The Middle East is a concept that originated in European and U.S. geopolitical discourses of the twentieth century and has come to refer to a region with broad civilizational, linguistic, and cultural dimensions. Geographically, the Middle East spans western Asia and parts of Europe and North Africa—from the strategic straits of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab to the Arabian deserts, the Iranian plateau, and the Mesopotamian plains, stretching westward across the Mediterranean coast and the Sahara to Mauritania. The precise boundaries of the Middle East vary according to different perspectives, but it generally includes more than 20 countries, such as Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Egypt, Sudan, and Morocco, to name a few.

Historically, the Middle East is recognized as one of the birthplaces of human civilization. The first agricultural societies developed in the Fertile Crescent in Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Levant, and the Iranian plateau. It was in these lands that the first cities, writing systems, centralized governments, and the basic concepts of law appeared. Ancient civilizations of Africa and Mesopotamia, such as the Sumerians, as well as the empires of the Assyrian, Babylonian, Sasanian, Byzantine, Umayyad, Abbasid, Seljuk, Almohad, Ottoman, and Safavid were all based in what is now the Middle East.

Linguistically, the Middle East is one of the most diverse regions in the world. Three major language families are prevalent throughout the region: Semitic languages (such as Arabic, Hebrew, Aramaic), Indo-European languages (Persian, Kurdish, Armenian), and Turkic languages. Linguistic diversity also reflects the cultural and ethnic diversity of the Middle East. Arabs, Persians, Turks, Kurds, Assyrians, Armenians, and Imazighen (also known as “Berbers”) are among the many ethnic groups that reside in this region. This diversity has fostered a vast heritage of literature, music, architecture, cuisine, and cultural traditions. In addition, the Middle East has long been a crossroad of cultural and scientific exchange between East and West. The translation of Greek texts into Arabic and the dissemination of medical, mathematical, and astronomical knowledge show the region’s importance in the global history of science.

CSAMES recognizes that the term ‘Middle East’ did not originate in the region that it represents today and it carries a long history of imperial interventions in the region. It’s a rather historical, geographical, cultural, political, economic, or a geostrategic concept. The ‘Middle East’ is just one of many terms that have been used, over time, to describe this region (or parts of it). Although alternative names exist—among them, the MENA (Middle East North Africa) region, the SWANA (Southwest Asia and North Africa) region, and the “Near East”—, CSAMES has adopted the term “Middle East” because it is in common use in academic and public discourse within and outside the region today.

Middle East Studies is an interdisciplinary field within the humanities and social sciences that has gained increasing prominence in recent decades. Emerging primarily in the West in the 20th century, the field takes as its object of study the so-called “MENA” (Middle East North Africa) region, which stretches from Mauritania in the west to Afghanistan in the east, encompassing North Africa, the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula, and Iran. The field is not merely concerned with gathering historical, cultural, linguistic, or political facts about a particular region; rather, it is an intellectual project aimed at understanding how knowledge about the region has been produced, the historical and political conditions under which this knowledge has spread, and the consequences it has had for the world we live in. In this sense, Middle East studies, as a field, interrogates the very frameworks through which the “Middle East” has been imagined, represented, studied, and governed.

The origins of this field are deeply intertwined with colonial history, particularly through the legacy of Orientalism. As Edward Said famously argued in his Orientalism (1978), much of the Western scholarship on the Middle East was shaped by imperialist worldviews. Said showed that these texts did not neutrally reflect Middle Eastern realities but instead constructed the region as backward, exotic, and inferior—an ideological “Other” that served to define and reinforce Western superiority. Orientalism, in Said’s terms, functioned as a form of knowledge that helped justify colonial domination under the guise of objective scholarship.

Contemporary Middle East studies emerged out of, but also in response to, this legacy. Over time, the field began to question not only earlier representations of the region but also the deeper structures that shaped the production of those representations. Scholars in the field questioned who speaks for the region, under what authority, and for what audience. These questions led to a growing awareness of how academic institutions, state interests, and funding sources had historically influenced the narratives and priorities of research about the Middle East.

Middle East studies is also closely connected to broader conversations in postcolonial theory, critical race studies, and global media analysis. It aims to describe the region in its diversity and to explore how it is shaped by, and responds to, transnational forces such as war, migration, capitalism, and digital technologies. In doing so, the field connects regional specificity to global structures of power. However, the field today is not only about critiquing Orientalism or the politics of knowledge production. It has expanded to center the lived experiences of people in the region—their cultures, everyday struggles, and forms of resistance. The study of urban life, popular culture, gender, class, and migration has revealed new layers of complexity in how people live, adapt, and assert agency within and beyond the region.

Middle East studies is not about speaking for others but about enabling more equitable and critical forms of dialogue between cultures and knowledge traditions. It invites students and scholars to engage, listen, and approach research as a collaborative rather than extractive process. As a field, it remains dynamic and open-ended. Its definition shifts depending on the questions being asked

The Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (CSAMES) is an integral part of the intellectual life of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. As an interdisciplinary unit, CSAMES draws upon the expertise of 63 affiliated faculty members across multiple colleges, including the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the College of Education, the College of Fine and Applied Arts, the College of Media, and the Gies College of Business. This broad institutional reach reflects the center’s commitment to fostering cross-disciplinary dialogue and collaboration. Our affiliates represent a diverse range of scholarly approaches—history, political science, anthropology, religious studies, comparative literature, art history, and economics, to name a few—demonstrating the center’s capacity to support wide-ranging research and teaching on South Asia and the Middle East. This collaborative model ensures that CSAMES remains responsive to the evolving conversations in these fields while encouraging faculty and students to engage with the Center’s activities and with the world at large.

CSAMES provides a dynamic space for both academic research and public engagement on campus. We regularly sponsor or co-sponsor lectures, workshops, book talks, and cultural events, while also hosting visiting scholars from around the country to promote critical perspectives on regional and transregional issues. In 2025, one of our signature initiatives has been a year-long series titled “Palestine in the World,” a collaboration between CSAMES and several partners at the Illinois Global Institute and across campus. The series brings together scholars, writers, and artists to reflect on the historical and contemporary significance of Palestine in a global context. It has included lectures, roundtables, an art exhibit, and film screenings, all designed to engage both academic and public audiences.

CSAMES has also played a central role in strengthening global education at Illinois through its administration of Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowships. These fellowships provide financial support for undergraduate and graduate students who pursue the study of Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Hebrew in combination with area studies coursework. The availability of these fellowships showcases the center’s commitment to long-term engagement with the languages and cultures of the Middle East region. Beyond administering these fellowships, CSAMES advises and supports students in building interdisciplinary language-based academic paths that improve their research and career trajectories. The Center also houses an MA program that helps prepare students for PhD programs or for careers in government, NGOs, business, the media, international law, private foundations, or cultural exchanges, and offers two undergraduate minors- South Asian Studies and the Study of the Islamic World to further expand opportunities for students to engage with the region.

Finally, in all its efforts, CSAMES helps UIUC to stay true to its land-grant mission: to foster education that is both locally grounded and globally aware by linking faculty, students, and community partners across disciplines and institutions. Our goal is to enrich the university’s intellectual life while also creating spaces for dialogue, critical inquiry, and meaningful engagement with some of the most dynamic and complex regions of the world. In doing so, CSAMES cultivates a community of learners and scholars who are equipped to think critically, act ethically, and contribute to an increasingly interconnected world.