The Middle East Institute is pleased to announce that the registrations for the MEI 2013 Lecture Series are now open. The series, which was launched in 2012, will discuss 10 topics under main theme of “Introduction to the Study of the Contemporary Middle East”. The upcoming round of weekly lectures kicks off on Wednesday, 23 January 2013 with a lecture by MEI Director, Prof Michael C Hudson on the topic of “Introduction to the Study of Modern Middle East”. The subsequent 9 lectures will be conducted by MEI’s research professors and experts on topics ranging from colonialism to oil to authoritarianism (see below for the list of topics and lecturers).

The lectures will be held from 4 pm to 6 pm every Wednesday onwards with the exception of two Wednesdays, i.e. 13^th and 27^thFebruary. The venue for all 10 lectures will be the Celadon Room which is located in the prestigious NUS Museum on the ground floor of the University Cultural Centre (UCC).

Dates and Topics for Each Lecture:

1.     23 January 2013:   Introduction to the Study of the Modern Middle East by Prof Michael Hudson

2.     30 January 2013:   Islamic Origins: Messenger and message by Dr Benjamin Geer

3.     6 February 2013:    The Middle East and South East Asia by Mr Nazry Bahrawi

[13 February: Chinese New Year]

4.    20 February 2013:   Colonialism, ‘Independence’ and Revolution by Prof Peter Sluglett

[27 February 2013: Recess week]

5.      6 March 2013:      Women in MENA by Prof Lilia Labidi

6.      13 March 2013:   Oil: Blessing or Curse? By Dr Ali Kadri

7.      20 March 2013:   The Political Economy of the Middle East: Development Challenge by Dr Linda Matar

8.      27 March 2013:    Authoritarianism and Democratization: the Arab Uprisings by Dr Marie Duboc

9.      3 April 2013:        The Arab-Israeli Conflict by Dr Benjamin Geer

10.   10 April 2013:      The Middle East in the Global Context by Prof Michael Hudson