middle east research paper ideas

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

Have top experts do your papers.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Middle East and North Africa: Important Topics of Interest

• General Reference
• Books & Manuscripts
• Arab Spring & Refugees
• Armenian Genocide
• LGBTQ Issues
• Islamic State- ISIS
• Israel-Palestine Conflict
• Kurdish Issue
• Racism in MENA Region
• Sudan & Darfour Conflict
• Blogs, Podcasts and News Sources
• Think Tanks & NGOs
• Maps & Atlases
• Photographic Collection
• Data & Statistics
• Primary Sources
• Women Activism & Islam
• Religions in MENA Region
• MENA Governments
• Arabic Language help
• Posters and Graphic Novels

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.
• << Previous: Journals
• Next: Arab Spring & Refugees >>
• Last Updated: Aug 8, 2024 12:09 PM
• URL: https://libguides.gwu.edu/MENA

Center for Middle East Studies

Research areas.

As an agenda-driven center with a multi-disciplinary faculty, Middle East Studies organizes several signature initiatives and projects, spearheaded by annual conferences, that sustain ongoing research, programming, and teaching initiatives.

Palestinian Studies

Islam and the humanities, gender studies in the middle east and beyond, racialization and racism in the middle east and its diasporas, gender and body politics: arts in the middle east and its diasporas, kurdish studies project, arts and social change.

• Architecture and Design
• Asian and Pacific Studies
• Business and Economics
• Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
• Computer Sciences
• Cultural Studies
• Engineering
• General Interest
• Geosciences
• Industrial Chemistry
• Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies
• Jewish Studies
• Library and Information Science, Book Studies
• Life Sciences
• Linguistics and Semiotics
• Literary Studies
• Materials Sciences
• Mathematics
• Social Sciences
• Sports and Recreation
• Theology and Religion
• Publish your article
• The role of authors
• Promoting your article
• Abstracting & indexing
• Publishing Ethics
• Why publish with De Gruyter
• How to publish with De Gruyter
• Our book series
• Our subject areas
• Your digital product at De Gruyter
• Contribute to our reference works
• Product information
• Tools & resources
• Product Information
• Promotional Materials
• Orders and Inquiries
• FAQ for Library Suppliers and Book Sellers
• Repository Policy
• Free access policy
• Open Access agreements
• Database portals
• For Authors
• Customer service
• People + Culture
• Journal Management
• How to join us
• Working at De Gruyter
• Mission & Vision
• De Gruyter Foundation
• De Gruyter Ebound
• Our Responsibility
• Partner publishers

Your purchase has been completed. Your documents are now available to view.

Researching the Middle East

Cultural, conceptual, theoretical and practical issues.

• Lorraine Charles , Ilan Pappé and Monica Ronchi
• X / Twitter

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

• Northeastern University Library
• Research Subject Guides
• Middle East Studies
• Special Topics
• Get Started
• Find News Sources
• Find Archives and Primary Sources
• Language and publishing tools

Arab-Israeli Conflict

Democratization and the Arab Spring

• Women and Gender

Islamic Finance

The Islamic State: ISIS/ISIL

• Teaching about the Middle East
• Learn about Middle East Studies at NU

Middle East Studies : Special Topics

Common research topics.

Islam and Women

Teaching about Islam and the Middle East

• << Previous: Language and publishing tools
• Next: Arab-Israeli Conflict >>
• Ask a Librarian
• Last Updated: Aug 2, 2024 3:42 PM
• URL: https://subjectguides.lib.neu.edu/middleeast

Written content on a narrow subject and published in a periodical or website. In some contexts, academics may use article as a shortened form of journal article.

• Green Paper
• Grey Literature

Bibliography

A detailed list of resources cited in an article, book, or other publication. Also called a List of References.

Call Number

A label of letters and/or numbers that tell you where the resource can be found in the library. Call numbers are displayed on print books and physical resources and correspond with a topic or subject area.

Peer Review

Well-regarded review process used by some academic journals. Relevant experts review articles for quality and originality before publication. Articles reviewed using this process are called peer reviewed articles. Less often, these articles are called refereed articles.

A search setting that removes search results based on source attributes. Limiters vary by database but often include publication date, material type, and language. Also called: filter or facet.

Dissertation

A paper written to fulfill requirements for a degree containing original research on a narrow topic. Also called a thesis.

Middle East and Islamic Studies Library Resources

• HOLLIS Search
• Manuscripts @ Hougton Library
• Romanization/ Transliteration
• Remote Research
• Catalogs & Digital Collections (beyond Harvard)
• Steps for Searching in a Database
• Strategies for Searching Various Databases
• Encyclopedias
• Manuscripts
• Government & NGO Documents
• Film Collections & Streaming
• Diaspora _ Muslims in America
• Research in Tunisia
• Tunisia Summer Program
• Mapping Islam in China

Locating Journals & Serials

A DATABASE is an inventory of materials (electronic journals, ebooks , articles) that allow for searches for a designated topic across one interface with links to the full-text of articles or chapters.

An INDEX is a collection of citations, often including information about articles such as abstracts. Full-text access is not usually available.

A BIBLIOGRAPHY is a curate lists of key texts on a specific topic or sub-discipline which includes, for the most part, citation information and may include limited annotated information or abstract about the text as well.

• Steps for Searching a Database
• Strategies for Searching a Database

MES Top Rated Databases

Index Islamicus (EBSCO version) : the international classified bibliography of publications in European languages on all aspects of Islam and the Muslim world from 1906 until the present day. Material cited in the Index Islamicus includes work written about the Middle East, as well as the other main Muslim areas of Asia and Africa, plus Muslim minorities elsewhere. It covers all the main Muslim areas of Asia and Africa, as well as Muslims living elsewhere, and their history, beliefs, societies, cultures, languages and literatures

Index Islamicus (ProQuest version) : a bibliography of publications in European languages on all aspects of Islam and the Muslim world, providing access to over 2,000 journals and series. It also covers conference proceedings, monographs, multi-authored works, and book reviews

JSTOR Middle East Studies : the searchable text of 61 full-text journals on the subject of Middle Eastern studies.  Chronological coverage from early 20th century to the present.

Middle East Research Journal :   is sponsored by the Council of American Overseas Research Centers to provide indexing and preservation for a number of journals held in overseas institutions.

OACIS for the Middle East   is a project sponsored by Yale University to improve access to Middle Eastern serials in libraries in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East.

MES Databases in Alphabetical Order

ABSEES (American Bibliography of Slavic and East European Studies) : includes material on Turkey and the Ottoman Empire

Access to Mideast and Islamic Resources (AMIR) Alphabetical List of Open Access Journals in Middle Eastern Studies : a list of Open Access Journals in Middle Eastern Studies collected since AMIR began on December 5, 2010.

Arab Council for Social Science Dataverse : an initiative of the Arab Council for the Social Sciences , in collaboration with the Odum Institute for Research in Social Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The ACSS Dataverse contains social science datasets produced in Arab countries, with the goal of making data available for research in the region and preserving data for future generations of researchers. There is no charge for access to datasets in the ACSS Dataverse, although users are requested to register in order to download data. The ACSS Dataverse encourages social scientists who study the Arab region to participate in this initiative by depositing data.

AskZad : an Arabic digital library offering a referential, cultural, and academic database

ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials : indexes journal articles, essays, and book reviews in the field of religion. Citations cover all religions and all theological points of view. There are links from cited articles in more than 50 journals to page images of the articles themselves. Strong coverage from 1949-present, with some retrospective indexing back to 1881

Chronology of Nineteenth-Century Periodicals in Arabic (1800-1900) : this site provides a chronology of nineteenth-century periodicals in Arabic. It is meant to include all periodicals published in Arabic or in Arabic and in another language or in Arabic written in a different script during the period from 1800 to 1900, the chronology is incomplete. Numerous problems arise in dating and locating individual publications as well as identifying their owners, editors, or publishers. A common problem is that journals with different editors used the same title or the same editors published periodicals under different titles. Thus, the chronology is published as a working draft with the purpose of making this information available to the scholarly community [paraphrased from the site’s Introductory Notes]

Confidential print: Middle East 1839-1969 : is a collection originated by the need for the British Government to preserve  the most important papers generated by the Foreign and Colonial Offices; some papers were one page letters or telegrams and others were large volumes or texts of treaties. All items marked “Confidential Print” were printed and circulated immediately to leading officials in the Foreign Office, to the Cabinet, and to Heads of British missions abroad. This collection includes the following classes from The National Archives, Kew in their entirety: CO 935/1-25 Middle East General, 1920-1956; FO 402/1-33 Afghanistan, 1922-1957; FO 406/1-84 Eastern Affairs (Middle East), 1812-1946; FO 407/1-237 Egypt/Sudan, 1839-1958; FO 416/1-113 Persia, 1899-1957; FO 423/1-70 Suez Canal, 1859-1947; FO 424/1-297 Turkey, 1841-1957; FO 437/1-9 Jordan, 1949-1957; FO 464/1-12 Arabia, 1947-1957; FO 481/1-17 Iraq, 1947-1969; FO 484/1-11 Lebanon, 1947-1957; FO 487/1-11 Middle East General, 1947-1957; FO 492/1-11 Israel/Palestine, 1947-1957; and FO 501/1-10 Syria, 1947-1956. All documents are full-text searchable.

Dar al-Mandumah :  provides access to a series of databases with full-text content of Arabic scientific conferences, dissertations and academic journals from 1921 to present day. Most of the content available is in the Arts and Humanities covering topics such as religion, history, literature, and more. EduSearch: contains Arabic journals and conference research papers and seminars for education and social research with coverage period starting in 1928. HumanIndex: contains academic journals, conference and seminars specialized in Humanities. Islamic Info: is a database specialized in Islamic and Legal Studies. AraBase: an Arabic language database that focuses on Arabic language sciences and literature. EcoLink: a database specialized in Economic and Management Studies. Mandumah Dissertations: a database of theses and dissertations from Arab researchers and students in various academic disciplines.

Digital Persian Archive : includes "public" and "private" documents: royal decrees and orders, official correspondence, and shari'a court documents, such as contracts of sale and lease, vaqf deeds, marriage contracts, and court orders. It also serves as a bibliographic reference tool, being a continually updated repertoire of published historical documents.

Directory of Free Arabic Journals : app. 250 open access journals addressing many subjects from nearly 175 publishers in 17 Arabic-speaking countries

Ethnic NewsWatch : an interdisciplinary, bilingual (English and Spanish), and comprehensive full text database of the newspapers, magazines, and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press

FBIS Daily Reports (Foreign Broadcast Information Service daily reports) 1941 - 1996 consists of Daily Reports published from September 4, 1941 through 1996. Created by Presidential directive during World War II and at first placed under the Federal Communications Commission in 1941, the Foreign Broadcast Information Service [it has had several different names during its long history], was later transferred to the War Department, and then to the Central Intelligence Agency in 1947, where it resided until 1996. The origi nal mission of FBIS was to monitor, record, transcribe and translate intercepted radio broadcasts from foreign governments, official news services, and clandestine broadcasts from occupied territories. These translations, or transcriptions in the case of English language materials, make up the Daily Reports

IBR (Internationale Bibliographie der Rezension) : this international bibliography of book reviews of scholarly literature in the humanities and social sciences, published since 1971, provides an interdisciplinary, international bibliography of reviews. The database indexes thousands of scholarly journals in the humanities and social sciences, primarily from Europe and North America.

IBZ (Internationale Bibliographie der geistes-und sozialwissenschaftlichen Zeitschriftenlite) : an international, interdisciplinary reference work indexing academic periodical literature in the humanities, social sciences and related fields for over a hundred years. Indexes publications from 40 countries in more than 40 languages, and contains more than 4.1 million journal articles from 11,500 journals. The database is updated weekly

International Medieval Bibliography : a comprehensive, current bibliography of journal articles, essay collections and conference proceedings in this interdisciplinary field. Disciplines covered include Classics, English Language and Literature, History and Archeology, Theology and Philosophy, Medieval European Languages and Literatures, Arabic and Islamic Studies, History of Education, Art History, Music, Theatre and Performance Arts, Rhetoric and Communication Studies. Dates covered range from 400 to 1500 A.D., and geographic coverage includes Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. The database allows users also to search the Bibliographie de Civilisation Médiévale, an index of over 40,000 books and 64,000 book reviews on medieval topics since 1957.

