University of Michigan Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies

10/08/2026

Next week! 🎉
We’re officially one week away from the CMENAS 65th Anniversary Celebration on Wednesday, October 14 at the Michigan League.

CMENAS turns 65! 🎉

Join us on Wednesday, October 14, 2026 at the Michigan League for the CMENAS 65th Anniversary Celebration: Legacy, Scholarship, and the Future of MENA Studies.

The day will feature former directors, alumni, faculty, educators, students, and friends of the Center, along with a keynote by UM alum Aaron David Miller at 3:00 p.m.

📅 October 14, 2026
📍 Michigan League, Vandenberg Room

Full program:
https://ii.umich.edu/cmenas/news-events/events/anniversary.html

We hope to see you there!

10/01/2026

CMENAS turns 65! 🎉

Join us on Wednesday, October 14, 2026 at the Michigan League for the CMENAS 65th Anniversary Celebration: Legacy, Scholarship, and the Future of MENA Studies.

The day will feature former directors, alumni, faculty, educators, students, and friends of the Center, along with a keynote by UM alum Aaron David Miller at 3:00 p.m.

📅 October 14, 2026
📍 Michigan League, Vandenberg Room

Full program:
https://ii.umich.edu/cmenas/news-events/events/anniversary.html

We hope to see you there!

09/17/2026

Join CMENAS on Wednesday, September 23 for our next Fall 2026 Colloquium lecture with journalist, writer, and lecturer Ismail Einashe

In “Making the ‘Migrant Crisis?’: Media, Power and Perception,” Einashe will draw on a decade of reporting across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa to examine how media has shaped the public understanding of migration and helped define the idea of a permanent “migrant crisis.”

📅 Wednesday, September 23
⏰ 2:00–4:00 PM
📍 555 Weiser Hall
The event is free and open to the public.

09/16/2026

Dont miss this TODAY at 2PM, 555 Weiser Hall ‼️

CMENAS Fall 2026 Colloquium Series:

Join CMENAS for a lecture by Ayşehan Jülide Etem, Assistant Professor of Media Studies at the University of Virginia and author of Film Diplomacy: A Media History of Turkey-US Relations.

Professor Etem examines the role of educational films, institutional networks, and audiovisual media in shaping the US–Turkey alliance before and during the Cold War.

Wednesday, September 16, 2026
2:00-4:00 PM EST
Room 555, Weiser Hall 5th Floor

Read more here: https://myumi.ch/RQVA4

09/15/2026

Tomorrow at CMENAS! 🎬

Join us for “Projecting Power: Film Diplomacy and the Making of the Turkey-US Alliance” with Ayşehan Jülide Etem.

⏰ 2–4 PM
📍 555 Weiser Hall

We hope to see you there!

CMENAS Fall 2026 Colloquium Series:

Join CMENAS for a lecture by Ayşehan Jülide Etem, Assistant Professor of Media Studies at the University of Virginia and author of Film Diplomacy: A Media History of Turkey-US Relations.

Professor Etem examines the role of educational films, institutional networks, and audiovisual media in shaping the US–Turkey alliance before and during the Cold War.

Wednesday, September 16, 2026
2:00-4:00 PM EST
Room 555, Weiser Hall 5th Floor

Read more here: https://myumi.ch/RQVA4

09/08/2026

CMENAS Fall 2026 Colloquium Series:

Join CMENAS for a lecture by Ayşehan Jülide Etem, Assistant Professor of Media Studies at the University of Virginia and author of Film Diplomacy: A Media History of Turkey-US Relations.

Professor Etem examines the role of educational films, institutional networks, and audiovisual media in shaping the US–Turkey alliance before and during the Cold War.

Wednesday, September 16, 2026
2:00-4:00 PM EST
Room 555, Weiser Hall 5th Floor

Read more here: https://myumi.ch/RQVA4

08/26/2026

📢 UMAPS 2027–28 Applications Are Now Open!

CMENAS is excited to partner with the University of Michigan African Studies Center to expand the University of Michigan African Presidential Scholars (UMAPS) Program to scholars in North Africa.

UMAPS offers early-career scholars the chance to spend a semester at U-M, develop their research, work with faculty mentors, and connect with scholars from across the University and beyond.

🇪🇬 Scholars at universities in Egypt may apply directly.

Scholars from Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Sudan, and Tunisia may participate through nomination by a U-M faculty member with whom they have an established relationship.

🗓️ Deadline: October 15, 2026

Know a scholar who might be a great fit? Share this post with them or tag a colleague below!

Learn more: ii.umich.edu/asc/fellows/umaps

05/11/2026

The latest CMENAS newsletter has arrived, featuring the people, programs, and conversations shaping MENA studies at U-M. 🌍✨

📖 Read here: https://myumi.ch/e7QwM

04/22/2026

TODAY at 5:30PM at 555 Weiser Hall!

Join us for Sitting with Loss: An Evening of Poetry and Translation, hosted by CMENAS.
This in-person event brings together undergraduate students, PhD students, and faculty for readings that reflect on recent events in Iran.
📅 Wednesday, April 22
🕠 5:30 PM
📍 555 Weiser Hall
🔸 In person only, snacks provided!