BRISMES
@brismes.bsky.social
BRISMES brings together teachers, researchers, students, diplomats, journalists and others who deal professionally with the Middle East.
BRISMES has written to the @unibirmingham.bsky.social to express our serious concern about proposed reductions in language provision, and in particular the prospective loss of specialist expertise in Arabic Studies. (1/3)
Read our letter: bit.ly/4h4ia1q
Read our letter: bit.ly/4h4ia1q
September 23, 2026 at 1:26 PM
BRISMES has written to the @unibirmingham.bsky.social to express our serious concern about proposed reductions in language provision, and in particular the prospective loss of specialist expertise in Arabic Studies. (1/3)
Read our letter: bit.ly/4h4ia1q
Read our letter: bit.ly/4h4ia1q
📢 Submissions are open for the 2027 Leigh Douglas Memorial #Prize for the best #PhD dissertation on a #MiddleEastern topic in the Social Sciences or Humanities awarded by a British uni between Oct 2025 & Sept 2026.
Deadline: 23 Nov 2026
More info: www.brismes.ac.uk/awards/ldmp
Deadline: 23 Nov 2026
More info: www.brismes.ac.uk/awards/ldmp
September 22, 2026 at 10:48 AM
📢 Submissions are open for the 2027 Leigh Douglas Memorial #Prize for the best #PhD dissertation on a #MiddleEastern topic in the Social Sciences or Humanities awarded by a British uni between Oct 2025 & Sept 2026.
Deadline: 23 Nov 2026
More info: www.brismes.ac.uk/awards/ldmp
Deadline: 23 Nov 2026
More info: www.brismes.ac.uk/awards/ldmp
#BRISMES2027 I We are pleased to announce that our next BRISMES #conference will be held at Newcastle University from 22–24 June 2027.
More details about the Call for Papers will be shared in due course — stay tuned!
#MiddleEastStudies #CallForPapers
More details about the Call for Papers will be shared in due course — stay tuned!
#MiddleEastStudies #CallForPapers
September 21, 2026 at 3:45 PM
#BRISMES2027 I We are pleased to announce that our next BRISMES #conference will be held at Newcastle University from 22–24 June 2027.
More details about the Call for Papers will be shared in due course — stay tuned!
#MiddleEastStudies #CallForPapers
More details about the Call for Papers will be shared in due course — stay tuned!
#MiddleEastStudies #CallForPapers
SARN's keynote by Yassin al-Haj Saleh.
How are ideas formed & what do we overlook when we treat intellectual work primarily as an activity of the mind?
Friday 18 September, 1.45pm, Newnham College, Cambridge. Part of the SARN UK Conference 2026.
Registration 👇
www.tickettailor.com/events/marga...
How are ideas formed & what do we overlook when we treat intellectual work primarily as an activity of the mind?
Friday 18 September, 1.45pm, Newnham College, Cambridge. Part of the SARN UK Conference 2026.
Registration 👇
www.tickettailor.com/events/marga...
September 16, 2026 at 10:59 AM
SARN's keynote by Yassin al-Haj Saleh.
How are ideas formed & what do we overlook when we treat intellectual work primarily as an activity of the mind?
Friday 18 September, 1.45pm, Newnham College, Cambridge. Part of the SARN UK Conference 2026.
Registration 👇
www.tickettailor.com/events/marga...
How are ideas formed & what do we overlook when we treat intellectual work primarily as an activity of the mind?
Friday 18 September, 1.45pm, Newnham College, Cambridge. Part of the SARN UK Conference 2026.
Registration 👇
www.tickettailor.com/events/marga...
The 2026 Conference of the Syrian Academics and Researchers' Network - Knowledge, Memory & the Everyday Aftermath.
17–18 September at Cambridge: 5 panels, a roundtable on the anthropology of Syria, an art installation, & a keynote by Yassin al-Haj Saleh
Programme 👇
www.sarn-uk.org/events/sarn-...
17–18 September at Cambridge: 5 panels, a roundtable on the anthropology of Syria, an art installation, & a keynote by Yassin al-Haj Saleh
Programme 👇
www.sarn-uk.org/events/sarn-...