Chicago Online Bibliography of Mamluk Studies : this is an on-going project of the Middle East Documentation Center at the University of Chicago, the aim of which is to compile comprehensive bibliographies of all primary sources relating to the Mamluk sultanate of Egypt and Syria, as well as all research and discussion--scholarly and popular--germane to the subject. The project takes the form of two bibliographies: the primary and the secondary.

The Journal of Digital Islamicate Research  (JDIR) is a peer-reviewed journal covering the field of Middle Eastern and Islamicate Digital Humanities (DH). It aspires to adjust the computational, visualization and big data methods for the exploration of contemporary and historical cultures (also known as Cultural Analytics, CA) to the emerging field of Middle Eastern and Islamic Digital Humanities, and apply these methods to it. This would enhance the distant and close readings of massive amounts of cultural data (written material, as well as visuals and audio) in Middle Eastern languages in order to derive culturally-relevant insights from it. The Journal also aims to promote the study of Arabic-language and other Arabic-script DH work (e.g., Persian, Ottoman, Urdu), and non-Muslim DH in Islamicate lands (e.g. the Geniza researchers that are moving into DH), in addition to Islamicate materials that are digital-born or digitally-reformatted. This will bring forth innovative tools and develop new technical research methods for a refreshing analysis of Middle Eastern and Islamic languages, literatures, cultures, and history in a computer-supported way. The Journal is a leading initiative in the Digital Humanities of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies that provides an online platform for the cross fertilization of different academic traditions, fields, and disciplines .

The Middle East, abstracts and index : (print) first published in 1978 this print reference resource covers traditional scholarly literature relevant to interdisciplinary study of this region, along with the complete text of an extensive collection of primary source documents

Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies : an index to research, policy, and scholarly discourse on the countries and peoples of the Middle East, Central Asia, and North Africa, with citations to scholarly journals and other periodicals, books, book reviews, book chapters, theses & dissertations,: bulletins, internet documents and grey literature, with about 12,000 citations added each year

Mideast Wire.com : English summaries, with links to original text as available, of news from 22 Arab countries, Iran, and the Arab media Diaspora covering from 2005 to the present

Multidata Online : provides full text from and bibliographic citations to selected newspapers and periodicals from the Arab world in Arabic, English, and French. The file consists of five databases: 1."General News" with full text covering 52 dailies and weeklies since 1994; 2. "Specialized Periodicals" with bibliographic citations from more than 225 specialized Arabic periodicals since 1920; 3. "Reviews" with full text book reviews from more than 250 newspapers and magazines in the Arab world from 1998; 4. "Theses" with a subject index to theses submitted to 21 Lebanese institutions of higher learning; and, 5. "Index Arabicus" documenting the contents of 42 Arabic periodicals published between 1870 and 1969. The database has both Arabic and English interfaces.

Naxos Music Library World : World music from the catalogues of Smithsonian Folkways, ARC Music, Nonesuch, and other labels.

Online Bibliography of Ottoman-Turkish Literature : a free database of references to theses, books, articles, papers and projects relating to research into Ottoman-Turkish culture

Shamaa : an online database that documents educational research carried out in Arab countries in all fields of education, in the three languages, Arabic, French and English, providing free access to researchers and those interested in educational research.

Smithsonian Global Sound : Includes recordings from Smithsonian Folkways, the International Library of African Music, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, and the Archives and Research Center for Ethnomusicology.

Tahrir documents , Tahrir Documents is a collection of pamphlets, newsletters, signs, poems, and other texts gathered in and around Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, between March 2011 and May 2012. The physical documents are housed at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the Department of Special Collections at the Charles E. Young Research Library. However, all documents are available online.

U.s. intelligence on the middle east, 1945-2009 : , this document set sheds light on the u.s. intelligence community’s spying and analytic efforts since 1945 in the arab world, including the middle east, the near east, and north africa. it covers the time period from the end of world war ii to 2009, including the 2002-2003 iraqi weapons of mass destruction (wmd) assessments, the global war on terror, the iraq war, and iran’s nuclear program.

Women's Studies International : citations and abstracts in this file are drawn from a variety of essential women's studies databases ranging from classic works & core studies to the latest scholarship in feminist research. Databases include Women Studies Abstracts , Women's Studies Database , Women's Studies Bibliography Database , MEDLINE Subset on Women , Women of Color and Southern Women: A Bibliography of Social Science Research , and Women's Health and Development: An Annotated Bibliography .

• << Previous: Catalogs & Digital Collections (beyond Harvard)
• Next: Steps for Searching in a Database >>
• Last Updated: Jul 28, 2024 6:59 PM
• URL: https://guides.library.harvard.edu/mideast

Harvard University Digital Accessibility Policy

You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience.

• Belk Library

Modern Middle East History Research Guide

Developing a Topic

• Searching Effectively
• Evaluating news and websites
• Finding Sources
• Finding Primary Sources
• Scholarly and Popular Sources
• Additional Help

Need topic ideas?

A great idea can come from anywhere! Here are some suggested places to start:

• Class discussions
• Assigned readings
• Personal interests
• Trending topics
• Browse journals in the field
• Explore Your Topic
• Refine Your Topic

Before you develop your research topic or question, you'll need to do some background research first. This will help you:

• begin to understand the context of your topic
• narrow the topic to a more manageable size
• direct you to where to do more specific searches

Encyclopedia-style databases offer short overviews of a topic and are good places to start.

Try the library databases below to explore your topic. When you're ready, move on to refining your topic.

Find background information:

• Credo This link opens in a new window Credo is an easy-to-use tool for starting research. Gather background information on your topic from hundreds of full-text encyclopedias, dictionaries, quotations, and subject-specific titles, as well as 500,000+ images and audio files and over 1,000 videos.

• Gale E-Books This link opens in a new window E-reference books, biographies on musicians, scientist, contemporary black biography, sport management, business plans and more.

Now that you've done some background research, it's time to narrow your topic.  Remember: the shorter your final paper, the narrower your topic needs to be.  Here are some suggestions for narrowing and defining your topic:

• Is there a specific subset of the topic you can focus on?
• Is there a cause and effect relationship you can explore?
• Is there an unanswered question on the subject?
• Can you focus on a specific time period or group of people?

Describe and develop your topic in some detail. Try filling in the blanks in the following sentence, as much as you can:

I want to research  ____ (what/who) ____

and  ____ (what/who) ____

in  ____ (where) ____

during  ____ (when) ____

because  ____ (why) ____.

• << Previous: Home
• Next: Searching Effectively >>
• Last Updated: Feb 5, 2024 4:50 PM
• URL: https://elon.libguides.com/Middle_East_History

Middle East & Islamic Studies: a Research Guide: Home

• Atlases, Maps & GIS
• Biographical Sources
• Country Overviews
• Histories & Chronologies
• Language Dictionaries
• Specialized Subject Encyclopedias & Dictionaries
• Academic Journals & Periodicals
• Databases * Indexes This link opens in a new window
• Primary Sources (Original Documents)
• Dissertations & Theses
• Government Documents & Resources
• News Sources (Current & Historical)
• Manuscripts & Archives
• Images, Visuals & Sounds
• Women in Islam and Muslim Realms This link opens in a new window
• Islam in Southeast Asia This link opens in a new window
• Turkish and Ottoman Studies This link opens in a new window
• Middle Eastern & North African Cinema & Film This link opens in a new window
• Arab Spring
• Research & Strategies

This research guide covers the different disciplines that fall under the umbrella of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies.  Use the tabs above for information about specific types of resources. Please note that while some electronic resources are freely available, others are subscription services provided by the Cornell University Library , so remote access may be necessary when accessing from off-campus.

Historians, political scientists, and others have defined world regions in terms such as race & ethnicity, culture, language & linguistics, religion, historical unity, climatic similarity, and / or geographic compactness. One of the first questions encountered by anyone who wants to study the region is what the "Middle East" is, specifically what countries it involves. There is, however, a lack of consensus on one single definition of a region that after all stretches over three different continents; and people even refer to it variously by such terms as "Near East," "Mideast" or "Middle East." In modern times, the designation "Middle East," was applied by Westerners who viewed the area as midway between Europe and East Asia, which they call the Far East. There is at least agreement over the view that the Middle East is more than a mere geographical concept and that there are compelling historical, cultural, religious, political, social, and economic reasons for considering it as an entity apart.

It is not, for example, the land of the Arabs (millions of Turkic, Indo-European, and other peoples live in the region). It is not even, as many presuppose, the land of Islam (in terms of population and territorial size, the largest Islamic countries are outside of the traditional boundaries of the Middle East. Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan all have larger Muslim populations than any country in what we call the Middle East). Historically,  most of Iberia was under Islamic control for the better part of 700 years, and most of the Balkans for almost as long.  Hence:

Bahrein ; Egypt; Iran; Iraq; Israel; Jordan; Kuwait; Lebanon; Oman; Palestine; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; Syria; Turkey ; United Arab Emirates (federation comprised of seven sheikdoms: Ajman , Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Fujairah , Ras al-Khaimah , Sharjah , and Umm al-Qawain ); Yemen

The Periphery

.The Caucusus : Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia;

.Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

.Horn of Africa: Djibouti, Eritrea, Somalia, Zanzibar (now part of Tanzania)

. Maghreb : Algeria, Libya, Morocco & the Western Sahara, Tunisia

. Sahel & Sudan: Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Sudan

.South Asia: Afghanistan, Pakistan

*Demographics : Middle East & North Africa   /   Vienna: Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior, 2018. 

*How the Middle East Was Invented  /   By KARL E. MEYER, NYT 1991.

Teaching & Learning

Graduate Programs in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies | US & Canada

The Maydan team presents this mapping/database resource to help future applicants in the fields of Religious/Islamic Studies and Middle Eastern/Near Eastern Studies in their application process. [The database/map includes application deadlines for graduate programs, links to program pages and information for undergraduate programs as well].

Database of Middle East North Africa Social Policy Expertise

Quick Introductions

Middle East & Islamic Studies * Cornell

Offers courses in the archaeology, civilization, history, languages and literatures of the Near East from ancient times to the modern period and emphasizes ...

neareasternstud ies.cornell.edu/

BLOGS: a guide to researching the Middle East and beyond

Contact the Curator

Spotlight*New

New Books in Middle Eastern Studies

Islam: Terms & Concepts

What is Islam?  Check the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary  for a definition and the Encyclopedia Britannica for information on the history, principles and practices of Islam.

Sunnis and Shia : Islam's ancient schism - BBC, UK.

Crescent (symbol of Islam) WHAT is the origin of the crescent moon symbol seen throughout Islamic cultures? Source: theguardian.com

Islam - Muslim - Moslem - Islamist

Islam vs Muslim: When and why do we use the different terms?   

Muslim vs Moslem: Why do people say Muslim now instead of Moslem?

'Muslim' vs 'Islamic' -   DAWN.COM

Muslims vs. Islamists Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Ten Things Everyone Needs to Know about Islam -  Excerpts from Esposito, John L.  What Everyone Needs to  Know About Islam. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2002.

-------------

The Arab world in seven charts: Are Arabs turning their backs on religion?

Critical Concepts in Islamic Studies - Taylor & Francis Concepts in Islamic Studies series spans a number of subject areas that are closely linked to the religion.

Intro to Islam Research Paper                 /   Lynette   White,                   ....

Islam (religion) -- Encyclopedia Britannica

American Religion Data Archive  The ARDA collection includes data on USA religious groups (individuals, congregations and denominations). The collection consists of individual surveys covering various groups and topics.

Religions of the book - faculty.fairfield.edu Three world religious traditions have their origins in the Middle East-Judaism, Christianity, and Islam-but there are also a number of more highly localized traditions. These include Zoroastrianism (primarily in Iran); the Druze of Lebanon, Syria, and Israel; and the Kurdish-speaking Yazidi-s of northern Iraq, each with their own traditions of religious identity and practice. [ WORLD RELIGIONS - The Middle East and Central Asia: an anthropological approach ].

