, among them senior intelligence officials. Mistrust within the security services will complicate their decision-making about a strike on Israel.

Israel will rely on the American-led coalition to help it fend off any barrage. If missiles do get through this time and cause major damage, they would force Israel to launch its own retaliatory strikes. Many Western governments have already called for their nationals to leave Lebanon (which is hard to do, since many airlines are cancelling flights there too). But America’s willingness to stand beside Israel is fraying.

The key to ending the spiralling violence in the region remains a ceasefire in Gaza, where tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed since October. Israeli and American negotiators believe that a framework for such a ceasefire exists: first a temporary truce, and then a more lasting one. In a tense phone call on August 1st, President Joe Biden accused Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, of not being serious about a deal. “Stop bullshitting me,” Mr Biden said, according to a report on Israel’s Channel 12.

Mr Netanyahu has told the Americans he supports the deal. But he has also repeatedly added new conditions to gum up the talks and told far-right coalition partners that he will not agree to end the war before “total victory”. Israel’s generals and spy chiefs are in consensus over the need for a ceasefire; they have held their own tense meetings with the prime minister in recent days.

The assassination of Haniyeh will delay any ceasefire talks until Hamas can appoint a new interim leader. The obvious candidate is Khaled Meshaal, Haniyeh’s predecessor. But he is estranged from Hamas’s Iranian patrons; he is also an opponent of Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader in Gaza, who will have the final say over any deal. With talks at an impasse until both Israel and Hamas can get their affairs in order, the chances of a much wider war continue to increase. ■

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Away From the War in Gaza, Another Palestinian Economy Is Wrecked

With the closure of checkpoints, Israeli Arabs cannot come to Jenin and Tulkarm to shop, and West Bank Palestinians cannot leave to work in Israel, cutting incomes and building militancy.

Covering up the wall of a house that was damaged after an Israeli raid in the Jenin refugee camp in June. Credit...

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By Steven Erlanger

Photographs by Sergey Ponomarev

Steven Erlanger reported from the cities and refugee camps of Jenin and Tulkarm in the northern West Bank.

• Published July 27, 2024 Updated July 28, 2024

Less than three years ago, Wassif Frahat spent $3 million to open a lavish, two-story restaurant, the Ali Baba. With an impressive, pillared entryway, polished stone floors, glittering chandeliers and colorful frescoes on the high ceilings, the restaurant was his commitment to a better future.

The Ali Baba, in Jenin, is just a few minutes’ drive from the Jalameh checkpoint, which in normal times allows Israeli Arab citizens entry to the West Bank. The atmosphere is Palestinian, and the shops, restaurants and services are significantly cheaper than in Israel. The crossing also allows Palestinians with valid entry permits to go to jobs in Israel.

But after Hamas invaded Israel from Gaza on Oct. 7, the checkpoint was closed. Israel withheld most tax revenue from the authorities in the West Bank, in an effort to weaken them and clamp down more broadly on Palestinians. The economy in the territory’s north collapsed, and the better future that Mr. Frahat expected now seems further away than ever.

The war that followed the invasion is devastating Gaza, but it is also impoverishing the West Bank, which has become a kind of second front in Israel’s battle against Palestinian militancy.

The Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the West Bank but does not run Gaza, has been paying only about 50 percent of the salaries it owes its estimated 140,000 employees. In the West Bank as a whole, which has a population of about three million, 144,000 jobs have disappeared since October, and 148,000 Palestinians who were working in Israel have lost their jobs, according to the World Bank. Before Oct. 7, unemployment in the West Bank was about 13 percent, compared to 45 percent in Gaza.

Mr. Frahat, 51, once had 53 employees at his restaurant and an older one in the city center. “Now I only have 18 because business is down by 90 percent,” he said.

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