SARN-UK - SARN 2026 International Conference
Dates: Thursday, 17 September 2026 and Friday, 18 September 2026
Location: University of Cambridge
www.sarn-uk.org
September 15, 2026 at 6:14 PM
The 2026 Conference of the Syrian Academics and Researchers' Network - Knowledge, Memory & the Everyday Aftermath.
17–18 September at Cambridge: 5 panels, a roundtable on the anthropology of Syria, an art installation, & a keynote by Yassin al-Haj Saleh
Programme 👇
www.sarn-uk.org/events/sarn-...
17–18 September at Cambridge: 5 panels, a roundtable on the anthropology of Syria, an art installation, & a keynote by Yassin al-Haj Saleh
Programme 👇
www.sarn-uk.org/events/sarn-...
📢 BRISMES supports colleagues at the University of Birmingham facing compulsory #redundancy.
✍️ We invite BRISMES members and the wider community to sign the petition and share it with colleagues and networks.
🔗 Sign the petition: www.change.org/p/stop-redun...
✍️ We invite BRISMES members and the wider community to sign the petition and share it with colleagues and networks.
🔗 Sign the petition: www.change.org/p/stop-redun...
Firma la petizione
Stop redundancies at the University of Birmingham
www.change.org
September 15, 2026 at 1:16 PM
📢 BRISMES supports colleagues at the University of Birmingham facing compulsory #redundancy.
✍️ We invite BRISMES members and the wider community to sign the petition and share it with colleagues and networks.
🔗 Sign the petition: www.change.org/p/stop-redun...
✍️ We invite BRISMES members and the wider community to sign the petition and share it with colleagues and networks.
🔗 Sign the petition: www.change.org/p/stop-redun...
#Research | Listen to this episode of The +972 Podcast featuring former BRISMES Vice President Neve Gordon @gordonneve.bsky.social.
Listen through the link: 972mag.com/podcast-gaza...
Or watch the full episode through the link: youtu.be/hUQ3nqrstro?...
Listen through the link: 972mag.com/podcast-gaza...
Or watch the full episode through the link: youtu.be/hUQ3nqrstro?...
"The vast majority of the civilians [in Gaza] were killed by two groups. One is the lawyers that legitimized the attacks, and the other is the pilots. And these groups are loved by Israel."
Neve Gordon, Professor of International Law, on The +972 Podcast.
www.972mag.com/podcast-gaza...
Neve Gordon, Professor of International Law, on The +972 Podcast.
www.972mag.com/podcast-gaza...
September 15, 2026 at 9:22 AM
#Research | Listen to this episode of The +972 Podcast featuring former BRISMES Vice President Neve Gordon @gordonneve.bsky.social.
Listen through the link: 972mag.com/podcast-gaza...
Or watch the full episode through the link: youtu.be/hUQ3nqrstro?...
Listen through the link: 972mag.com/podcast-gaza...
Or watch the full episode through the link: youtu.be/hUQ3nqrstro?...
📚 #Research by BRISMES Members | "Repression as Aesthetic Ordering: How UK Universities Make #Palestine Solidarity Illegible in a Time of #Genocide" by BRISMES President Nicola Pratt & Joss Wozencroft
Read more: sl1nk.com/wjxqdpg
Read more: sl1nk.com/wjxqdpg
September 14, 2026 at 12:33 PM
📚 #Research by BRISMES Members | "Repression as Aesthetic Ordering: How UK Universities Make #Palestine Solidarity Illegible in a Time of #Genocide" by BRISMES President Nicola Pratt & Joss Wozencroft
Read more: sl1nk.com/wjxqdpg
Read more: sl1nk.com/wjxqdpg
#AcademicFreedom | We are thrilled to hear that Usama Ghanem has been reinstated at KCL.
Read our previous intervention on this case: bit.ly/4oNtf7Q
Read our previous intervention on this case: bit.ly/4oNtf7Q
Usama Ghanem can return to university! 🎓
Last year, King's College London suspended Usama after he participated in pro-Palestine protests, which led to his student visa being revoked.
An internal review has now found no reason for that to stand - a win from student campaigning across the UK 🎉
Last year, King's College London suspended Usama after he participated in pro-Palestine protests, which led to his student visa being revoked.