• Next: Background  & General Sources >>
• Last Updated: Aug 7, 2024 11:09 AM
• URL: https://guides.library.cornell.edu/MideastIslamStudies

Middle Eastern Studies

• Encyclopedias
• Saudi Arabia
• United Arab Emirates
• Ottoman Empire & Turkey
• Palestine & Israel

General Works on Islam and Middle Eastern History to 1700

General works on political, social, and economic history in the modern era, international politics during and after the cold war era, intellectual and religious developments.

• Search for other books
• Articles & Databases
• Living & Working Abroad
• Conflict, War & Terrorism
• CRS (Congressional Research Service)
• International Business
• International Government
• Multicultural Resources
• Using the Library
• Help / Contact
• The Venture of Islam; conscience & history in a world civilization by Marshall G. Hodgson Call Number: UCF Main Library General Collection - 1st Floor -- DS36.85.H63 ch4ck availability of print version v. 1. The classical age of Islam.--v. 2. The expansion of Islam in the middle periods.--v. 3. The gunpowder empires & modern times

• Islam, continuity and change in the modern world by John O. Voll Call Number: UCF Main Library General Collection - 1st Floor -- BP60.V64 1982 ">ch3ck availability

• An Economic History of the Middle East & North Africa by Charles P. Issawi Call Number: UCF Main Library General Collection - 3rd Floor -- HC415.15.I84 ch4ck availability of print version Challenge & Response, 1800-1980 -- Expansion of Foreign Trade -- Development of Transport -- The Influx of Foreign Capital -- Migration & Minorities -- Population, Level of Living, & Social Development -- Agricultural Expansion -- Deindustrialization & Reindustrialization -- Institutions & Policy, Money and Prices, Savings & Investment -- Petroleum: Transformation or Explosion? -- The Balance Sheets -- Statistical Appendix
• Economic History of the Middle East, 1800-1914 : a book of readings by Charles P. Issawi (Editor) Call Number: UCF Main Library General Collection - 3rd Floor -- HC412.I784 1975 ">ch3ck availability
• Economic History of Iran, 1800-1914 by Charles P Issawi; William R. Polk (Editor) Call Number: UCF Main Library General Collection - 3rd Floor -- HC475.I85 ">ch3ck availability
• The Economic History of Turkey, 1800-1914 by Charles P. Issawi Call Number: UCF Main Library General Collection - 3rd Floor -- HC491.E26 ">ch3ck availability

• Arab Politics: the search for legitimacy by Michael C. Hudson Call Number: UCF Main Library General Collection - 1st Floor -- DS62.4.H82 ">ch3ck availability

• The Superpowers and the Middle East : Regional and International Politics, 1955-1967 by Fawaz A. Gerges Call Number: UCF Main Library General Collection - 1st Floor -- DS63.1.G475 1994 ">ch3ck availability Framework for the Analysis of Superpower Relations with the Arab Middle East -- Superpower Engagement in the Middle East, 1955 -- Suez Crisis: The Struggle for Succession, 1955-1956 -- Taming of the Shrew, 1957-1958 -- End of an Era in Arab-Superpower Relations, 1958-1961 -- Egyptian-Saudi Conflict in Yemen & the Superpower's Response, 1961-1964 -- Israeli Factor in Inter-Arab & Arab-Superpower Relations, 1964-1966 -- March Toward War, 1966-1967 -- Conclusion

• Political Trends in the Arab World: the Role of Ideas and Ideals in Politics. by Majid Khadduri Call Number: UCF Main Library General Collection - 3rd Floor -- JA84.A6K5 1970 ">ch3ck availability

• Arab Nationalism: An Anthology by Sylvia Kedourie Call Number: UCF Main Library General Collection - 1st Floor -- DS63.H27 1964 ">ch3ck availability Islam & the National Idea / Rashid Rida -- The Excellence of the Arabs / Abd al-Rahman al-Kawakibi -- Program of the League of the Arab Fatherland / Negib Azoury -- Announcement to the Arabs, Sons of Qahtan / Anonymous -- Territorial Demands Made on the British Government / Sherif Husain of Mecca -- Vindication of Arab National Rights / The Arab Government of the Hijaz -- The Profession of Death / Sami Shawkat -- Arab Pledge, Definitions, Manifesto / First Arab Students' Congress -- The Common Origins of the Arabs / Edmond Rabbath -- What is Arab Nationalism? / Abdullah al-Alayili -- Arabism & Jewry in Syria / Muhammad Jamil Baihum -- Muslim Unity & Arab Unity / Sati' al-Husri -- The Arab League & World Unity / Abd al-Rahman Azzam -- Arab Nationalism & Religion / Qustantin Zuraiq -- Islam & Arab Nationalism / Abd al-Rahman al-Bazzaz -- The Near East: The Search for Truth / Charles Malik -- The Idea of Nationalism / Abd al-Latif Sharara -- The Philosophy of Revolution / Gamal Abdel Nasser -- Constitution / The Arab Ba'th Party -- Nationalism & Revolution / Michel Aflaq

• Bitter Legacy : Ideology and Politics in the Arab World by Paul Salem Call Number: UCF Main Library General Collection - 1st Floor -- DS63.1.S255 1994 ">ch3ck availability Arab "Age of Ideology" -- Arab Nationalism -- Islamic Fundamentalism -- Marxism -- Regional Nationalism -- Future of Ideology in the Arab World

• Islam Against the West : Shakib Arslan and the Campaign for Islamic Nationalism by William L. Cleveland Call Number: UCF Main Library General Collection - 1st Floor -- DS86.A82C57 1985 ">ch3ck availability
• << Previous: Syria
• Next: Search for other books >>
• Last Updated: Aug 12, 2024 6:16 PM
• URL: https://guides.ucf.edu/mideast

Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.

To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to  upgrade your browser .

•  We're Hiring!
•  Help Center

Middle East

• Most Cited Papers
• Most Downloaded Papers
• Newest Papers
• Last »
• Middle East Studies Follow Following
• Middle East Politics Follow Following
• Middle East History Follow Following
• Middle Eastern Studies Follow Following
• Arab Spring (Arab Revolts) Follow Following
• Middle East & North Africa Follow Following
• Israel/Palestine Follow Following
• Syria Follow Following
• Turkish and Middle East Studies Follow Following
• Lebanon Follow Following

Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.

• Academia.edu Journals
•   We're Hiring!
•   Help Center
• Find new research papers in:
• Health Sciences
• Earth Sciences
• Cognitive Science
• Mathematics
• Computer Science
• Academia ©2024

Middle East Research and Information Project: Critical Coverage of the Middle East Since 1971

Women and Gender in Middle East Studies

Trends, prospects and challenges.

In the past two decades, there has been growing interest in the study of women and gender issues in the Middle East, reflected in the greater number of books, journal articles, dissertations and conference panels devoted to such topics. [1] As a result, many scholars in Middle East studies have come to view the study of women and gender in the Middle East as a field in and of itself. [2] Elizabeth Fernea’s 1986 presidential address to the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) is considered a milestone in the evolution of Middle East women’s studies as a distinct field of inquiry. [3] Marking the occasion of MESA’s twentieth anniversary as well as the founding meeting of the Association of Middle Eastern Women’s Studies (AMEWS), Fernea gave an optimistic account of the contribution of women’s studies to all areas of Middle East studies. She concluded that:

women’s studies, like Middle East studies, has come of age as a field. It has not only carried us, as ethnocentric Westerners, into previously unexplored areas of the world which we thought we knew, but it has also opened new areas of inquiry for ourselves and our students. [4]

Critics, however, have argued that the greater visibility of scholarship on women and gender issues in the Middle East does not necessarily signify a conclusive triumph nor a qualitative transformation in gender awareness within the field. In 1988, less than two years after Fernea’s address, the MESA Bulletin published an article by Margot Badran that offered a more cautious review of the emerging field of Middle East women’s studies and critically examined the potential for, and obstacles to, its institutionalization. [5] Badran challenged the widely held view that Middle East women’s studies emerged as a distinct field only in the late 1970s with the publication of Elizabeth Fernea and Basima Bezirgan’s Middle Eastern Muslim Women Speak and Lois Beck and Nikki Keddie’s Women in the Muslim World . [6] In contrast, she pointed out that “a generation earlier, foreshadowing the creation of the new field, Zahiyya Dughan, a Lebanese delegate to the Arab Women’s Conference in Cairo in 1944, called upon Arab universities to accord the intellectual and literary heritage of Arab women a place in the curriculum by creating chairs for the study of women’s writing.” [7]

In addition to placing the development of Middle East women’s studies in the Western academy in the broader context of Arab women’s scholarship and activism, Badran’s article assessed the representation of women’s studies and gender issues at MESA conferences. She pointed out that the first papers on women and gender issues at MESA — 12 papers and two panels — were delivered in 1973 and that, following a slight increase in 1974, the number of panels stayed the same in 1975. Despite this fairly impressive beginning, Badran described a “slump period from 1976 through 1983 when the number of papers diminished.” [8] In 1984, however, there was a dramatic increase in papers on women and gender issues (37), yet the number dropped to 19 in 1985. Badran used these numbers to illustrate her more cautious argument about the persistent challenges facing scholars working in this field. She concluded that “the study of women remains marginal within Middle East studies, while women’s studies still remain largely centered on the West.” [9]

Given these contrasting views, it is helpful to examine what has changed in the representation of women and gender issues in Middle East studies over the past decade as documented in MESA conference programs, membership directories and graduate and undergraduate course listings. As the table below demonstrates, whereas the number of panels devoted solely to women and/or gender issues has not changed dramatically in the past decade, there has been a slight increase in the percentage. [10] Perhaps the most interesting trend highlighted in the table involves the increase in the number of women and gender papers on non-gender panels. This number has steadily grown in the past decade from four papers in 1986 to 28 in 1997, indicating an increase in the overall representation of women and gender issues on the conference program. This accomplishment reflects a conscious attempt by scholars to present their work on general panels in order “to have gender issues become a fully integrated part of academic inquiry.” [11] Indeed, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of scholars who included women and/or gender issues in their research interests. In the 1996 MESA directory, for example, 381 members mentioned these issues, compared to 150 in 1992 and only 79 in 1986. [12]

These numbers lend some support to the optimistic claim that women and gender issues are moving closer to the center of the research and teaching agenda in Middle East studies. But if this is indeed the case, one would also expect to find a large number of course offerings on women and gender issues in the Middle East. Yet, the 1995-1996 MESA Directory of Graduate and Undergraduate Programs and Courses lists only 46 courses with women and or gender issues in the title offered in North American institutions and four in other parts of the world. In other words, the vast majority of the full-time faculty who listed women and gender issues as one of their research interests do not teach a course on these issues. It is possible, however, that many have integrated these issues into other courses on the region, and that additional courses on these issues are occasionally taught under the category of “special topics.” Nevertheless, the overall picture suggests that the project of integrating women and gender issues into the Middle East studies curriculum is far from complete.

This problem may be related to the challenges facing Middle East studies more generally due to its interdisciplinary nature. Despite the lip service paid to interdisciplinary scholarship and teaching, curriculum changes occur primarily at the departmental level. Thus, scholars who teach in institutions without Middle East studies programs encounter the double challenge of developing and teaching Middle East courses as well as pushing for the integration of women and gender issues into their discipline’s curriculum. Some disciplines are more hospitable to the integration of women and gender issues into their undergraduate and graduate curricula than others. Topping the list of home disciplines for those scholars who declared women and gender studies among their research interests are anthropology with 74 scholars, history with 72, political science with 35, literature with 32, sociology with 30, Middle East/Near East studies with 21 and women’s studies with 20 scholars. Badran concluded her 1988 article with the recommendation “to accelerate the institutionalization of Middle East women’s studies within the context of Middle East studies.” [13] Yet the efforts of the past two decades have not transformed curricula. Since there are many more scholars interested in these issues today compared to a decade ago, we should step up our efforts to integrate women and gender studies into the curricula both within our home departments and in interdisciplinary programs, such as women’s studies, cultural studies and general education. Whenever possible these efforts should be related to existing university initiatives designed to diversify and internationalize the curriculum.

