Lebanese-American artist Helen Zughaib's work is on display this month at CGIS, under the auspices of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies. Her paintings have been displayed widely in public collections, at the White House, the Library of Congress, and elsewhere; they often lend themselves to diplomatic optimism, even as they depict people in desperate situations: fleeing catastrophe in Syria, leaving home to emigrate to America, selling tiny items in the street to feed their families. Read a review of the exhibition and of Zughaib's accompanying artist talk in ...

Harvard’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies opened its first field office in Tunisia last Tuesday in an effort to expand Harvard’s global presence and provide resources for scholarship in the Middle East and North Africa region. Read more in the Harvard Crimson.

In an October 14 article in the Independent, journalist Robert Fisk writes about the Turkish city of Gaziantep and the "Liberation" mosque as a milestone on the journey between one great crime of the 20th century, and another seen during the Second World War. He talks with CMES visiting postdoctoral fellow Ümit Kurt, whom Fisk calls "perhaps the greatest font of knowledge on this period."

Caitlin Schiffer, a reporter for BUTV10, Boston University's television station, produced this video piece about the April 16-17 performances of Feathers of Fire, a groundbreaking cinematic shadow play based on the Persian epic Shahnemeh (The Book of Kings), hosted by the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the Fitzgerald Theatre in Cambridge.... Read more about Video: Behind the Scenes of Feathers of Fire