An internal review has now found no reason for that to stand - a win from student campaigning across the UK 🎉
September 14, 2026 at 11:53 AM
#AcademicFreedom | We are thrilled to hear that Usama Ghanem has been reinstated at KCL.
Read our previous intervention on this case: bit.ly/4oNtf7Q
Read our previous intervention on this case: bit.ly/4oNtf7Q
📚 #Research by BRISMES Members | "The Authoritarian Convergence against #AcademicFreedom in #Germany: Political Interference, Securitization, and the Weaponization of Antisemitism Allegations" by Dörthe Engelcke and Ilyas Saliba
@isaliba.bsky.social
Read more: www.ispf-lab.cnr.it/system/files...
@isaliba.bsky.social
Read more: www.ispf-lab.cnr.it/system/files...
September 11, 2026 at 10:03 AM
📚 #Research by BRISMES Members | "The Authoritarian Convergence against #AcademicFreedom in #Germany: Political Interference, Securitization, and the Weaponization of Antisemitism Allegations" by Dörthe Engelcke and Ilyas Saliba
@isaliba.bsky.social
Read more: www.ispf-lab.cnr.it/system/files...
@isaliba.bsky.social
Read more: www.ispf-lab.cnr.it/system/files...
The BRISMES Committee on #AcademicFreedom has written to Iranian authorities urging them not to adopt the proposed Bill to Counter the Infiltration of Foreign Intelligence Services and Governments or Foreign Entities. (1/4)
Read our letter: shorturl.at/bPxfZ
Read our letter: shorturl.at/bPxfZ
September 9, 2026 at 11:12 AM
The BRISMES Committee on #AcademicFreedom has written to Iranian authorities urging them not to adopt the proposed Bill to Counter the Infiltration of Foreign Intelligence Services and Governments or Foreign Entities. (1/4)
Read our letter: shorturl.at/bPxfZ
Read our letter: shorturl.at/bPxfZ
Please note that the BRISMES office will be closed for the summer holidays and will reopen on 7 September.
Wishing everyone a great rest of the summer! 🌿☀️
Wishing everyone a great rest of the summer! 🌿☀️
August 14, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Please note that the BRISMES office will be closed for the summer holidays and will reopen on 7 September.
Wishing everyone a great rest of the summer! 🌿☀️
Wishing everyone a great rest of the summer! 🌿☀️
#research | Free to access in #BJMES Volume 53, Issue 3 until the end of October: “Leo Africanus: a reflection of Amin Maalouf’s deterritorialized migrant self” by Saima Bashir & Sohail Ahmad Saeed.
Read more: bit.ly/4i1oQ0X
Read more: bit.ly/4i1oQ0X
August 11, 2026 at 3:15 PM
#research | Free to access in #BJMES Volume 53, Issue 3 until the end of October: “Leo Africanus: a reflection of Amin Maalouf’s deterritorialized migrant self” by Saima Bashir & Sohail Ahmad Saeed.
Read more: bit.ly/4i1oQ0X
Read more: bit.ly/4i1oQ0X
Protecting #academicfreedom requires action.
Our report calls on universities, governments, international organisations, & scholarly associations to strengthen protections for academic freedom, support scholars at risk, & improve accountability for attacks on free expression.
Our report calls on universities, governments, international organisations, & scholarly associations to strengthen protections for academic freedom, support scholars at risk, & improve accountability for attacks on free expression.
August 11, 2026 at 10:21 AM
Protecting #academicfreedom requires action.
Our report calls on universities, governments, international organisations, & scholarly associations to strengthen protections for academic freedom, support scholars at risk, & improve accountability for attacks on free expression.
Our report calls on universities, governments, international organisations, & scholarly associations to strengthen protections for academic freedom, support scholars at risk, & improve accountability for attacks on free expression.
Despite differences between Europe and the Middle East, our report identifies a striking common trend: the growing use of security, counter-terrorism & “safety” narratives to justify restrictions on academic freedom & freedom of expression.