One cannot overemphasize the importance of cultivating the relationship between scholars interested in women and gender studies in the Middle East and women and gender studies programs in general. On a pragmatic level, in addition to being natural allies in struggles concerning curriculum transformation, women’s studies programs have served as support systems for scholars working on women and gender issues in the Middle East and have been indispensable in several tenure battles of feminist scholars. On a theoretical level, it is imperative that we keep up with debates within feminist theory as well as with the expansive body of literature on women and gender studies in other parts of the world. On a political level, we should take advantage of the relative space that exists in most women’s studies programs to raise critical and provocative questions concerning such issues as the representation of non-Western women and the cultural origins of certain gender practices. Since media representations of women and gender practices in the Middle East tend to be sensationalist and stereotypical, it is our task to counter these simplistic portrayals with more nuanced images and sophisticated analyses.

Similar initiatives are necessary within the field of Middle East studies.Scholars who write on women and gender issues have been at the forefront of theoretical, methodological and political debates in the field and it is important that we not only continue to participate in these discussions but also that we play a more active role in defining the terms of such debates. This implies moving beyond the “add women and stir” approach to an emphasis on gender analysis as a way to unravel structured inequalities, power asymmetries and patterns of inclusion and exclusion. This agenda would transform the field of Middle East studies so that women and gender issues become central rather than marginal. Toward this end, we must make explicit the gendered nature of the field and its theoretical, methodological and political underpinnings. On a more pragmatic level this project implies asking such questions as why only two women have been chosen since 1986 to be MESA’s Annual Meeting Visiting Scholars and why the 1993 MESA conference was the only time in the past decade that women and gender issues were featured on special plenary sessions. [14]

These questions are not designed to spoil the celebration of the important gains we have made in a relatively short time but rather to point out that critical issues concerning the integration of women and gender studies within Middle East studies remain. To overcome the challenges facing us we must explore new ways to make Middle East studies more hospitable to feminist and gender analysis and to make our scholarship more relevant to the daily struggles of ordinary women and men in the Middle East.

[1] A library search using “women,” “gender” and “Middle East“ as key words shows that almost 100 books and over 275 journal articles, including book reviews, have been published on these topics in the past decade. This number includes only English language publication and does not include contributions to edited volumes, dealing either with the Middle East or with women and gender issues in other parts of the world. Another interesting trend involves the growing number of doctoral dissertations on the topic. [2] See for example Beth Baron, “A Field Matures: Recent Literature on Women in the Middle East,” Middle Eastern Studies 32/3 (July 1996), pp. 172-186. [3] During the first two decades the discourse has stressed mostly “women,” and “omen’s studies.” In the past decade, however, the word “gender“ has become more central to these debates. This development has been influenced by similar trends in women’s studies. [4] Elizabeth Fernea, “MESA Presidential Address, 1986,” MESA Bulletin 21 (1987), p. 7. [5] Margot Badran, “The Institutionalization of Middle East Women’s Studies in the United States,” MESA Bulletin 22 (1988), pp. 9-18. The article was the basis of a presentation at the 1987 MESA conference as part of a panel titled “Studying Middle Eastern Women: The First Two Decades,” chaired by Elizabeth Femea. This panel, brought together participants on the 1974 MESA panel, titled “Middle East Women,” also chaired by Elizabeth Femea, in an attempt to review interim developments in Middle East women’s studies. [6] Elizabeth Warnock Fernea and Basima Quattan Bezirgan, eds., Middle Eastern Women Speak (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1977); Lois Beck and Nikki Keddie, eds., Women in the Muslim World (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1978). [7] Badran, p. 9. [8] Ibid., p. 11. [9] Ibid, p. 9. [10] The table reflects the total number of panels and papers on women and gender presented at MESA from 1986 through 1997. Papers on the first panel dealing with sexuality (1997 conference) were also included in this category. The table distinguishes between panels that focus solely on women and gender issues and general panels that include one or more papers on women and/or gender issues. Papers and panels were classified based on their titles. I am aware, however, that there may have been papers which addressed gender issues without stating this in the title. [11] Correspondence with Eleanor Doumato, editor of the AMEWS Review , October 26, 1997. [12] A closer examination of the profile of scholars interested in women and/or gender issues, featured in the 1996 MESA membership directory, reveals that 237 hold permanent academic positions, 118 are graduate students and 26 are professionals working in the field but not in academic institutions. The 1986 numbers are taken from Badran, p. 14. [13] Badran, p. 17. [14] Deniz Kandiyoti was the visiting scholar in 1993 and Hanan al-Shaykh in 1994.

How to cite this article:

The middle east research and information project (merip) was established in 1971 to educate the public about contemporary middle east affairs. a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, merip publishes a quarterly print magazine,  middle east report , as well as online materials., independent and progressive in orientation, merip provides critical, alternative reporting and analysis, focusing on political economy, popular struggles and the role of us and international powers in the region..

Your support sustains our work.

To Middle East Report magazine

For 50 years, MERIP has published critical analysis of Middle Eastern politics, history, and social justice not available in other publications. Our articles have debunked pernicious myths, exposed the human costs of war and conflict, and highlighted the suppression of basic human rights. After many years behind a paywall, our content is now open-access and free to anyone, anywhere in the world. Your donation ensures that MERIP can continue to remain an invaluable resource for everyone.

Pin It on Pinterest

Home — Essay Samples — Geography & Travel — Middle East

Essays on Middle East

The importance of the miranda rights, impact of geography on egypt, made-to-order essay as fast as you need it.

Each essay is customized to cater to your unique preferences

+ experts online

Egypt Vs Mesopotamia: a Comparative Study

Similarities between egyptian and greek gods, king tut: research paper, quest for a homeland, let us write you an essay from scratch.

• 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
• Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Natural Barriers in Ancient Egypt

Principles of mission command of operation anaconda, iran protests: global perspectives and international dynamics, the digital dimension of dissent: social media and the iran protests, get a personalized essay in under 3 hours.

Expert-written essays crafted with your exact needs in mind

Overview and Contextualization of Iran Protests

Iran protests: economic consequences of civic unrest, women at the forefront: empowering change in iran's protests and beyond, the cruise missile attack on syria: a case study, comparing the war in afghanistan to the iraq war, the multifaceted costs of the war in afghanistan, the impact of the us invasion of afghanistan on the afghan people and the region, the multifaceted role of women in afghanistan, the future of afghanistan after the war, topics in this category.

• Saudi Arabia
• Afghanistan

Popular Categories

• Tourist Attractions

Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free

Middle East and North Africa Research Paper

Sample Middle East and North Africa Research Paper. Browse other  research paper examples and check the list of research paper topics for more inspiration. If you need a religion research paper written according to all the academic standards, you can always turn to our experienced writers for help. This is how your paper can get an A! Feel free to contact our research paper writing service for professional assistance. We offer high-quality assignments for reasonable rates.

The term ‘Middle East’ first came into use early in the twentieth century, and after World War II it gradually supplanted the nineteenth century term ‘Near East’ as a geopolitical and geocultural designation. Both terms have been repeatedly criticized for their Eurocentric origin and point of emphasis, yet the ‘Middle East’ continues to survive as a term for lack of better alternatives. It supplanted older designations such as the Levant, which designated the eastern Mediterranean and included present-day Turkey and Greece. Geographically, the Middle East encompasses West Asia, including Iran and Turkey, and North Africa, including the Sudan. Some scholarly journals extend its boundaries further to include Afghanistan and the horn of Africa. While in modern history the region has been divided among more than two dozen States, many historians and social scientists assume its various parts to contain roughly homogenous cultural patterns and sociological profiles, shaped by a shared history. Middle Eastern culture is frequently discussed in religious rubrics, and religiosity (specifically Islamic) is frequently thought to capture what is essential about Middle Eastern culture in general. An earlier tradition in Western social science regarded Middle Eastern society culturally as tradition-bound and sociologically as a tribally identified and ethnically segmented premodern mosaic kept together normally by an authoritarian State.

Academic Writing, Editing, Proofreading, And Problem Solving Services

Get 10% off with 24start discount code.

The social scientific study of the region we now call Middle East is actually quite old, although its history is very uneven. Ibn Khaldun (d. 1406), who spent most of his life in North Africa, was the first person anywhere to use the term ‘sociology,’ which he understood as the science of the life cycles of urban civilization. His theories, which emphasized the role of social solidarity and the weakening of that solidarity over time as civilization became more entrenched and oriented toward surplus and luxury, anticipated by centuries European theories of civilizational cycles, expressed most loudly by Arnold Toynbee and Oswald Spengler. Ibn Khaldun’s work must also be understood in the context of his time, which was characterized by conflicting claims of legitimacy, unstable political orders, recurrent Mongol invasions, the political fragmentation of the Muslim world, and the demonstrated incapacity of sovereigns to claim monopoly over the loyalties of the faithful everywhere, as had been roughly the case in the first three centuries of Islam.

An important feature of Ibn Khaldun’s perspective consisted of combining the study of society and history, in the underlying belief that a sociology of civilization could only be based on an adequate philosophy of history. This continues to be the spirit characterizing much of the sociological investigation done in the Middle East itself, where many practitioners are just as likely to be historians or philosophers, and where questions of culture, religion, heritage, and modernity are inseparable from a myriad of contemporary social issues.

The modern professional study of the Middle East began in the nineteenth century from two directions. In the East, there arose an intellectual movement which came to be known as the nahda, whose significance has been pointed out in a recent flow of important studies by Albert Hourani, Hisham Sharabi, Aziz al-Azmeh, and Sadiq Jalal al-‘Azm, among many others. That movement was essentially an eclectic mix of reflexive native commentators whose thought was in tune with urban middle-class sentiments and in communication with European modernity. They sought to revive what they regarded to be a dormant spirit of science and liberalism in Islam, while seeking politically to modernize the Ottoman State. In Europe, by contrast, the study of the Middle East was far more scholastic and confined to a small circle of orientalist scholars who, in the course of the nineteenth century, became increasingly better acquainted with the classic texts and archaeology of the region, especially following Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign. The orientalist approach was highly antisociological and anti-theoretical. It focused almost exclusively on ancient history and disregarded contemporary society, which was thought to be largely static in terms of its cultural patterns, and thus accessible through knowledge of the classic texts founding it. Influential trends within orientalism viewed oriental society culturally as static, antirational, unphilosophical and anti-scientific; sociologically as mosaic of floating tribal and ethnic solidarities; and politically as predisposed to authoritarianism.

This approach gained further ascendance within sociology itself with Max Weber’s ventures into the study of oriental cultures, including Islam. In common with the reigning orientalist tradition, Weber’s approach to the question as to why Muslim societies (along with Buddhist and Hindu ones) had not developed capitalism as Europe had done, referred to the Qur’an and sayings attributed to Muhammad, and assumed the cause of social change (or lack of it) to be internal rather than external to the culture. While Weber was more interested in social theory than were orientalist scholars, who were preoccupied with philological and textual concerns, Weber nonetheless replicated the basic image of oriental society as a self-enclosed and distinct cultural cocoon, interpretable by its classical texts and definable in terms of its difference from the European experience of liberal capitalism.

The subsequent rise of modernization theory, closely associated with the Parsonian paradigm in sociology, set aside for some time the question of culture, emphasizing instead the normative convergence of societies along the path of modernization. Daniel Lerner’s The Passing of Traditional Society (1958) is a classic work in this genre with respect to the Middle East. While steeped in orientalist assumptions that Middle Eastern society, culture, and personality was largely tradition-bound and anti-rational, Lerner’s work sought to detect venues of the modernist challenge arriving to society from without. Like many theorists of modernization, Lerner understood it as simply ‘Westernization.’ Another important text of modernization theory was C. A. O. van Nieuwenhuijze’s The Sociology of the Middle East (1971), a detailed and lengthy study which portrayed Middle Eastern society as a set of parallel societies converging upon a cultural core. This further justified the old view of culture as an independent variable when approaching Middle Eastern societies.

With decolonization, the increased presence of the US in the region, the Cold War, the creation of the State of Israel, the rise of Arab nationalism and the Arab defeat in 1967, Middle East studies itself became a veritable battleground. A new generation of scholars was determined to contest what they regarded to be a distorted image of the region and its peoples in both academic and public settings. The rallying cry was issued by Edward Said’s Orientalism (1978), which immediately galvanized the field and continues to be referenced today as a founding text in postcolonial studies generally. A sophisticated critical appraisal of the academic and high culture representations of largely Middle Eastern societies, Orientalism was conceived by Said as part of a trilogy, which included two subsequent books on the media coverage of Islam and the Palestine question. Said sought to reveal classical orientalism, which modernization theory did little to contest, as the intellectual regurgitation of common stereotypes based less on social and historical realities than on the tendency of European intellectuals to imagine a distinction between Europe and the rest of the world.

