News

Please join us on April 23rd at 3:30PM for the culmination of our Career Pathways Initiative internship program for the 25-26 academic year. Our five outstanding undergraduate student interns will present on projects that they have worked on throughout the fall and spring semesters. Each student worked with a CMEIS [...]

Join CMEIS and the UNC African Studies Center for a special capstone presentation featuring two UNC Area Studies Center MSI Fellows whose innovative research expands our understanding of the African diaspora. This facilitated panel moves beyond traditional Atlantic frameworks to explore the deep-rooted histories and vibrant contemporary lives of African-descendant [...]

Please join us on April 1st for the final installment of our Annual Lecture Series. Iran is experiencing severe environmental challenges today which have been worsened by warfare, poor environmental management, and the effects of global warming.  Water shortages and pollution in the capital of Tehran have reached the point that [...]

In cooperation with the National Humanities Center, CMEIS is proud to announce that our annual Arab American Heritage Festival will take place on May 1st at 6PM. This will be the final event at the Center for Middle East and Islamic studies before our scheduled closure in June, so we [...]

Join Dr. Sheera Talpaz on Thursday, April 16th at 5:30PM to discuss Three Worlds: Memoirs of an Arab-Jew by Avi Shlaim. The first 20 participants to register will receive a free physical copy of the text.  About the memoir: Today the once flourishing Jewish community of Iraq, at one time numbering over 130,000 and [...]

Join Dr. Sheera Talpaz on Wednesday, March 26th at 5:30PM to discuss [...] Ellipsis by Fady Joudah. The first 20 registrants will receive a free physical copy of the text.  About the Text: Fady Joudah's powerful sixth collection of poems opens with, "I am unfinished business," articulating the ongoing pathos of the Palestinian [...]

This panel brings together scholars of Iranian Studies to examine the unfolding crisis in Iran, from the nationwide protests and violent state crackdown in January 2026 to the escalating regional war that followed. The discussion asks what is often overlooked when Iran is framed primarily through the lens of geopolitics [...]

Join us for a panel discussion examining the economic prospects of Iran in a potential post-Islamic Republic transition. Experts will discuss immediate economic stabilization challenges, medium- and long-term economic planning, and policy frameworks being developed by Iranian policy groups. This will include a critical analysis of the Iran Prosperity Plan [...]

On Monday, March 9, UNC graduate students are invited to a virtual meet & greet with Dr. Jazmin Graves Eyssallenne, a Faculty Fellow sponsored by the Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies & UNC’s Institute for Arts and Humanities. Register here: go.unc.edu/meetourfacultyfellow Dr. Eyssallenne is Assistant Professor in the African [...]

Please join us for a discussion of Dr. William Sherman’s text Singing with the Mountains, winner of Carolina's Outstanding Contribution to Middle East and Islamic Studies Book Award. About the Text: “In the Afghan highlands of the sixteenth century, the messianic community known as the Roshani­yya not only desired to find God’s word [...]

Join Dr. Elyse Crystall, UNC Professor of Comparative Literature, on Wednesday, March 11th at 5:30PM to discuss The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates. The first 20 registrants will receive a free physical copy of the text and must indicate below when they will pick it up. Register here: Discussion of 'The [...]

Please join us at 6PM on March 6th in the atrium of the FedEx Global Education Center! In light of our impending closure, this will be the final iftar hosted by the Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies. We are really looking forward to celebrating with our community during [...]