Read & share 👉 shorturl.at/eKJku
Read & share 👉 shorturl.at/eKJku
August 11, 2026 at 10:19 AM
Despite differences between Europe and the Middle East, our report identifies a striking common trend: the growing use of security, counter-terrorism & “safety” narratives to justify restrictions on academic freedom & freedom of expression.
Read & share 👉 shorturl.at/eKJku
Read & share 👉 shorturl.at/eKJku
📚 #Research by BRISMES Members | "Gaza and the Colonial Right to Self-defence: Legal Absurdities and the Circular Reasoning of Violence" by Passent Moussa & Colin Samson
Read more: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Read more: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
August 7, 2026 at 12:06 PM
📚 #Research by BRISMES Members | "Gaza and the Colonial Right to Self-defence: Legal Absurdities and the Circular Reasoning of Violence" by Passent Moussa & Colin Samson
Read more: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Read more: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
The BRISMES Committee on #AcademicFreedom’s newly published report is cited in @timeshighered.bsky.social, highlighting concerns over the growing use of “national security” to restrict academic freedom.
Read more 👇 www.timeshighereducation.com/news/nationa...
Read more 👇 www.timeshighereducation.com/news/nationa...
National security used to curb academic freedom, report says
Restrictions on events and teaching materials across Europe amount to ‘criminalisation of intellectual debate’, find Middle East experts
www.timeshighereducation.com
August 7, 2026 at 9:43 AM
The BRISMES Committee on #AcademicFreedom’s newly published report is cited in @timeshighered.bsky.social, highlighting concerns over the growing use of “national security” to restrict academic freedom.
Read more 👇 www.timeshighereducation.com/news/nationa...
Read more 👇 www.timeshighereducation.com/news/nationa...
What patterns are emerging across the #MENA region?
Our report finds repression of scholarship and shrinking civic space. Scholars face detention, imprisonment & harassment, while in conflict settings, universities themselves come under attack.
📄 👉 shorturl.at/eKJku
#AcademicFreedom #ScholarsAtRisk
Our report finds repression of scholarship and shrinking civic space. Scholars face detention, imprisonment & harassment, while in conflict settings, universities themselves come under attack.
📄 👉 shorturl.at/eKJku
#AcademicFreedom #ScholarsAtRisk
August 7, 2026 at 9:15 AM
What patterns are emerging across the #MENA region?
Our report finds repression of scholarship and shrinking civic space. Scholars face detention, imprisonment & harassment, while in conflict settings, universities themselves come under attack.
📄 👉 shorturl.at/eKJku
#AcademicFreedom #ScholarsAtRisk
Our report finds repression of scholarship and shrinking civic space. Scholars face detention, imprisonment & harassment, while in conflict settings, universities themselves come under attack.
📄 👉 shorturl.at/eKJku
#AcademicFreedom #ScholarsAtRisk
📚 #Research by BRISMES Members | "Foreign Policy and the Institutional Evolution of Rojavayê Kurdistan (2011–Present)" by Marianna Charountaki
Read more: revista.unap.ro/index.php/Im...
Read more: revista.unap.ro/index.php/Im...
August 6, 2026 at 1:08 PM
📚 #Research by BRISMES Members | "Foreign Policy and the Institutional Evolution of Rojavayê Kurdistan (2011–Present)" by Marianna Charountaki
Read more: revista.unap.ro/index.php/Im...
Read more: revista.unap.ro/index.php/Im...
What patterns are emerging across the UK & Europe?
Our new report identifies growing restrictions on academic events, political expression & academic independence, warning of a chilling effect on scholarship & teaching. (1/2)
Read & share the report 👉 shorturl.at/eKJku
Our new report identifies growing restrictions on academic events, political expression & academic independence, warning of a chilling effect on scholarship & teaching. (1/2)
Read & share the report 👉 shorturl.at/eKJku
August 6, 2026 at 8:49 AM
What patterns are emerging across the UK & Europe?
Our new report identifies growing restrictions on academic events, political expression & academic independence, warning of a chilling effect on scholarship & teaching. (1/2)
Read & share the report 👉 shorturl.at/eKJku
Our new report identifies growing restrictions on academic events, political expression & academic independence, warning of a chilling effect on scholarship & teaching. (1/2)
Read & share the report 👉 shorturl.at/eKJku
📢 BRISMES has published the first annual report of its Committee on #AcademicFreedom.