While Said’s analysis was directed largely at mainstream trends in Western scholarship of the Middle East, another set of scholars set out around the same time to contest the heritage of orientalism in leftleaning scholarship. The main point of contention here was Karl Marx’s thesis of an ‘Asiatic mode of production,’ distinct from European feudalism in its propensity to stagnate after a founding phase, needing a strong central State for its maintenance, and incapable of producing mercantile surplus that could found a basis for capitalism. While his method was fundamentally different from Weber’s, Marx nonetheless reached the same conclusion regarding the foreignness of capitalism to the orient in general, and thus positing the need for an external stimulus, such as European colonialism, to introduce the bases of bourgeois accumulation and, in turn, the precondition of proletarian socialism. In spite of the brevity and inconclusive nature of Marx’s own remarks on this theme, which addressed sporadically the encounter between India and Algeria with European colonialism, his assessment of the lack of internal capacity of oriental societies for capitalism and thus revolution has reigned well into our times. For example, Shlomo Avineri, a Marxist Israeli political theorist, has argued that Israel, by introducing into ‘traditional’ Middle Eastern society the same forces of destruction of ‘Asiatic’ patterns, would also add a revolutionary stimulus to the sum total of productive forces in the region.

This line of thinking was contested in a number of widely-referenced works from the recent past. They include Maxime Rodinson’s Islam and Capitalism (1973), which took both Weber and Marx to task for failing to appreciate the paramount role of the urban merchant class throughout the economic history of the Middle East, for their propensity for partial appraisal of Islamic economic doctrines, for their tendency to confuse religion and culture, and for treating Islam, in particular, as a monolithic force. Rodinson argued that the Muslim world in general had a historically strong merchant capitalist class, and that, if anything, Islam was more of an aid than an obstacle to its interests. Mahmood Ibrahim took the argument further, arguing in Merchant Capital and Islam (1990) that the rise of Islam itself must be understood in terms of its connection to the interests of merchant capital and long-distance trade. The argument was also made in Janet Abu-Lughod’s Before European Hegemony (1989) where, using a world-system perspective, she shows both the centrality of the Middle East to premodern world systems and the evolution of common modes of capitalist thinking and planning among commercial classes throughout the world well before the rise of the West.

The academic attacks on the leftist variety of orientalism were sealed in a number of other works which sought to demonstrate the capitalist vitality of Middle Eastern societies in early modern times. These include Peter Gran’s Islamic Roots of Capitalism: Egypt, 1760–1840 (1979) and Surayah Faroqhi’s Towns and Townsmen of Ottoman Anatolia (1984). In Marx and the End of Orientalism (1978), Bryan Turner attempts to revalidate Marxist analysis and the mode-of-production approach to Middle East studies by repudiating the Asiatic mode of production thesis altogether and presenting a more tenable historical and theoretical alternative. An overarching treatment of the subject matter from a much broader perspective is Halil Inalcik’s Economic and Social History of the Ottoman Empire: 1300–1914 (1994).

Those studies also occasion the beginning of the application of a political economy framework to the study of Middle Eastern history and society. In his pioneering The Middle East in World Economy: 1800–1914 (1981) and subsequent works, Roger Owen identifies major global economic factors at work in the final century of Ottoman domination; factors which reshuffled the social structure within the region. Owen argues that Europe’s increased demand for agricultural commodities during that period strengthened coastal parts of the Middle East at the expense of internal ones, and produced small local elites tied to European commerce. Those elites failed, nonetheless, to invest back in agriculture and industry, thus causing a development in the direction of dependency rather than modern, locally-rooted capitalism. Owen’s thesis marks an avowed application of dependency theory, hitherto common in Latin American studies, to Middle Eastern studies. A similar approach which situates the history of Iran, omitted from his analysis by Owen, in the context of the world system is John Foran’s Fragile Resistance (1993). Other political economists such as Yusif Sayigh (1979), Abbas Alnasrawi, and Jacqueline Ismail do the same for other parts of the region.

Some works in this genre stand out because they attempt to connect political economic analysis to historical formations in the culture at large. In The Arab Nation (1978), Samir Amin outlines the basis of a pan-Arab nation in a historical, far-flung urban network maintained by a commercial warrior class, that generated the surplus upon which it depended from long-distance trade rather than from the adjoining peasantry, which remained unincorporated. This feature meant that the fate of the Arab nation would always be dependent on factors external to it, and thus explained why the Arab nation readily entered the modern era in the logic described by dependency theory.

Of particular concern in studies of the political economy of the Middle East is the question of the nature and role of the State. The fact that for much of its history the Middle East was governed by loose, territorially expansive States rather than confined city-states, meant that local civil society, social networks and even identities could exist and evolve at a distance from State doctrines. The historian Roy Mottahedeh, for example, has shown how medieval Muslim society in Buyid Iran could function without the trappings of the State as such. While in general the term ‘nationstate’ would not adequately describe Middle Eastern polities, there were notable attempted exceptions. These involved projects aiming at building nationstates along the European model, as in nineteenth century Egypt and Kemalist Turkey following the dissolution of the Ottoman empire in the aftermath of World War I. The State Mehmed Ali set out to build in Egypt early in the nineteenth century paralleled the European State in its extension of the range of its social roles, its curtailment of clerical prerogatives, the strengthening of direct state presence in the countryside, its reliance on regular levies and taxes, and the introduction of educational and health reforms. As in Europe, that kind of State began to assume for itself many functions that had historically been within the domain of civil society.

But such state experiences tended to be the exceptions, and even the Egyptian State was unable to demonstrate credibly its sovereignty in the face of colonialism. On the other extreme of experiences of state formation is the Persian Gulf region, whose political history until modern times had known only ephemeral States at best. In State and Society in the Gulf and the Arab Peninsula (1990) Khaldoun H. al-Naqeeb identified the pre-eighteenth century political economy of the Gulf as a ‘natural economy,’ because all its components, including long-distance trade across the Indian Ocean, lacked the services and supervision of a centralizing state apparatus. AlNaqeeb’s thesis was that such a natural economy was eventually destroyed by British imperialism, which supported the rise of new dynasties and authoritarian, rentier States. Such States thus had to be run (until today) as official or unofficial protectorates.

This reality, coupled with the newness of all Arab States in the Levant and North Africa, has led some commentators like Michael Hudson in Arab Politics: The Search for Legitimacy (1977) to identify the question of legitimacy as the central problem of postcolonial polities in the region. This stance essentially dismisses the relevance of much of the common practice in political science writing on the region, which generally takes States as normative categories of analysis, focuses attention on diplomatic history and games theory, and pays little attention to ideologies, social movements, political parties and organizations, and also to such questions as political alienation and, above all, legitimacy.

New directions of research thus began in the early twenty-first century to address more complicated issues regarding the nature of the State in the region. At least three directions of research can be identified in this connection. One involves projects oriented toward studying the historical sociology of the State in the Middle East, spearheaded by Elia Zureik, Talal Asad, Huri Islamoglu-Inan, and Khaled Fahmy. Another concerns civil society which, in the context of Middle Eastern studies, is usually seen as both an antidote to the State and a factor in democratizing it. Major works in this direction are led by Saad Eddin Ibrahim’s series of reports on civil society and democracy in various countries of the region, and similar collections of reports edited by Jillian Schwedler and Augustus R. circa 1995. A third direction of research focuses on state rituals and symbolism, a good example of which is Peter Chelkowski and Hamid Dabashi’s study of the Iranian post-revolutionary State, Staging a Re olution (1999). Also significant in this genre is Lisa Wedeen’s The Ambiguities of Domination (1999), which employs ethnographic methods to study the nuances of popular responses to state symbolism in Syria. Earlier important studies in this genre by Sami Zubaida (1989), Ernest Gellner (1981) and Clifford Geertz focus on the state appropriation of popular beliefs, and demonstrated how the State tends to cause religious ideology and symbols to become more rigid and orthodox when it adopts them for its own use.

These studies have helped move the center of gravity in the sociological study of the Middle East away from a focus on formal institutions and historical continuities, to a focus on the determining relations between social structures and social movements. Hanna Batatu’s classic The Old Social Classes and the Re olutionary Movements of Iraq (1978), as well his more recent work on Syria, combine Marxist and Weberian perspectives to show how modern social movements could be understood in terms of the transformation in the basis of status groups from tribal, religious, and official dignitaries to landed aristocratic and merchant capitalist classes.

Batatu’s landmark study hails from a new trend which rejects a well-established view of religion as preconstitutive and internal to the culture. That view is common in orientalist tracts, but also in a tradition of sociological commentary ranging from Reuben Levy to vs. N. Eisenstadt, and is well represented in the contemporary Fundamentalisms Project, edited by Martin Marty and Scott Appleby. More recent trends by such anthropologists as Talal Asad (1993) and Ralph Coury treat both Islam and culture as dependent variables, and stress the historical dynamism and multiplicity of both. With respect to modernity, Talal Asad shows how religion itself can foster modernizing tendencies, and Ernest Gellner, who had otherwise stressed the similarities across Muslim societies and the preconstitutive role of religion, also comes to argue the special closeness of Islam to the spirit of modernity, and its ability to encompass various types of social structures.

Many observers, however, continue to be deeply interested in the dynamics operating between more permanent historical social structures and contemporary ideologies and social movements. Sami Zubaida’s work stands out in this regards as an exposition of the complexity of determining forces, and for demonstrating the need for an integrated analytical grid of cultural, sociological, comparative, and historical knowledge to apprehend the nuances of modern movements. Other scholars emphasize the determining role of specific sub-State social formations, such as the Ottoman Millet system, whereby various religious communities related to the State as recognized and legally autonomous corporate bodies. Main research questions in this regard concern the extent to which such a system gave rise to or inhibited the full expression of modern movements, such as nationalism, sectarianism, or secularism.

Scholars of the region are increasingly inclined to regard seemingly ‘premodern’ identities expressed in the political culture of the region as actually modern inventions. They also tend to stress the rootedness of modern social movements in external stimuli, such as colonialism and foreign influence. An important recent example of this scholarly trend is Ussama Makdisi’s The Culture of Sectarianism (2000). Focusing on nineteenth century Lebanon, Makdisi shows how confessional identities along which the modern Lebanese system was built were manifestations of various processes of modernity rather than expressions of reaction to it, and how they were fostered by Western intervention rather than emerging on their own. Elizabeth Thompson’s Colonial Citizens (2000) shows how it was the intrusion of colonial powers, rather than indigenous traditionalism, that had been detrimental to both women and liberal thought generally in Syria and Lebanon. Lacking roots in the colonies and conceiving of them as largely tradition-bound territories, colonial powers weakened indigenous liberalism, because the latter adhered to anti-colonial nationalism, and strengthened, through its compensatory alliance with them, the more conservative forces, whose influence had been declining before the advent of colonialism.

Many commentators also view the emergence of modern nationalism, in particular, in the context of colonialism rather than that of indigenous developments. Because of its extremity, the case of the Palestinians is usually cited as the most evident, but by no means the only, illustration of this centrality of external intervening factors to the framing of modern identities. An important study in this regard is Rosemary Sayigh’s Palestinians: From Peasants to Re olutionaries (1979), which uses oral history to show the growth of nationalism due to external colonizing pressure. A more recent work along these lines is Rashid Khalidi’s Palestinian Identity (1997), which shows the gradual emergence of that identity in reaction to Jewish nationalism in Palestine. Similarly, in examining the Palestinian Intifida, Samih Farsoun and Jean Landis reject the relevance of most trends in social movement theory, emphasizing instead the global context of Palestinian struggle.

