Deren Ertas is a PhD candidate in history and middle eastern studies at Harvard. She was in Istanbul doing research when, beginning on February 6, 2023, a series of powerful earthquakes struck areas of southern and central Turkey and northern and western Syria. Following is a conversation with Ertas about her experiences in the aftermath of  these devastating events.... Read more about On the Ground Following the Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria: Q&A with Deren Ertas

In the summer of 2022, after a two-year hiatus due to Covid-19, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies’ five-week Arabic language program in Tunis made its long-awaited return. Led for a fifth time by the Gordon Gray Research Professor of Arabic and outgoing CMES Director William Granara, the program synthesized modern Tunisian history, literature, and culture through various texts dating from the early-twentieth-century pre-Independence period to the contemporary, post-Revolution setting. Nicolas Pantelick ’24, a joint NELC and government concentrator pursuing a concurrent AM degree...

In northern Tunisia, seaside Tabarka has played a central role in coral fishing and cross-Mediterranean trade since at least the 15th century. Today, red coral continues to be traded across the sea, despite reef degradation and the informal workings of coral trade networks. In an essay for Mashallah News, CMES PhD candidate in Anthropology and Middle East Studies Myriam Amri followed the Mediterranean red coral trade through time as it made the fabric of the small town of Tabarka in Tunisia. Read the essay at ...

CMES is pleased to congratulate this year's graduating students in our AM, AB/AM, and PhD programs.

... Read more about Congratulations, 2020-21 CMES Graduates!