Drawing on 28 interventions, it documents threats to academic freedom, freedom of expression and the right to education across the UK, Europe and the MENA. (1/8)
👉 shorturl.at/eKJku
Drawing on 28 interventions, it documents threats to academic freedom, freedom of expression and the right to education across the UK, Europe and the MENA. (1/8)
👉 shorturl.at/eKJku
August 5, 2026 at 9:03 AM
📢 BRISMES has published the first annual report of its Committee on #AcademicFreedom.
Drawing on 28 interventions, it documents threats to academic freedom, freedom of expression and the right to education across the UK, Europe and the MENA. (1/8)
👉 shorturl.at/eKJku
Drawing on 28 interventions, it documents threats to academic freedom, freedom of expression and the right to education across the UK, Europe and the MENA. (1/8)
👉 shorturl.at/eKJku
📚 #Research by BRISMES Members | "Needs that Bind: Materializing Nationality in Post-Ottoman Regimes" by Orçun Can Okan.
Read more: sup.org/books/middle...
Read more: sup.org/books/middle...
July 31, 2026 at 3:35 PM
📚 #Research by BRISMES Members | "Needs that Bind: Materializing Nationality in Post-Ottoman Regimes" by Orçun Can Okan.
Read more: sup.org/books/middle...
Read more: sup.org/books/middle...
#AcademicFreedom | BRISMES Committee on Academic Freedom expresses deep concern over the ongoing detention of Iranian scholar and civil rights activist Mr Yashar Darolshafa, who was violently arrested on 1 June 2026. (1/4)
Read our statement: bit.ly/brimes-27072...
Read our statement: bit.ly/brimes-27072...
July 27, 2026 at 12:12 PM
#AcademicFreedom | BRISMES Committee on Academic Freedom expresses deep concern over the ongoing detention of Iranian scholar and civil rights activist Mr Yashar Darolshafa, who was violently arrested on 1 June 2026. (1/4)
Read our statement: bit.ly/brimes-27072...
Read our statement: bit.ly/brimes-27072...
#AcademicFreedom | We're grateful to see the work of BRISMES referenced in the new article "Silencing Dissent: Academic Freedom and Transnational Suppression of Palestinian Solidarity" by Sevgi Doğan, Donatella della Porta and Federico Alagna.
Check it out: shorturl.at/0FgLJ
Check it out: shorturl.at/0FgLJ
Silencing Dissent: Academic Freedom and Transnational Suppression of Palestinian Solidarity | Perspectives on Politics | Cambridge Core
Silencing Dissent: Academic Freedom and Transnational Suppression of Palestinian Solidarity
shorturl.at
July 27, 2026 at 11:29 AM
#AcademicFreedom | We're grateful to see the work of BRISMES referenced in the new article "Silencing Dissent: Academic Freedom and Transnational Suppression of Palestinian Solidarity" by Sevgi Doğan, Donatella della Porta and Federico Alagna.
Check it out: shorturl.at/0FgLJ
Check it out: shorturl.at/0FgLJ
🎉 The BRISMES Shop is open!
Every purchase supports our scholarships and prizes, conference attendance, public engagement and events, and advocacy for academic freedom.
Explore the shop 👉 brismes.myshopify.com
#BRISMES #MiddleEastStudies #Fundraising #SupportScholarship
Every purchase supports our scholarships and prizes, conference attendance, public engagement and events, and advocacy for academic freedom.
Explore the shop 👉 brismes.myshopify.com
#BRISMES #MiddleEastStudies #Fundraising #SupportScholarship
July 21, 2026 at 2:56 PM
🎉 The BRISMES Shop is open!
Every purchase supports our scholarships and prizes, conference attendance, public engagement and events, and advocacy for academic freedom.
Explore the shop 👉 brismes.myshopify.com
#BRISMES #MiddleEastStudies #Fundraising #SupportScholarship
Every purchase supports our scholarships and prizes, conference attendance, public engagement and events, and advocacy for academic freedom.
Explore the shop 👉 brismes.myshopify.com
#BRISMES #MiddleEastStudies #Fundraising #SupportScholarship