The pivotal geopolitical status of the modern Middle East, which entailed massive foreign intervention and a plethora of movements of resistance as well as political fragmentation, gave rise to a rich tradition of engaged scholarship on social movements. Khalil Nakhleh, (1977) a Palestinian sociologist, has rejected outright any possibility of non-reflexive, detached, ‘normal,’ or ‘nonnative’ sociology under current circumstances in the region. Other scholars have sought to outline oppositional social movements in terms which endow them with an under-explored sense of agency. Examples of this approach include Joel Beinin and Zachary Lockman’s Workers on the Nile (1987), and Anouar Abdel-Malek’s Contemporary Arab Political Thought (1983), which moves away from cultural and structural determinism altogether and stresses the priority of agency under modern circumstances.

Apart from questions of colonial encounter and political economy, an important line of emphasis in studying social movements in the Middle East concerns how they make use of cultural symbols. Julia Clancy-Smith’s Rebel and Saint (1994) shows how resistance to colonialism in North Africa used icons and authorities from traditional settings whose function in society had until then been quite apolitical. In a nuanced analysis of the new veiling and work environments in Cairo, Arlene Elowe Macleod (1991) shows how the veil today, far from being simply a patriarchal imposition, is actually used proactively by women to express various messages combining both accommodation and protest.

These studies stem from a very weighty orientation in Middle East studies, particularly in Middle Eastern countries, toward questions of heritage and its connection to modernity. Many important contemporary commentators, such as Fazlur Rahman, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Syed M. N. al-Attas, and Ismail alFaruqi have revisited classical Islamic philosophy and science in a quest to reveal a specifically Islamic philosophy of knowledge and science in tune with modernity. More politically-inclined contemporary philosopher-activists (frequently Shi’ites), such as Ali Shariati, Mohammed Baqr al-Sadr, and Morteza Motahhari, have also revisited classical sources extensively in order to show the compatibility of Islam with modern ideologies, notably socialism and anticolonial nationalism. The same is true of Tayyib Tazzini’s and Hussein Muruwwah’s secular reading of the heritage. The voluminous contributions of the latter, who was killed by Amal fighters in Beirut in 1985, were geared toward showing how classical Islamic philosophy and thought had always housed ‘materialist’ perspectives and methods in tune with Marxist dialectics.

Many other commentators are equally interested in voluminous, encyclopedic surveys of classical thought, but emphasize as organizing principles discursive, semiological, and hermeneutic rather than sociohistorical approaches. These include Muhammad ‘Abid al-Jabiri’s analysis over many volumes of the structures of knowledge in Arab culture and the poet Adonis’s (Ahmad ‘Ali Sa‘id) equally critical study of imitation and originality in Arab culture, The Permanent and the Changeable (1974). While many of these studies seek to discover through historical investigation a root cause of contemporary ‘stagnation’ or ‘backwardness,’ many more seek to reveal through the same method the dynamism and adaptability of the heritage to various social structures and ideological claims. This latter approach to the heritage had required an abandonment of the philological and preconstitutive approach of orientalism. Among the most important founders of this critical approach is Muhammad Arkoun, whose pioneering studies of the Qur’an have emphasized the value of other than purely philological approaches to the holy text, such as anthropological, sociological, and semiological approaches. Mohammed Bamyeh’s The Social Origins of Islam (1999) builds on that tradition of combined methods of reading, arguing that the growth of Islam was precisely due to an ability exhibited at its founding phase to accommodate the worldviews of different and even discordant social classes and types of social structure. Abdul-Kabir al-Khatibi echoes a similar theme when he argues that Islam must be seen as a sort of ‘compromise’ religion, and that its historical vitality stems from that attitude rather than from an alleged orthodox base and orientation.

In light of these new perspectives, the question arises again as to why this demonstrated dynamism of the heritage has not lent itself to a more vocal communion with liberal European modernity. Many responses to this question tend to dismiss it outright, citing as its faulty premise a Eurocentric tendency to outline various historical trajectories as more sharply differentiated than they actually were. In his critique of Eurocentrism, Samir Amin builds on and extends Martin Bernal’s thesis in Black Athena (1987). Amin contests European fabrication of a monopolistic claim on Greek heritage, as well as the construction of European history through a direct line that flows from Greece to Rome. This perspective, according to him, ignores the larger Mediterranean contexts of classic civilization and the continuity and further development of Greek political and philosophical thought, as well as mathematics, medicine, and science in the Islamic world during Europe’s Middle Ages.

Criticism of the tendency to view Middle Eastern or Islamic history in terms too distinct from other world histories has also been levied by the urban historian and sociologist Janet Abu-Lughod (1989) who, after her initial study of Cairo, came to repudiate the notion that there was anything specifically Islamic about the ‘Islamic city.’ For others, such as Jabiri and Hichem Djait, (1974) the point became less relevant, as they identify the important lines of demarcation with respect to modernity not along large East West types of categories. Rather, they prefer subregional categories, such as Arab Mashreq ( Western Asia and Egypt), vs. Arab Maghreb (rest of North Africa). Djait argues that the relatively more intense and enduring colonialism experienced by the Maghreb caused a more cultural proximity to modernity, since all illusions about self and society were destroyed through a colonial uprooting that had not been as severe in the Mashreq. The latter, being politically more advanced, had obtained its independence earlier than the Maghreb and proceeded to be governed by dictatorial regimes. That condition, according to Djait, favored the construction of more illusions about self and society in the Mashreq, and thus more relative distance from the spirit of modernity.

Within discussion of the proper attitude to modernity, the question of gender has had a particular resonance. The feminist sociologist Fatima Mernissi attained fame by blaming Islam itself for perpetuating a retrograde attitude toward women. An alternative trajectory within feminist writings on Islam, represented in the works of Leila Ahmed, Nawal Sa‘dawi and Denise Spellberg, offers more complex readings of the role of women in Islamic history and places more emphasis on the agency of women. More recent trends have de-emphasized the alleged role of traditional religion even further as an explanatory factor. Deniz Kandiyoti’s (1991) work has contributed to shifting attention away from religion as such and into patriarchal structures as sources of the oppression of women. Hisham Sharabi’s pioneering study Neopatriarchy: A Theory of Distorted Change in Arab Society (1988) singles out structural changes within the Arab World as well as elsewhere within the past century that had led to ‘neopatriarchy’ instead of modernity. Neopatriarchy is explained by Sharabi as a form of patriarchy produced by dependent capitalism and social change lacking in a sense of authenticity. Thus neopatriarchy tends to distort modernization and nervously presents itself as the only valid option.

Given the magnitude of social, political, economic, and cultural transformation in the Middle East over the twentieth century, many social scientists will find some literary works very useful in apprehending change in certain areas. Three particular novelists stand out for their ability to reconstruct history and society in more overarching and encyclopedic ways than has so far been possible in the social sciences, and thus are worthy of greater attention. Adbelrahman Munif’s (1989) multivolume epic Cities of Salt reconstructs in elaborate and patient detail the coming into being of Saudi Arabia in the 1930s, following the discovery of oil in the country by Western companies. The novel documents transformations in social relations and customs, the introduction of wage labor on top of an austere, semi-nomadic economy, the emergence of a dynasty and a State, the resulting tensions between authenticity and inauthenticity in public imagination, and other fascinating details which are usually glossed over in more dispassionate sociological and historical writings.

Gamal Ghitani’s historical novel Zayni Barakat (1990), set at the time of Ottoman takeover of Egypt from the Mamluks early in the sixteenth century, reconstructs elements of continuity and change in political structure as well as in the relationship between spiritual and political authority over the time-span of the two systems. Finally Nobel laureate’s Naguib Mahfuz’s prolific career is dedicated to an elaborate and highly nuanced reconstruction of social psychology and its connection to mores and traditions. Characters in Mahfuz’s works, who frequently mimic middleand lower-middle class inhabitants of Cairo’s neighborhoods, are usually shown as agents of their own destinies rather than as victims of established structures, and are capable of using a wide reservoir of proverbs and customary allowances of deviance to justify their actions. This holds true even in their attitude toward fate. In analyzing one famous story by Mahfuz, Halim Barakat shows that when characters claim what they are doing to be ordained by some fate, they are usually using the language of fatalism as a tool of self-assertion, rather than as an explanation of their powerlessness with respect to established patterns of relations and social expectations. At both the macro and micro levels, these works combine research orientations central to understanding Middle Eastern society and history. These orientations involve political economy, social and institutional structures and mentalities, and the flexible morality governing every-day, street-level interactions.

1. Conclusion

The study of society and history of the Middle East has gradually moved from focus on homogeneity and continuity to more elaborate discussions of the impact of many determining factors. It is now commonly accepted that due to its historical centrality to historical world systems and its contemporary geopolitical significance, Middle Eastern society and history cannot be understood apart from global trends which influence the region and are influenced by it as well. The studies are most revealing when they go above or below contemporary state jurisdictions and emphasize instead the historically autonomous mode of self-organization of civil society, cultural communities, travel, and trade. Middle Eastern society has historically been defined more so by the hybridity and diversity resulting from the above factors, than by the social engineering of States.

Bibliography:

• Abu-Lughod J L 1989 Before European Hegemony. Oxford University Press, New York
• Al-Azmeh A 1993 Islams and Modernities. Verso, London
• Al-Naqeeb K H 1990 Society and State in the Gulf and Arab Peninsula. Routledge, London
• Amin S 1978 The Arab Nation. Zed Press, London
• Arkoun M 1982 Lectures du Coran. Editions G.-P. Maisonneuve et Larose, Paris
• Asad T 1993 Genealogies of Religion. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD
• Bamyeh M A 1999 The Social Origins of Islam. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, MN
• Barakat H 1990 Beyond the always and the near: a critique of social psychological interpretations of Arab society and culture. In: Sharabi H (ed.) Theory, Politics and the Arab World: Critical Responses. Routledge, New York
• Batatu H 1978 The Old Social Classes and the Revolutionary Movements of Iraq. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ
• Beinin J, Lockman Z 1987 Workers on the Nile: Nationalism, Communism, Islam, and the Egyptian Working Class, 1882– 1954. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ
• Chelkowski P, Dabashi H 1999 Staging a Revolution: The Art of Persuasion in the Islamic Republic of Iran. New York University Press, New York
• Clancy-Smith J A 1994 Rebel and Saint: Muslim Notables, Populist Protest, Colonial Encounters. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA
• Djait H 1974 La Personnalite et le Devenir Arabo-islamiques. Editions du Seuil, Paris
• Fahmy K 1997 All the Pasha’s Men: Mehmed Ali, His Army, and the Making of Modern Egypt. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK
• Faroqhi S 1984 Towns and Townsmen of Ottoman Anatolia. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK
• Foran J 1993 Fragile Resistance: Social Transformation in Iran From 1500 to the Revolution. Westview Press, Boulder, CO
• Ghitani G al1990 Zayni Barakat. Penguin Books, New York
• Gellner E 1981 Muslim Society. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK
• Gran P 1979 Islamic Roots of Capitalism: Egypt, 1760–1840. University of Texas Press, Austin, TX
• Hourani A 1991 History of the Arab Peoples. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA
• Hudson M 1977 Arab Politics: The Search for Legitimacy. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT
• Ibrahim M 1990 Merchant Capital and Islam. University of Texas Press, Austin, TX
• Inalcik H 1994 An Economic and Social History of the Ottoman Empire: 1300–1914. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK
• Islamoglu-Inan H (ed.) 1987 The Ottoman Empire and the World-Economy. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK
• Kandiyoti D (ed.) 1991 Women, Islam, and the State. Temple University Press, Philadelphia, PA
• Khalidi R 1997 Palestinian Identity. Columbia University Press, New York
• Lerner D 1958 The Passing of Traditional Society. Free Press, Glencoe, IL
• Makdisi U S 2000 The Culture of Sectarianism. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA
• Macleod A E 1991 Accommodating Protest: Working Women, the New Veiling, and Change in Cairo. Columbia University Press, New York
• Mottahedeh R P 1980 Loyalty and Leadership in an Early Islamic Society. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ
• Munif A 1989 Cities of Salt. Vintage Books, New York
• Nakhleh K 1977 Anthropological and sociological studies on Arabs in Israel: critique. Journal of Palestine Studies 6(4): 41–70
• Nieuwenhuijze C A O van 1971 Sociology of the Middle East. Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands
• Owen R 1981 The Middle East in World Economy: 1800–1914. Methuen, London
• Rodinson M 1973 Islam and Capitalism. Pantheon Books, New York
• Said E W 1978 Orientalism. Pantheon Books, New York
• Sayigh R 1979 Palestinians: From Peasants to Revolutionaries. Zed Press, London
• Sharabi H 1988 Neopatriarchy: A Theory of Distorted Change in Arab Society. Oxford University Press, New York
• Thompson E 2000 Colonial Citizens: Republican Rights, Paternal Privilege, and Gender in French Syria and Lebanon. Columbia University Press, New York
• Turner B 1978 Marx and the End of Orientalism. Allen & Unwin, London
• Wedeen L 1999 The Ambiguities of Domination: Politics, Rhetoric, and Symbols in Contemporary Syria. University of Chicago Press, Chicago
• Zubaida S 1989 Islam, the People and the State: Essays on Political Ideas and Movements in the Middle East. Routledge, London
• Zureik E 1981 Theoretical considerations for a sociological study of the Arab State. Arab Studies Quarterly 3(3)

ORDER HIGH QUALITY CUSTOM PAPER

In order to continue enjoying our site, we ask that you confirm your identity as a human. Thank you very much for your cooperation.

• Thesis format
• Using thesis time-table
• Writing a simple graduation essay outline
• Cohesive dissertation paper

• Thesis Writing Tips
• Dissertation Drafts
• Picking an educational leadership topic
• Picking a PhD dissertation topic
• Psychology problems to explore
• Uncommon history phd topics
• Convincing topics for phd
• Leadership dissertation topics
• Management thesis ideas
• Computer science dissertation topics
• Choose the best dissertation topic
• Composing great education thesis topics
• Marketing thesis topics
• Topics for criminal justice thesis
• Picking a Health thesis topic
• Inventing MBA dissertation topics
• Marketing dissertation topics on brands
• Undergraduate Psychology thesis ideas
• Corporate finance dissertation topics
• Architecture thesis topic ideas
• Prompts for an Advertising thesis
• Banking system dissertation topics
• Computer science PhD thesis prompts
• Choosing topics about The Middle East
• Feminism: choosing dissertation titles
• Obesity thesis paper topics
• Where to get help with a thesis
• Thesis editing and proofreading
• Fighting procrastination
• Presenting your thesis
• Thesis writing step-by-step guide
• English thesis prompts
• Writing walk-through
• Online theses databases
• Dissertation literature section hints
• Thesis proposal defense
• How to order a dissertation
• Thesis editing assistance
• Raising your productivity
• Eliminating plagiarism
• How to write an abstract
• Dissertation acknowledgments
• A search for a sample introduction
• Sample APA thesis search
• Getting a sample methodology for a thesis
• Finding sample theses on Nursing
• MBA thesis writing: title insights
• A sample thesis methodology: museums
• Psychology dissertation proposal
• Crafting an excellent thesis
• Composing a nursing dissertation
• Dissertation proposal rough draft
• Creating a historical thesis paper
• Formatting an APA thesis cover page
• Looking for a good thesis sample
• MBA summary composing tricks
• Title page of a dissertation
• Astronomy thesis proposal
• Geography dissertation introduction
• Web design thesis proposal
• Recent articles:
• Catching reader's attention
• Providing background information

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

17% OFF on your first order Type the code 17TUDENT

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.

Thesis writing guide

Our writers

Our writers are graduates and professors of top US, UK and Canadian schools

You have an exclusive opportunity to have your project reviewed by a team of professional writers and editors.

Our editorial team

Popular articles & manuals

• Finding a cheap thesis writing service
• Law dissertation infusive ideas
• Finding a business management thesis sample
• Doctoral paper composing advice
• PhD writing advice
• Thesis on history & philosophy of science

Featured dissertation editor

We host the best PhD and Doctoral writers on the net. You have a great opportunity to have your project reviewed and marked by an expert.

• ©1998-2024 WDassociation.org
• Thesis proposal
• Structuring
• Introduction

All rights reserved. Do not copy.

More From Forbes

Challenges and opportunities for e-commerce startups in the middle east.

• Share to Facebook
• Share to Twitter
• Share to Linkedin

Benevolent by nature, Kartik is a serial entrepreneur and a pro skydiver. He lives life king-size. Founder & MD of Smartt.Studio .

The Middle East is witnessing a digital transformation, and at the forefront of this revolution are startups venturing into the world of e-commerce. With a young population and increasing internet penetration, the region presents a promising landscape for online businesses. However, startups in Middle East e-commerce face their fair share of challenges, and navigating this dynamic landscape requires a strategic approach.

Opportunities Galore

• Youthful demographics: The Middle East has one of the youngest populations globally, which presents a substantial customer base for e-commerce startups looking to tap into the digital market.

• Growing e-commerce adoption: E-commerce in the Middle East has been on the rise , with consumers increasingly embracing online shopping for convenience and variety. This shift in consumer behavior creates an ideal environment for startups to thrive.

• Cross-border trade: The strategic location of the Middle East between Asia, Europe and Africa makes it a prime hub for cross-border e-commerce. Startups can leverage this position to access a broad customer base and diversify their product offerings.

• Investor interest: The region has witnessed growing investor interest in e-commerce startups . Venture capital firms and angel investors are often keen to support innovative ideas and provide startups with the necessary capital to scale and expand.

• Government initiatives: Several Middle Eastern governments are taking steps to encourage entrepreneurship and digital transformation that I believe can foster a conducive ecosystem for startups.

Navigating Challenges

• Competition: While the e-commerce market in the Middle East holds immense potential, it is also fiercely competitive. Startups need to differentiate themselves through unique product offerings, superior customer service and innovative marketing strategies.

• Payment solutions: Developing secure and efficient payment solutions is a significant challenge. Startups must cater to diverse payment preferences and ensure robust cybersecurity measures to gain customer trust.

• Logistics and last-mile delivery: Reliable logistics and last-mile delivery services are essential for e-commerce success. Startups often face logistical challenges in the region, including infrastructure limitations and geographical complexities.

• Cultural sensitivity: Understanding and respecting cultural nuances is critical for e-commerce startups. Tailoring products, marketing and customer service to meet cultural expectations can be challenging but is essential for success.

• Regulatory hurdles: Navigating complex regulatory environments in different Middle Eastern countries can be daunting. Startups need to be well-versed in local regulations, taxation and compliance to avoid legal complications.

• Customer trust: Building and maintaining customer trust is paramount in e-commerce. Startups should invest in secure platforms, transparent policies and reliable customer support to establish credibility.

Strategies For Success

• Take a localized approach. Tailor your e-commerce platform to meet the preferences and expectations of local customers. This includes offering content in the local language, accepting preferred payment methods and understanding local holidays and customs.

• Invest in technology. Embrace innovative technologies such as AI, data analytics and mobile optimization to enhance the customer experience and streamline operations.

• Consider collaborations and partnerships. Forge partnerships with logistics providers, payment gateways and other e-commerce service providers to overcome operational challenges.

• Maintain a customer-centric focus. Prioritize excellent customer service to build trust and loyalty. Address customer inquiries promptly, and provide hassle-free return and refund processes.

• Conduct market research. Ensure you thoroughly research the market to identify gaps and opportunities. Stay informed about changing consumer preferences and industry trends.

• Prioritize digital marketing. Invest in digital marketing strategies such as social media advertising, influencer partnerships and search engine optimization to reach a wider audience.

Startups in Middle East e-commerce face both challenges and opportunities in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. With a young population, growing e-commerce adoption and investor interest, the region offers a promising market. However, startups must overcome stiff competition, logistical hurdles and regulatory complexities to thrive. By adopting a customer-centric approach, embracing technology and staying agile, startups can position themselves for success in the Middle East's burgeoning e-commerce sector.

Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?

• Editorial Standards
• Reprints & Permissions

Create an account

Create a free IEA account to download our reports or subcribe to a paid service.

Global Energy Crisis

How the energy crisis started, how global energy markets are impacting our daily life, and what governments are doing about it

• English English

What is the energy crisis?

Record prices, fuel shortages, rising poverty, slowing economies: the first energy crisis that's truly global.

Energy markets began to tighten in 2021 because of a variety of factors, including the extraordinarily rapid economic rebound following the pandemic. But the situation escalated dramatically into a full-blown global energy crisis following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The price of natural gas reached record highs, and as a result so did electricity in some markets. Oil prices hit their highest level since 2008. 

Higher energy prices have contributed to painfully high inflation, pushed families into poverty, forced some factories to curtail output or even shut down, and slowed economic growth to the point that some countries are heading towards severe recession. Europe, whose gas supply is uniquely vulnerable because of its historic reliance on Russia, could face gas rationing this winter, while many emerging economies are seeing sharply higher energy import bills and fuel shortages. While today’s energy crisis shares some parallels with the oil shocks of the 1970s, there are important differences. Today’s crisis involves all fossil fuels, while the 1970s price shocks were largely limited to oil at a time when the global economy was much more dependent on oil, and less dependent on gas. The entire word economy is much more interlinked than it was 50 years ago, magnifying the impact. That’s why we can refer to this as the first truly global energy crisis.

Some gas-intensive manufacturing plants in Europe have curtailed output because they can’t afford to keep operating, while in China some have simply had their power supply cut. In emerging and developing economies, where the share of household budgets spent on energy and food is already large, higher energy bills have increased extreme poverty and set back progress towards achieving universal and affordable energy access. Even in advanced economies, rising prices have impacted vulnerable households and caused significant economic, social and political strains.

Climate policies have been blamed in some quarters for contributing to the recent run-up in energy prices, but there is no evidence. In fact, a greater supply of clean energy sources and technologies would have protected consumers and mitigated some of the upward pressure on fuel prices.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine drove European and Asian gas prices to record highs

Evolution of key regional natural gas prices, june 2021-october 2022, what is causing it, disrupted supply chains, bad weather, low investment, and then came russia's invasion of ukraine.

Energy prices have been rising since 2021 because of the rapid economic recovery, weather conditions in various parts of the world, maintenance work that had been delayed by the pandemic, and earlier decisions by oil and gas companies and exporting countries to reduce investments. Russia began withholding gas supplies to Europe in 2021, months ahead of its invasion of Ukraine. All that led to already tight supplies. Russia’s attack on Ukraine greatly exacerbated the situation . The United States and the EU imposed a series of sanctions on Russia and many European countries declared their intention to phase out Russian gas imports completely. Meanwhile, Russia has increasingly curtailed or even turned off its export pipelines. Russia is by far the world’s largest exporter of fossil fuels, and a particularly important supplier to Europe. In 2021, a quarter of all energy consumed in the EU came from Russia. As Europe sought to replace Russian gas, it bid up prices of US, Australian and Qatari ship-borne liquefied natural gas (LNG), raising prices and diverting supply away from traditional LNG customers in Asia. Because gas frequently sets the price at which electricity is sold, power prices soared as well. Both LNG producers and importers are rushing to build new infrastructure to increase how much LNG can be traded internationally, but these costly projects take years to come online. Oil prices also initially soared as international trade routes were reconfigured after the United States, many European countries and some of their Asian allies said they would no longer buy Russian oil. Some shippers have declined to carry Russian oil because of sanctions and insurance risk. Many large oil producers were unable to boost supply to meet rising demand – even with the incentive of sky-high prices – because of a lack of investment in recent years. While prices have come down from their peaks, the outlook is uncertain with new rounds of European sanctions on Russia kicking in later this year.

What is being done?

Pandemic hangovers and rising interest rates limit public responses, while some countries turn to coal.

Some governments are looking to cushion the blow for customers and businesses, either through direct assistance, or by limiting prices for consumers and then paying energy providers the difference. But with inflation in many countries well above target and budget deficits already large because of emergency spending during the Covid-19 pandemic, the scope for cushioning the impact is more limited than in early 2020. Rising inflation has triggered increases in short-term interest rates in many countries, slowing down economic growth. Europeans have rushed to increase gas imports from alternative producers such as Algeria, Norway and Azerbaijan. Several countries have resumed or expanded the use of coal for power generation, and some are extending the lives of nuclear plants slated for de-commissioning. EU members have also introduced gas storage obligations, and agreed on voluntary targets to cut gas and electricity demand by 15% this winter through efficiency measures, greater use of renewables, and support for efficiency improvements. To ensure adequate oil supplies, the IEA and its members responded with the two largest ever releases of emergency oil stocks. With two decisions – on 1 March 2022 and 1 April – the IEA coordinated the release of some 182 million barrels of emergency oil from public stocks or obligated stocks held by industry. Some IEA member countries independently released additional public stocks, resulting in a total of over 240 million barrels being released between March and November 2022.

The IEA has also published action plans to cut oil use with immediate impact, as well as plans for how Europe can reduce its reliance on Russian gas and how common citizens can reduce their energy consumption . The invasion has sparked a reappraisal of energy policies and priorities, calling into question the viability of decades of infrastructure and investment decisions, and profoundly reorientating international energy trade. Gas had been expected to play a key role in many countries as a lower-emitting "bridge" between dirtier fossil fuels and renewable energies. But today’s crisis has called into question natural gas’ reliability.

The current crisis could accelerate the rollout of cleaner, sustainable renewable energy such as wind and solar, just as the 1970s oil shocks spurred major advances in energy efficiency, as well as in nuclear, solar and wind power. The crisis has also underscored the importance of investing in robust gas and power network infrastructure to better integrate regional markets. The EU’s RePowerEU, presented in May 2022 and the United States’ Inflation Reduction Act , passed in August 2022, both contain major initiatives to develop energy efficiency and promote renewable energies. 

The global energy crisis can be a historic turning point

Energy saving tips

1. Heating: turn it down

Lower your thermostat by just 1°C to save around 7% of your heating energy and cut an average bill by EUR 50-70 a year. Always set your thermostat as low as feels comfortable, and wear warm clothes indoors. Use a programmable thermostat to set the temperature to 15°C while you sleep and 10°C when the house is unoccupied. This cuts up to 10% a year off heating bills. Try to only heat the room you’re in or the rooms you use regularly.

The same idea applies in hot weather. Turn off air-conditioning when you’re out. Set the overall temperature 1 °C warmer to cut bills by up to 10%. And only cool the room you’re in.

2. Boiler: adjust the settings

Default boiler settings are often higher than you need. Lower the hot water temperature to save 8% of your heating energy and cut EUR 100 off an average bill.  You may have to have the plumber come once if you have a complex modern combi boiler and can’t figure out the manual. Make sure you follow local recommendations or consult your boiler manual. Swap a bath for a shower to spend less energy heating water. And if you already use a shower, take a shorter one. Hot water tanks and pipes should be insulated to stop heat escaping. Clean wood- and pellet-burning heaters regularly with a wire brush to keep them working efficiently.

3. Warm air: seal it in

Close windows and doors, insulate pipes and draught-proof around windows, chimneys and other gaps to keep the warm air inside. Unless your home is very new, you will lose heat through draughty doors and windows, gaps in the floor, or up the chimney. Draught-proof these gaps with sealant or weather stripping to save up to EUR 100 a year. Install tight-fitting curtains or shades on windows to retain even more heat. Close fireplace and chimney openings (unless a fire is burning) to stop warm air escaping straight up the chimney. And if you never use your fireplace, seal the chimney to stop heat escaping.

4. Lightbulbs: swap them out

Replace old lightbulbs with new LED ones, and only keep on the lights you need. LED bulbs are more efficient than incandescent and halogen lights, they burn out less frequently, and save around EUR 10 a year per bulb. Check the energy label when buying bulbs, and aim for A (the most efficient) rather than G (the least efficient). The simplest and easiest way to save energy is to turn lights off when you leave a room.

5. Grab a bike

Walking or cycling are great alternatives to driving for short journeys, and they help save money, cut emissions and reduce congestion. If you can, leave your car at home for shorter journeys; especially if it’s a larger car. Share your ride with neighbours, friends and colleagues to save energy and money. You’ll also see big savings and health benefits if you travel by bike. Many governments also offer incentives for electric bikes.

6. Use public transport

For longer distances where walking or cycling is impractical, public transport still reduces energy use, congestion and air pollution. If you’re going on a longer trip, consider leaving your car at home and taking the train. Buy a season ticket to save money over time. Your workplace or local government might also offer incentives for travel passes. Plan your trip in advance to save on tickets and find the best route.

7. Drive smarter

Optimise your driving style to reduce fuel consumption: drive smoothly and at lower speeds on motorways, close windows at high speeds and make sure your tires are properly inflated. Try to take routes that avoid heavy traffic and turn off the engine when you’re not moving. Drive 10 km/h slower on motorways to cut your fuel bill by around EUR 60 per year. Driving steadily between 50-90 km/h can also save fuel. When driving faster than 80 km/h, it’s more efficient to use A/C, rather than opening your windows. And service your engine regularly to maintain energy efficiency.

Analysis and forecast to 2026

Fuel report — December 2023

Europe’s energy crisis: Understanding the drivers of the fall in electricity demand

Commentary — 09 May 2023

Where things stand in the global energy crisis one year on

Commentary — 23 February 2023

The global energy crisis pushed fossil fuel consumption subsidies to an all-time high in 2022

Commentary — 16 February 2023

Fossil Fuels Consumption Subsidies 2022

Policy report — February 2023

Background note on the natural gas supply-demand balance of the European Union in 2023

Report — February 2023

Analysis and forecast to 2025

Fuel report — December 2022

How to Avoid Gas Shortages in the European Union in 2023

A practical set of actions to close a potential supply-demand gap

Flagship report — December 2022

Subscription successful

Thank you for subscribing. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link at the bottom of any IEA newsletter.

How to cite ChatGPT

Use discount code STYLEBLOG15 for 15% off APA Style print products with free shipping in the United States.

We, the APA Style team, are not robots. We can all pass a CAPTCHA test , and we know our roles in a Turing test . And, like so many nonrobot human beings this year, we’ve spent a fair amount of time reading, learning, and thinking about issues related to large language models, artificial intelligence (AI), AI-generated text, and specifically ChatGPT . We’ve also been gathering opinions and feedback about the use and citation of ChatGPT. Thank you to everyone who has contributed and shared ideas, opinions, research, and feedback.

In this post, I discuss situations where students and researchers use ChatGPT to create text and to facilitate their research, not to write the full text of their paper or manuscript. We know instructors have differing opinions about how or even whether students should use ChatGPT, and we’ll be continuing to collect feedback about instructor and student questions. As always, defer to instructor guidelines when writing student papers. For more about guidelines and policies about student and author use of ChatGPT, see the last section of this post.

Quoting or reproducing the text created by ChatGPT in your paper

If you’ve used ChatGPT or other AI tools in your research, describe how you used the tool in your Method section or in a comparable section of your paper. For literature reviews or other types of essays or response or reaction papers, you might describe how you used the tool in your introduction. In your text, provide the prompt you used and then any portion of the relevant text that was generated in response.

Unfortunately, the results of a ChatGPT “chat” are not retrievable by other readers, and although nonretrievable data or quotations in APA Style papers are usually cited as personal communications , with ChatGPT-generated text there is no person communicating. Quoting ChatGPT’s text from a chat session is therefore more like sharing an algorithm’s output; thus, credit the author of the algorithm with a reference list entry and the corresponding in-text citation.

When prompted with “Is the left brain right brain divide real or a metaphor?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that although the two brain hemispheres are somewhat specialized, “the notation that people can be characterized as ‘left-brained’ or ‘right-brained’ is considered to be an oversimplification and a popular myth” (OpenAI, 2023).

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

You may also put the full text of long responses from ChatGPT in an appendix of your paper or in online supplemental materials, so readers have access to the exact text that was generated. It is particularly important to document the exact text created because ChatGPT will generate a unique response in each chat session, even if given the same prompt. If you create appendices or supplemental materials, remember that each should be called out at least once in the body of your APA Style paper.

When given a follow-up prompt of “What is a more accurate representation?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that “different brain regions work together to support various cognitive processes” and “the functional specialization of different regions can change in response to experience and environmental factors” (OpenAI, 2023; see Appendix A for the full transcript).

Creating a reference to ChatGPT or other AI models and software

The in-text citations and references above are adapted from the reference template for software in Section 10.10 of the Publication Manual (American Psychological Association, 2020, Chapter 10). Although here we focus on ChatGPT, because these guidelines are based on the software template, they can be adapted to note the use of other large language models (e.g., Bard), algorithms, and similar software.

The reference and in-text citations for ChatGPT are formatted as follows:

• Parenthetical citation: (OpenAI, 2023)
• Narrative citation: OpenAI (2023)

Let’s break that reference down and look at the four elements (author, date, title, and source):

Author: The author of the model is OpenAI.

Date: The date is the year of the version you used. Following the template in Section 10.10, you need to include only the year, not the exact date. The version number provides the specific date information a reader might need.

Title: The name of the model is “ChatGPT,” so that serves as the title and is italicized in your reference, as shown in the template. Although OpenAI labels unique iterations (i.e., ChatGPT-3, ChatGPT-4), they are using “ChatGPT” as the general name of the model, with updates identified with version numbers.

The version number is included after the title in parentheses. The format for the version number in ChatGPT references includes the date because that is how OpenAI is labeling the versions. Different large language models or software might use different version numbering; use the version number in the format the author or publisher provides, which may be a numbering system (e.g., Version 2.0) or other methods.

Bracketed text is used in references for additional descriptions when they are needed to help a reader understand what’s being cited. References for a number of common sources, such as journal articles and books, do not include bracketed descriptions, but things outside of the typical peer-reviewed system often do. In the case of a reference for ChatGPT, provide the descriptor “Large language model” in square brackets. OpenAI describes ChatGPT-4 as a “large multimodal model,” so that description may be provided instead if you are using ChatGPT-4. Later versions and software or models from other companies may need different descriptions, based on how the publishers describe the model. The goal of the bracketed text is to briefly describe the kind of model to your reader.

Source: When the publisher name and the author name are the same, do not repeat the publisher name in the source element of the reference, and move directly to the URL. This is the case for ChatGPT. The URL for ChatGPT is https://chat.openai.com/chat . For other models or products for which you may create a reference, use the URL that links as directly as possible to the source (i.e., the page where you can access the model, not the publisher’s homepage).

Other questions about citing ChatGPT

You may have noticed the confidence with which ChatGPT described the ideas of brain lateralization and how the brain operates, without citing any sources. I asked for a list of sources to support those claims and ChatGPT provided five references—four of which I was able to find online. The fifth does not seem to be a real article; the digital object identifier given for that reference belongs to a different article, and I was not able to find any article with the authors, date, title, and source details that ChatGPT provided. Authors using ChatGPT or similar AI tools for research should consider making this scrutiny of the primary sources a standard process. If the sources are real, accurate, and relevant, it may be better to read those original sources to learn from that research and paraphrase or quote from those articles, as applicable, than to use the model’s interpretation of them.

We’ve also received a number of other questions about ChatGPT. Should students be allowed to use it? What guidelines should instructors create for students using AI? Does using AI-generated text constitute plagiarism? Should authors who use ChatGPT credit ChatGPT or OpenAI in their byline? What are the copyright implications ?

On these questions, researchers, editors, instructors, and others are actively debating and creating parameters and guidelines. Many of you have sent us feedback, and we encourage you to continue to do so in the comments below. We will also study the policies and procedures being established by instructors, publishers, and academic institutions, with a goal of creating guidelines that reflect the many real-world applications of AI-generated text.

For questions about manuscript byline credit, plagiarism, and related ChatGPT and AI topics, the APA Style team is seeking the recommendations of APA Journals editors. APA Style guidelines based on those recommendations will be posted on this blog and on the APA Style site later this year.

Update: APA Journals has published policies on the use of generative AI in scholarly materials .

We, the APA Style team humans, appreciate your patience as we navigate these unique challenges and new ways of thinking about how authors, researchers, and students learn, write, and work with new technologies.

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

Related and recent

Comments are disabled due to your privacy settings. To re-enable, please adjust your cookie preferences.

APA Style Monthly

Subscribe to the APA Style Monthly newsletter to get tips, updates, and resources delivered directly to your inbox.

Welcome! Thank you for subscribing.

APA Style Guidelines

Browse APA Style writing guidelines by category

• Abbreviations
• Bias-Free Language
• Capitalization
• In-Text Citations
• Italics and Quotation Marks
• Paper Format
• Punctuation
• Research and Publication
• Spelling and Hyphenation
• Tables and Figures

Full index of topics